Sara Divello

Embodied with the feel of the 1920s gangster era when political corruption had long tentacles that could reach from the police to the president, Sara Divello pens a beautiful historical fiction about the murder of Dot King, the Broadway Butterfly.

Dot was a model, a showgirl, a get-around, a ladder climber. She knew what she wanted and had the skills to get it until she was killed. The investigation surrounding her murder ensnared female crime reporter (a true rarity in the day) Julia Harpman and police inspector John Coughlin as they parried against one another, trying to learn the truth of whodunnit: The illustrious John Kearsley Mitchell III, son-in-law of the infamous E.T. Stotesbury of J.P. Morgan fame, or the slimy gigolo Albert Guiarmes; both of whom were Dot's lovers.

Oh, the twists and turns in this real-life drama. The housekeeper knows more than she telling. The dancer-friend who knows something but not much. The alibi for Guiarmes, who ends up dead. The wife of Mitchell who becomes socially ostracised. And the President of the United States, who has a tie in all this. Well done, Sara DiVello.

While the Broadway Butterfly will not change history, it is fascinating to read how things were 'back in the day' and how far we've come or not.

You will enjoy this one.… (meer)

I was looking forward to reading this book for a while, ever since I heard Sara Divello talk about how she became interested in the story. However, it didn't live up to my expectations. Although it was interesting, I thought it dragged at times, and the ending left me with more questions than answers.
I did enjoy the author's notes at the end, and the info on all the people.
When Ella Bradford comes to Dot King's apartment one morning to find her employer dead, she is distraught. She contacts the police, but they botch the investigation, and then later cover up the murder. Julia Harpman, a newspaper writer, chases the story and refuses to let it die. She attacks the story and uncovers more details than expected. However, the story is never truly finished, and as the years pass, it is obvious that some people get away with murder.… (meer)

Dot King is the Broadway Butterfly, a 29 year-old woman who drinks a lot and has many partners. She is murdered one night using chloroform. Her two main men are under suspicion for her murder. One is a violent gigolo. The other is extremely rich and well connected and manages to shut down the investigation. Julia Harpman is a crime beat newspaperman for the New York Daily News. She writes many columns about the case and tries to get the police to investigate it. People who have information about the crime are either ignored by the DA who puts pressure on the police to drop the case. The corruption goes all the way to Warren Harding's White House staff and the Attorney General of the United States.… (meer)