When
Reggie Stoner is found dead in Great Depression era Philadelphia, his death is
ruled as caused by pneumonia. However, First Assistant DA Tom Rossi notices
that Stoner exhibited more symptoms of arsenic poisoning rather than the
illness. After Stoner’s widow, Lillian, receives a large sum in insurance
money, Rossi becomes obsessed with the idea that Stoner’s death was a murder.
He soon spies Lillian having an affair with an Italian lothario, Giorgio
DiSipio. Ready to swoop in and arrest her, Rossi is stopped by her uncle, the
corrupt Deputy Mayor Bill Evans, who Rossi suspects is exchanging sex for money
with his niece. Soon numerous other suspicious deaths occur, all leading the
wives to collect their deceased husband’s insurance money. Giorgio DiSipio,
Rossi realizes, is more than just a wannabe mobster and petty criminal; he has
supplied seventeen women with poison, leading them to believe that if they
murder their husbands, he will run away and be with them. Each one believes
DiSipio is their one true love, and each is unaware of the other lovers.
The
fast pace keeps readers on the edge of their seats, wondering how Rossi will
possibly get past Evans’ influence in the police department. With excellent
dialogue, this deeply-researched and well-written novel offers both a gritty
crime conspiracy and an intriguing look into the minds of the desperate people
living in Philadelphia during the Great Depression. While the novel explores
dark topics such as lust, greed, infidelity, and incest, its tone is light,
never disturbing the reader too much. The characters are fully developed, the
protagonists likeable, and the antagonists menacing. It is the characters in
particular that keep the reader hooked. Rossi is a typical good guy, though he
is willing to go to the edge of the law in order to solve the serial murders,
and Evans and DiSipio are both gritty antagonists in their own right. DiSipio
is fairly light-hearted, almost playful in his love affairs, while Evans is a
darker creature who elicits a deeper hatred from readers and illuminates the
corruption of greedy higher-ups in government systems. The women are at the
heart of the story, their lust and cunning both making the reader cringe and
intriguing them, making them want to know more about their motives.
Only a
few grammatical and punctuation errors appear throughout the book, but they
rarely distract.
Author
Gus Pelagatti has over forty years of experience in Philadelphia’s courts as a
lawyer and has obviously put a lot of time, effort, and passion into The Wicked Wives. A novel of time and
place, those who enjoy either historical fiction or true crime books will
surely devour this novel.
