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"A thrilling, suspense-filled, and
vibrantly told novel." MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW
The year is 1923, and one of Ohio’s most prominent
judges, O’Brien O’Donnell, fathers his first
and only child. Though a joyous occasion for the recently
married, fifty-nine year old, the birth sets off a terrifying
chain of events, beginning with blackmail and the judge’s
near-fatal breakdown. His only hope for recovery lies with
his trusted friend and colleague, Sarah Kaufman.
As Sarah begins to unravel the clues surrounding O’Brien’s
collapse, she is repeatedly confronted with the explosively
paradoxical forces that defined life in the twenties: sexual
promiscuity and self-righteous morality, Progressive reform
and political corruption, racial tolerance and institutionalized
bigotry. It was O’Brien’s unique ability to strike
a compromise between these forces that made him so popular...and,
she realizes, so vulnerable to attack.
And soon enough, Sarah, too, becomes a victim, a target
of the blackmailer’s hatred and revenge. But with the
help of a story-hungry reporter to whom she becomes ambivalently
attached, the unconventional Jewess sets out to free the
judge and herself from their common enemy. How? The answer
lurks within the hidden recesses of...O’Brien’s
desk.
Based on true events, this suspenseful novel possesses a
unique authenticity. With actual newspaper articles about
the real O’Brien O’Donnell beginning each chapter,
the story invites readers to solve the mystery along with
the protagonist, piecing together a decades-traversing narrative,
clip by clip.
ONA RUSSELL holds a Ph.D. in literature from the University
of California, San Diego. She has published scholarly articles
and has taught in various colleges and universities in the
San Diego area, currently at the UC San Diego Extension.
She is working on her second novel.
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