Things begin to change for Etto when Yuri Fil, a scandalized Ukrainian soccer star and his tough-love sister, Zhuki, arrive in town, and sweep him into their universe of soccer, celebrity, laughter, and fierce loyalty. Under their influence, Etto begins to reconstruct his relationship with his father and learns a few life lessons: that perhaps the game of soccer isn’t just a waste of time—and that San Benedetto, his father, love, and life itself might have more to offer him than he ever believed possible.

My Thoughts:

The Sun and Other Stars ended up surprising me, in a very good way.

I was worried I wouldn’t be able to fall into the rhythm of this book. Once I got used to the Italian slang and other vernacular quirks I sunk in and enjoyed myself thoroughly.

I was worried that the subject of soccer would be lost on me. That wasn’t the case at all. The game of soccer is a wonderful backdrop. It brings people together. It knits father to son. It inspires a town that is somewhat down on its luck. It even kindles romance.

The setting in this book made me long for warmth. It was the perfect book to read while stuck in the freezing polar vortex that is my home state right now. San Benedetto sounds like a dream of a place. I wanted to be there. I wanted to eat their food and play soccer on their fields and chat with the characters at the local tavern.

I was absolutely impressed with The Sun and Other Stars. Grab a copy and hang out on the Italian Riviera with me?  If you’re anything like me, you won’t ever want to leave.

They say behind every great man, there’s a woman. In this case, there are three. Stella Crater, the judge’s wife, is the picture of propriety draped in long pearls and the latest Chanel. Ritzi, a leggy showgirl with Broadway aspirations, thinks moonlighting in the judge’s bed is the quickest way off the chorus line. Maria Simon, the dutiful maid, has the judge to thank for her husband’s recent promotion to detective in the NYPD. Meanwhile, Crater is equally indebted to Tammany Hall leaders and the city’s most notorious gangster, Owney “The Killer” Madden.

On a sultry summer night, as rumors circulate about the judge’s involvement in wide-scale political corruption, the Honorable Joseph Crater steps into a cab and disappears without a trace. Or does he?

After 39 years of necessary duplicity, Stella Crater is finally ready to reveal what she knows. Sliding into a plush leather banquette at Club Abbey, the site of many absinthe-soaked affairs and the judge’s favorite watering hole back in the day, Stella orders two whiskeys on the rocks—one for her and one in honor of her missing husband. Stirring the ice cubes in the lowball glass, Stella begins to tell a tale—of greed, lust, and deceit. As the novel unfolds and the women slyly break out of their prescribed roles, it becomes clear that each knows more than she has initially let on.

My Thoughts:

First, you need to play the mood music that I’ve embedded above. It’s the perfect backdrop for this book.

Justice Joseph Crater disappeared in 1930. The Wife, The Maid, and The Mistress is a reimagining of what might have happened to him and to the three women in his life. And ohhh, it’s a good one.

The disappearance of Judge Crater was a HUGE deal in 1930. In our times, it would have caused a tabloid furor. As a fan of any sort of history I’m ashamed to say that I hadn’t heard of this case. That, however, made this book a lot of fun for me. I had no preconceived notions or theories.

Was Crater a victim of his times? Now-a-days we’d call him the worst sort of philanderer and crook. But, in the 1930’s corruption was rampant, having a mistress (or two) was de riguer, and being involved with mobsters was the way politicians got things done. Of course the guy was going to come to a bad end. It’s almost a miracle that any of the politicians of that decade made it out alive.

I suggest you make yourself an Old Fashion, turn on some Benny Goodman or Billie Holiday, and sink yourself into this keen book. It will blow your wig. (Did I look up slang from 1930? You bet I did.)