Sherilyn Decter

Edith is still grieving the death of her well known, mobster husband Mickey. She needs a break, a change of scene and heads from Philly, to the warmth of the Florida coast line. Her girlfriends meet up with her, and try to get her mind off of the last six months. But Edith is still restless, she needs something in her life.
Her first day there, there's commotion down on the waterfront. Boats, speed, guns, and illegal liquor. She is immediately sucked back into memories of what life was like with Mickey. But she also realizes, that she misses that thrill, the excitement. The girls take a day, and visit a well known restaurant, that attracts the most popular and Edith gets an idea. She was the brains behind a lot of Mickey's business, why couldn't see run a place down here? Start anew, fresh and make something of herself. Make Mickey proud.
With the help of Mae, Al Capone's wife, Edith and her find a small joint. It's in quite disrepair but Edith sees the possibility and her heart is set. No one is going to change her mind. Edith runs into issues right away. First, she's a woman. Second, people know what she has in mind with this place. Third, she's an outsider now creeping in on the other businesses in the area. Edith, resilient and not afraid to back down fights every step of the way, but soon the place is ready to be opened.
Even after proving she is a woman of her word, and will do what it takes to get things done. She still has a target on her back, and many are still not happy that she is still in town. With the help from a local boy, Leroy who shows up in her barn, and Darwin, a favor she called in from an old friend, Gator Joe's is open for business and she is not going anywhere.
Just when she thinks she has proven herself, and that maybe things can be normal, her hard work goes up in flames. Someone is still not happy that she is in town, and has made a name for herself and Gator Joe's. Has she really been defeated, finally. Is this the last straw?
This was an interesting read about bootlegging liquor on the coast. I've not read about this before and it was also interesting to read about the wives of these mobsters. Not much was ever said about them, and usually they were just seen, but it seems they may have been more brains behind the operations than what was thought. This was a good thriller of a novel and I am curious to see what happens next with Edith, Leroy, Darwin and Lucky Ling.
Thank you to HFVBT and the author for the book to read and review. I will be looking forward to getting and reading the other Rum Runners' Chronicles, I have to know what happens next, as this book did leave off at a bit of a cliff hanger! :)… (altro)

REVIEW by LAWonder10:
Inspector Frank Geyer observes bootlegging activities along with the bad influence it has on young boys. He wonders why he is still here. He cannot do anything about what is happening.

Maggie Barnes has been a widow now for about four years. Her young seven year old son is the main focus of her life. She refuses to return to her parents house for them to try to raise Tommy in the uppity manor they raised her. They disliked her husband and never cared about seeing their grandson until after their son-in-law's death. They do not need to be near him now. No, she will find some way to save their home and support her son. She will take in boarders and provide meals too. Thee are soon more ideas she has to be self-sustaining.

This is an intriguing tale attitudes during the rapidly changing times that occurred after World War 1. This story centers in Philadelphia during the days of prohibition, women's rights to vote, own property , etc. It is also a time of Jazz, the Charleston, shorter skirts and hair and of "Speakeasies". It was still deemed improper for a single woman to house and feed single men.
However, Maggie was a rebel and didn't care how shocked her mother and others were.

Maggie interviewed many people settling on a policeman, an accountant, and a school teacher but wait!... There is someone she hadn't counted on! Is she crazy?

This is a fun suspense/mystery with a touch of the paranormal. The fans of "Topper" oer "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" wil certainly enjoy this first book of a new series.

The characters are "colorful" and are portrayed in a way the seemingly become real! The scenes are additionally portrayed and easily visualized.

This author's writing style is captivating and "flows" smoothly. It was fast moving and left me eager to read the next book in the series. The Book Cover and Title were very well-chosen.

READER BEWARE: There is some profanity and some intimate sexual terminology.
This earns a Five Stars rating
*This book was gifted me with no request for a positive review. This is my honest review.… (altro)

Innocence Lost by Sherilyn Decter is a story of Maggie Barnes, a widow with a young son to raise in Philadelphia, 1924. Maggie is finding is extremely difficult making ends meet including putting food on the table and paying the bills. She decides to open her house to guests, she has room for a few lodgers. One of the lodgers is Constable Joe Kelly, also living with her is Mr.Mansfield and Mr. Smith.

Her son Tommy is at a warehouse along with a few of his friends, where there are some bootleggers, led by Mickey Duffy. There is a police raid, they end up running and one of his friends, Oskar, goes missing. Tommy is scared and doesn't say anything of what he knows about the raid and the missing boy. The boy is eventually found, in the river and this starts the investigation that Maggie finds herself in. Ironically, Maggie also becomes friends with Mickey Duffy's wife Edith.

Prohibition was the norm in the '20s, there were speakeasies all over Philadelphia. Maggie along with the help of Joe, they try to find and capture the bootleggers. Maggie also has another person helping her, a ghost of a Victorian cop, Inspector Frank Geyer. Their investigation into who and how Oskar died takes them into the world of gangsters and corruption.

I have not read a lot about Prohibition or gangsters, so I was a bit apprehensive because I like different genres in historical fiction, that said, I really enjoyed this book. There was a great amount of research done in this book, an ultimately the whole Bootlegger's Chronicles. A fast and entertaining read. I highly recommend and look forward to reading the next in the series.… (altro)