The Bootlegger’s Daughter by Nadine Nettmann (2024) – BR00255 (R2024) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸⚪
Plot or Premise

Two women making their way in a man’s world during prohibition in Los Angeles — Letty Hart making wine for the local church, Annabel Forman bucking to be made detective.
What I Liked
I liked that there wasn’t a lot of backstory for either woman. The story starts at the jump with Hart making legal wine for the church during prohibition, until the church decides to go with another distributor and putting her effectively out of business. You also meet Forman who convinces her boss to give her a real case, a theft of high-end jewellery from a wealthy woman. Add in bent cops and a friend on the party circuit, the story is decent. With a bit of action on the side.
What I Didn’t Like
I would have liked to see more interaction between the two women, it is more like parallel stories until the end with a “forced” scene in the middle. As well, there is a somewhat contrived action scene with a fire, and a young man who is the stupidest person on the planet apparently, although some of it is implied by involvement with the church as a slam. But mostly I knocked a star off the rating for the final “twist” at the climax, both seen coming and a shallow payout that drags on way too long. I felt like I was watching two kids argue “Did too! Did not! Did too! Did not!”.
Disclosure
I received a free reader’s copy of this book as part of the Amazon Prime First Reads program. I am not personal friends with the author, nor have I ever interacted with them on social media.
The Bottom Line
Good story, fun read, a bit shallow on the mystery
