The Wicked Redhead by Beatriz Williams ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

1998 "The photograph in Ella's hand was about the size of a small old fashioned postcard. It had a matte finish, almost like newsprint, and the edges were soft and frayed, as you might expect from a photograph over seventy years old. From anything over seventy years old, really, but especially a photograph of a naked woman. And what a woman." (p1)

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

December 2019; William Morrow; 978-0062660312
audio, ebook, print (432 pages); women's fiction

The Wicked Redhead is book 2 in Wicked City trilogy. I read it as a standalone but I think it would be better read in order to alleviate confusion over some of the characters.

This book is told in two timelines. Ella in 1998 has just lost her husband and quit her job.  Her life is in disarray especially when she finds out some shocking news. As she struggles to get her life back on track, she is further upset by information from her father and grandmother.  The only thing that seems to help is her quest for information about a nude redheaded woman in a picture that her aunt has given her and a potential new love.

What will she gain from finding out about the woman in the picture who she feels is trying to send her a message?

Gin in 1924 is a flapper hiding from her bootlegger stepfather in Florida with her lover who is a government Prohibition agent. When she returns to New York and finds out that her boyfriend has disappeared, she starts searching for him knowing that he is the only person she can find happiness with. Will Gin find her happily ever after?

I have enjoyed all of Beatriz Williams's previous books but I struggled with this one. I think it was my fault for reading it as a standalone instead of reading Wicked City first. I plan to read Wicked City as soon as I get a chance and then hopefully amend this review.

Another little teaser

1924 "Now, for a redheaded Appalachia hillbilly bred up in the far western corner of Maryland, I do reckon I've seen a fair measure of this grand country of ours...But Florida.  The state of Florida is something else.  Like you have been plucked from the gray mire and dropped into a land of warm, green abundance." (p25)

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Susan Roberts lives in North Carolina when she isn't traveling. She and her husband enjoy traveling, gardening and spending time with their family and friends. She reads almost anything (and the piles of books in her house prove that) but her favorite genres are Southern fiction, women's fiction, and thrillers. Susan is a top 1% Goodreads Reviewer. You can connect with Susan on Facebook, Goodreads, or Twitter.

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