The Thirteenth Husband by Greer Macallister ~ a Review

by Donna Huber

Tearing through millions of dollars, four continents, and a hearty collection of husbands, real-life heiress Aimee Crocker blazed an unbelievable trail of public notoriety, private pain, and the kind of strong independent woman the 1880s had never seen.

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

August 2024; Sourcebooks Landmark; 978-1464218323
audio, ebook, print (336 pages); biographical fiction

I have several great biographical fiction stories about women who I never knew existed. When I saw Greer Macallister's new novel was about a woman during a time period I don't read too often but have been trying to read more of, I decided to give it a try. 

I tried to like Aimee but I really couldn't find much to like about her. I admire that she lived life on her own terms but I found her to be self-centered and a bit self-absorbed. I know the book was focused on her husbands but it didn't seem like she had any long-term (let alone life-long) relationships. Even her children seem out of the picture often. I wonder if she had any true friends in life or if everyone found her as unlikeable as I did and therefore could only spend short periods of time with her. 

I thought with her confidence and brashness she would be a suffragette. But in this account, she doesn't really seem to care about society. In fact, she makes several comments about charitable giving that made it seem that when she did give it was out of obligation (or to make her mother happy) rather than a passion. 

Once I stopped looking for redeemable qualities, I googled Aimee Crocker and got an overview of her life. So the rest of the book for me was just to see what Macallister would do with the details.

Macallister brings Aimee to life and it was interesting to see this time period from a different perspective because definitely Aimee had a perspective on life that was different than most women of the time period. 

If you enjoy the biographical fiction of Erica Robuck, Ariel Lawhone, and Karin Tanabe, then you should add Greer Macallister to your list.

Buy The Thirteenth Husband at Amazon

Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour.

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