The Wicked Wives: A novel based on a true story by Gus Pelagatti

3.5 Stars More Than Just OK, October 21, 2012

The Wicked Wives: A Novel by Gus Pelagatti

The Pros --------------------------------------à

When Mr. Pelagatti asked me to kindly review his new novel, I was hesitant since I do not usually choose to read novels based on fact.  However, once I read the synopsis I was intrigued with the subject matter, so I agreed.  I’m glad I got the chance to read this book.  It really has a gripping story and the historical accuracy was wonderful. I loved reading about this era and it was really brought to life for me with the authors writing.  Learning about the ‘mob’, reading about how minorities were spoken to and about, learning how the police worked in that day and age as opposed to how things work nowadays was fascinating. 

The story itself was sometimes difficult to believe but in my heart, I know that there are people in this world just like Giorgio The Gigolo and all of the Black Widows and the Deputy Mayor.

You just feel a compulsion while reading this to find out who did what, who they did it too and you *need* to find out   the mystery behind The Black Widow and The Giant.  

Mr. Pelagatti wrote a fine story, a mesmerizing story. He wrote well fleshed out characters that you could easily sympathize with or hate without compunction. The historical was as accurate as anything else written about this era and you could easily see the amount of research the author put into this book.

The Cons----------------------------à

All that aside, there are issues with the book. This novel desperately needs editing.  There are continuity problems, misused words, were there king sized beds in the ‘30’s and early 40’s?

I can understand that when  a budding author is at the finish line and the only thing left to do is to edit, that they may not even see the mistakes since they KNOW  what the book  is supposed to be saying.  Editing needs to be done with fresh eyes, and a Beta Reader would be helpful.

I can’t quibble too much with the mistakes because I make them when merely writing a simple review.  Mistakes I do not see until it’s too late.

Don’t let these issues put you off from reading this novel, it really is a  good story and you would be missing out if you did.