Mob Queen - by Erin Bledsoe (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Set in the 1930s, Mob Queen follows one woman's rapid rise through the Mafia as she searches for the truth about what happened to her friend and navigates a perilous relationship with the infamous Bugsy Siegel.

All Virginia Hill wanted was a better life.

She escaped her abusive father and dreary, small-town Georgia existence by marrying a man who took her to Chicago. But the realities of the Depression--and her husband's volatile temper--soon destroyed Virginia's fragile idea of happiness. With the help of a new friend, Madeline, she finds the courage to stand up to her husband--only to end up divorced and destitute.

Down but not out, Virginia joins Madeline working as a waitress in one of the Mob's favorite hangouts, a restaurant smack-dab in the middle of the World's Fair. But when Madeline disappears after getting involved with the wrong Mafia man, Virginia vows to find her friend no matter what. But to do that, she'll have to follow Madeline into the heart of the Chicago Mob . . .

As Virginia climbs the ranks and unravels the mystery of what happened to her friend, working for the Mafia proves both seductive and deadly. What started as a desperate attempt to find Madeline brings power she never imagined a poor girl from Georgia would ever have. It turns out a woman can be a mobster, but she'll have to give up her heart to do it.

Review Quotes

"[A gripping] depiction of women in organized crime, the friendships they build, and the dangerous missions they are assigned...Delving into the resilience and ambition of women in a dangerous world run by men, this novel is a must for crime fans and historical fans alike."

"Bledsoe serves up a dynamic portrait of historical crime figure Virginia Hill...Bledsoe doesn't sugarcoat the barbarity of mob violence in her complex and admirable characterization of Virginia, who grows increasingly comfortable with carrying out the mob's work and finds satisfaction in her sense of agency. It's a humanizing portrait of a notorious woman."

"[Mob Queen] will appeal most to readers looking for gritty historical fiction about a resilient woman unsure who she can trust in a glitzy but treacherous world with life-and-death stakes."

"Vivid, gripping, and impossible to put down, Mob Queen delivers a thrilling ride through the glittering, dangerous world of 1930s organized crime. Erin Bledsoe brings the era to life with stunning detail, a fast-paced plot, and characters you can't help but root for--even when they're breaking all the rules. This is historical fiction at its most electrifying!"

"A gripping peek behind the heavily guarded curtain of the 1930s Mafia, Mob Queen takes its readers on a wild ride. As readers trail alongside the very real Virginia Hill--one-time companion of Bugsy Siegel, among notorious others--author Erin Bledsoe shares Virginia's unexpected rise from rural Georgia to the highest echelons of the Mafia, where she becomes more than a gangster's moll, she becomes a gangster herself."