The Ghosts of Eden Park - a nonfiction book review

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 Do you want to hear about George Remus, a lawyer turned bootlegger? Then you'll love this book. Let's dive in. 



This book is about a bootlegger named George Remus, who started as a lawyer and then turned his legal hand to bootlegging, then got ruined by a woman named Imogene. This is the story of a bootlegger who had the intelligence to run an empire for a short time, but not the intelligence to know he was being played like a fiddle by his second wife. This is also the story of Mabel Walker Willebrandt, who took down Remus and bootlegging operations while battling a hearing impairment and sexism. Oh, and let's not forget that this story ends in murder. 

The Review

This is narrative nonfiction, which means it is written like a fiction story but entirely true. It is telling a story with facts behind it. This makes nonfiction much easier to read. Combining a thrilling story of bootlegging, betrayal, and murder with narrative nonfiction made this book an easy read. 

I both listened and read it. Listening to it was great. I also liked annotating and underlining, so it was good to have both options. Read and listen (read when you have hands, listen when you don't) is one of the best ways to read a book quicker in my experience. This was already a quick read. 

As for the story and facts of the case, they were fascinating. I would read this again and suggest this to any friend. By this point, I'll have lent this book to one of my friends. The murder of Imogene, the bootlegging empire, and the love triangle that set the whole situation on fire kept my attention. Court records made for a detailed story that was all true. This was reminiscent of the court cases that inspired Chicago the musical. I thought about the song "razzle dazzle" when I read the court scenes. The roaring 20s are historically fascinating to read about. 

Conclusion

Five stars, no notes. It was good in audio and in physical book. I loved every bit of it. I never tired of the plot or the topic. It had all my attention. Pick this one up from Libby if you don't want to spend money, but I would suggest just buying it. It is that good. 

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Morrow is released! This novella is the story of two women writing a family history for the Morrow family. They find a nasty secret while researching. Will they survive their internship? 

Sign up for my newsletter at this link to get a free first chapter. All you need to plug in is your email. You'll also get a free first chapter of Wrenville, my first novel. 

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