HFVBT Review: The Murderer's Maid by Erika Mailman

Title: The Murderer's Maid
Author: Erika Mailman
Format: ARC
Publisher: Bonhomie Press
Publish Date: October 30, 2017
Source: 

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "The Murderer's Maid interweaves the stories of two women: one, the servant of infamous Lizzie Borden, and the other a modern-day barista fleeing from an attempt on her life.

Trapped by servitude and afraid for her own safety, Irish maid Bridget finds herself an unwilling witness to the tensions in the volatile Borden household. As Lizzie seethes with resentment, Bridget tries to perform her duties and keep her mouth shut.

Unknowingly connected to the legendary crime of a century ago, Brooke, the illegitimate daughter of an immigrant maid, struggles to conceal her identity and stay a jump ahead of the men who want to kill her. When she unexpectedly falls in love with Anthony, a local attorney, she has to decide whether to stop running and begin her life anew."

My Two Cents:

"The Murderer's Maid" is the dual story of the infamous Lizzie Borden, who brutally murdered her father and stepmother at the end of the 19th century and the present day story of Brooke, a young woman on the run from the danger of her past. Brooke finds that she is related to Lizzie Borden and finds herself drawn to the mystery of her past almost as an escape from her present on the run. 

What a book to read right before Halloween! You want creepy? You've got creepy with this book. While I enjoyed both stories, I loved the atmosphere that the author created around Lizzie Borden. Certainly any book about a woman who murders her parents in cold blood would be chilling but the way the author foretells of Lizzie's brutalness is amazing. I don't want to give anything away but man, the pigeon scene! That scene was so well done and gives us so much insight into what kind of person Lizzie is and how she could be capable of really evil things. 

As you can tell from the title of the book, the story is seen through the eyes of Lizzie Borden's family maid, Bridget. Bridget is Irish and faces discrimination in her town. When she lands a job at the Borden house, she has bad feelings from the very beginning but a job is a job so she takes it. I loved seeing the story through her eyes. She's just trying to make a living and to do a good job. It was fascinating to see how she deals with the craziness that goes on in the Borden household and how she stays even after the murders.

Like I said, both stories in the book are super interesting. Brooke, the woman in the present day story, is solving a few mysteries of her own. She has a connection to Lizzie Borden and following her as she unravels that mystery makes for great reading. She is also on the run from her past and her own perhaps part in a crime that has haunted her ever since and has kept her on the run.

This book has so many twists and turns in both story lines! This was a great, atmospheric read. I loved the way that the author was able to create such suspense, even with a story that may be familiar to a lot of people. This was a good read!