I am pleased to join this Audio Tour by iReads Book Tours. In this posting, I will be introducing the series, plus, presenting a Guest Post by Michelle Cox. She will share how this series came to be!
In the following weeks, I will be reviewing the first three in the series. I understand after that, it gets too seamy for my site and preference. I will keep you posted as I go! 
SERIES DETAILS:
Series Title: Henrietta and Inspector Howard by Michelle Cox Category: Adult Fiction (18+) | Genre: Historical Mystery | Publisher: Michelle Cox Release dates: November 2017; April 2017; April 2018; April 2019; April 2020 Format available for review: audiobook (Author Direct Download) | Tour dates: Aug 31 to Oct 2, 2020 Content Rating: R: Books 1-2 do not have any sex scenes, though there is sexual reference, Books 3-5 do have explicit sex scenes (tasteful). There is periodic swearing and violence, but not a lot. There are some dark themes (though not graphic examples) of suicide, prostitution, mob involvement, rape, drinking, homosexuality.
The True Story Behind The Henrietta and Inspector Howard Series . . . When I decided to write a murder mystery, thinking this would somehow be appealing to an agent (don’t laugh), I found myself struggling for a kernel of an idea to get the story started. In desperation, I finally turned to my stack of stories that I had collected from my days working in a nursing home on Chicago’s NW side and eventually chose to model my heroine, Henrietta Von Harmon, on one of the residents whom I had the fortune to have met. Almost daily, Adeline Schneider would remind me that once upon a time “I had a man-stopping body and a personality to go with it!” Adeline Schneider was one of those residents who still had a lot of life in her despite her eighty-one years. She loved to follow me around the nursing home, telling me stories about her colorful life in Chicago in the 1930s and ‘40s as a drop-dead gorgeous bombshell. I borrowed much of her details and then crafted a story around it, having to invent the murder, the circumstances, and, of course, the handsome inspector . . . But here are the bits that are true: *Family History: Adeline’s father, Lester Von Freudenthal, was originally from Alscace-Lorraine where he (like Henrietta’s father, Leslie Von Harmon) claimed the family had been aristocratic barons, thus the “Von” in their name. Also true (as in the novel): Adeline's great-grandfather eloped to Chicago with his bride and settled in Logan Square. *Jobs: All of the jobs listed in the novel are real jobs that Adeline herself worked at. Her extreme beauty got her jobs when the rest of the country was out of work during the Great Depression. Like, Henrietta, however, Adeline was virtuous and was constantly getting fired for slapping an owner or a manager for trying to feel her up. *Neighborhood Boys: Like Henrietta, who is dogged throughout the novel by the love-struck Stanley Dubowski, Adeline told me about the little rag-tag band of neighborhood boys who used to follow her. They knew that she was a “nice girl” and often therefore waited by the El station for her to get off from her late-night jobs so that they could follow her home at a distance to make sure that no harm befell her. *Burlesque: At nineteen years old, Adeline saw an ad in a Chicago paper for an usherette at a burlesque theater and went to audition. Like in the book, the line of eager women wrapped around the block. Many of the novel’s details about Henrietta’s audition are taken exactly from Adeline's experience, including having to show off her legs and bottom on stage in order to get the job. As in the novel, the theater maintained a strict “no touching” policy between the girls and the crowd, with burly ushers doubling as bouncers to throw out any man that crossed the line. Girls were required to go to the bathroom in pairs for safety’s sake. *Lesbians: Adeline soon discovered that most of the usherettes or dancers at the theater were lesbians. Though she did not share their sexual orientation and warded off their initial advances, she was eventually befriended by them. One of them, Didi, became her best friend and protector and tried to shield her from some of the more risqué situations that were occurring at the “lesbian parties” Adeline was subsequently invited to, which, she said, were boring because “everyone just sat around and made out.” 
$100. Amazon Gift Card Giveaway!
Prizes: $100 Amazon Gift Card courtesy of Michelle Cox, author of the Henrietta and Inspector Howard Mystery Series (ends Oct 9) Enter the Giveaway by using the Rafflecopter Below! 
1 Comment
9/1/2020 11:55:55 am
Thanks so much, Lu Ann, for spotlighting the series!!! Excited to hear your thoughts! Leave a Reply. |
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