the wicked wives:A Novel based on a true story by Gus Pelagatti

4 STARS

This is a well told story. Can't believe all the murders for money.
This is based on a true story it also has a suspenseful question of who was the lady dressed in black.
I had never heard of this Poison murder case of all the wives who worked together to kill their husband for insurance money, till I was contacted by Gus Pelagatti to read his book.
It is not a uplifting story. The wives are having affairs with more than one partner. Most of them had an affair with the tailor. They knew he had lots of lovers. He was even
married himself. He convinced them to kill their husbands for money. He would help them get insurance on their husbands without them knowing and they would split the money.

The story is laid out in away that showed how the proscuter figured out his cases. In fact it even showed some of court cases. Their even showed some of the outcomes some guilty and some innocent.

I enjoyed the story and could not believe the outcome.
I was given this ebook to read by the author and asked to give honest review of it when done.
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (June 20, 2011) 299 pages ISBN: 0615674364


Discription below taken off of Amazon

When I was an eight year old boy I overheard adults in my South Philadelphia neighborhood discussing 17 disenchanted and unfaithful neighborhood wives who murdered their husbands for insurance money, love and lust. This was a fascinating topic for an eight year old boy eavesdropping on adult conversation. The adults were discussing the true story of Philadelphia’s infamous 1938 murder scandals. My fascination led to obsession. I knew that I had to write about these wicked wives someday.

After I became a trial lawyer in 1964, I researched the poison murder cases in the law library and obtained newspaper accounts of the scandals dating back to October, 1938. Thereafter I conducted interviews with judges, lawyers, police, witnesses, sheriff deputies and neighbors who knew the defendants.

One of the chief conspirators was a tailor who seduced, then persuaded at least twelve wives to poison their husbands for insurance. The setting for his seductions was the couch in the rear of his tailor shop, located two blocks from our family home.

A fascinating conspiracy unfolded in these murder cases. The poison gang’s colorful and hilarious characters helped to deep-six a minimum of 20 husbands. The supporting cast includes Giorgio, “The Don Juan of Passyunk Avenue. ” Aside from scheming Lillian, “the society wife”, the wives include Rose, the “Kiss of Death Widow, ” Eva “the nymphomaniac” and the “hopelessly in love, ” Joanna.

After many comical episodes, intriguing detective work and two suspense filled high profile trials, 12 wives plead or are found guilty of murdering their husbands. Two male conspirators were executed in the electric chair.

"The Wicked Wives" gleefully explores the sins of lust and greed, and the disappointments that love often brings. The characters, although they commit murder and adultery, are extremely likable, and often amusing. Writing “The Wicked Wives” was a true labor of love.