Social Crimes

Jo Slater #1

by Jane Stanton Hitchcock

When her husband of twenty years dies under mysterious circumstances, leaving his fortune--and Jo's position in society--to a mysterious French countess, Jo Slater, once one of New York's leading grande dames, comes up with an ingenious scheme to seek revenge designed to recoup her fortune and reclaim her "throne," with only a little murder standing in her way. Reprint. 75,000 first printing.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Chick Lit, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Thriller

352 pages, Perfect Paperback

First published June 12, 2002

About the author

Jane Stanton Hitchcock was an American author, playwright, and screenwriter. She wrote several plays but is known mostly for her mystery novels Trick of the Eye, The Witches' Hammer, Social Crimes, One Dangerous Lady, Mortal Friends, and Bluff, which was the winner of the 2019 Hammett Prize. Hitchcock also wrote the screenplays for Our Time and First Love.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this in the Denver airport, which pretty much sums up its literary merit, but I have to admit I stayed up late that night to finish it. F-U-N! The premise is pedestrian enough — a wealthy Manhattan socialite discovers her husband was unfaithful — but for our heroine the consequences are particularly dire. Right away she finds herself bumping down every rung of the social ladder until she collapses at the bottom, which, in her case, means dyeing her own hair and buying a pair of sale-priced Hush Puppies. Oh, the shame!! But what makes it such a fun read is that queen bee Jo decides not to take her fate lying down. Instead, she plots revenge. Now in some books the search for revenge destroys the avenger and we’re left with a good moral lesson, but not in this one — and therein lies the charm. Who WOULD take treachery and humiliation lying down? Better people than the ones in this novel, that’s who. Perhaps Jo isn’t the brightest or most effective avenger, but you can overlook her limitations because at least she’s aware of how shallow her former social circle is...and doesn't apologize for wanting to get back in. The prose isn’t anything great, but it’s not dreadful either. Definitely a fun beach read.

[Kara · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book started out like a fun read - something I imagine would be great at the beach. Sure, it was about social life in New York with a handful of references to French History - both subjects not of particular interest to me - but it was entertaining nonetheless. There was a sense of impending betrayal that got me hooked. Unfortunately, after said betrayal the story took a long downward spiral it never recovered from. For one, the handful of historical references became a heavy handed torrential downpour that I was halfway expecting the main character to reveal herself to be Marie Antoinette's reincarnation. Also, this is not a revenge story. Instead it's the painful detailing of our narrator's failings to the point I stopped pretending to root for her and hoped she really would give up. While the revenge plot itself was somewhat clever, it was tacked on at the end when I didn't care anymore and mostly ruined by the narrators step-by-step explanation of the entire thinking process and execution. None of the questions CONTINUOUSLY asked are answered. All-in-all thoroughly unsatisfying.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book about New York’s high society, about disgustingly rich people that have a life full of money and nothingness . That are worrying 24/7 about their clothes, their jewelry, their swimming pool, their premarital settlements, their lawyers ,their ex wives . Why four stars? Because I read it in three hours and I HAD FUN!!!

[Madison Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a little skeptical when I first rented this book....I had just needed something to listen to while I was on my runs this week and this was one of the first books that popped up!

I'm thinking I would give this one 3.5 stars. I was expecting this to be a bit more of a mystery, but an easy and fun read about rich, New York socialites nonetheless.

I loved seeing everything come together in the last 10ish chapters. Would definitely recommend as a beach type read that does not need to be taken too seriously.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I selected this book because Barbara Rosenblat read it... and I have to say I almost sent it back to the library. I couldn't see where this book was going. A story about a girl from the mid-west marries a wealthy husband and 20 years later.. well I can't give away the book now can I?
If you can hang on to the last 1/4 of the book it gets pretty interesting.
Barbara of course reads is so well I had to listen to the end!

[Pooch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Witty approach to writing about money, murder, and high society

Light reading

Husband dies leaving money to seductress & murderer

wife prevails

social satire

[Dee-Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wicked ... was not sure if you felt sorry or glad for the main characters troubles, but was cheering in an evil way for the ending.

[Cobalt714 · Rating 1 out of 5]

When I downloaded this book on Audible, I thought I was getting a who-dunnit kind of crime novel - the solving of the murder of the wealthy old NYC somebody by his younger, married into society but still decent head on her shoulders wife - I was very wrong.

Yes, there is the death of a rich old man - there is an affair - there is the question of whether the death was an accident or by design - but mostly, there is a very long winded tale of bored, rich people who spend all their time trying to out-do each other and snub those that don't meet their snotty standards. There are no deep, interesting characters. There is no satisfying character arc for the MC.
Everyone is shallow, its dull, the end.

[wordgirly · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is rare to find a book that is 1) evenly paced that 2) keeps the momentum going and suspense building, featuring 3) complete characters behaving like human beings. Throw in 4) social scandal and 5) murderous thoughts and I am yours! This is one of the best novels of manners I have read. Deftly plotted and intelligent. Delicious!

[Shaelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to follow as I really loved much of this and I really disliked 1/3 of it and I'm still listening to the 2nd in this series One Dangerous Lady, which seems to be going the same as this one.

[Tiersa · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was awful. I could care less about this ladies rich people problems. I thought it was going to be more of a mystery. I didn't even want to finish it but I did.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because Barbara Rosenblat was the reader, and it wasn’t what I was expecting. I’d forgotten the 90s rich bitch novels, when the economy was so high one could imagine the rich shrugging off a loss of a few hundred thousand dollars and when unexamined privilege was still shocking. This book suffers from having no characters to like. The narrator, Jo, is somewhat sympathetic at the beginning, although clearly unreliable as, in this sort of fiction world, a younger woman is always out to
get Your Man and Jo refuses to recognize what’s going on. The plot is a bit sprawling and takes place over a long period of time, the author mimicking bits of French history to ineffectively skewer modern rich society. I believe the fact that there’s no one to like is the point, but it makes Jo’s later actions (like traveling to Paris when she hasn’t got money to burn, or being a bad employee) utterly sensible from a psychological perspective but still maddening. Some of my disappointment, of course, stems from expecting a mystery novel since this is a series and the Hoopla blurb mildly suggested a mystery, but I just don’t go for books where everyone is a jerk and we’re supposed to simultaneously be in awe of and dismissive of The Rich.

[Micheal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book.

I loved the story and how well it flowed. There wasn't a part, at least in my opinion, that caused the story to feel janky or confusing. The mystery aspect of this book is good but, after a certain point in the storyline, you figure what is going to happen. Nevertheless, it was fun to read and hard to put down.

The last 8 chapters are the best part and everything preceding chapter, IMO, leads up to those final moments of the story. I just realized there is another book following Jo and can't wait to read it.

[Katie Dillon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t know what I just read.. The premise was interesting, I just thought the story drug on for too long. I stopped rooting for the main character about a third into the book and just so desperately wanted her to give up. When the plot finally picked up and she started getting her revenge, it felt like an afterthought from the author rather than the focus of the book as advertised.

[Niki · Rating 1 out of 5]

read it a long ago, but it so sucked that i still remember it

[Shelley Ahmed · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars! I kind of enjoyed this one more than I thought I would but knowing what kind of book it is going into it helps. I listened on audio.

[Tracey Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fun. Social elites in Manhattan, always gossiping and backstabbing and hosting elaborate parties. Everyone has a secret. Nothing substantial here, just a fun read.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh what delicious reading! It's kind of difficult to pinpoint how un-put-down-able this novel was, because it's about a woman who isn't especially likeable, and no particular effort seems to have been made to make her more so, engaged in a series of plots and turns that are a bit unbelievable, silly, vacuous, stupendously stupid and just plain ridiculous.

But a good romping ride of a read it is, nonetheless! Jo Slater, our main gal, is a New York queen bee, having "married up" 20 years ago, to a very wealthy man much her senior, who is now in quite a fix. Her husband has turned up toes, and left the fortune meant for her to some eurotrash upstart who's only just arrived in town, as it were. And therein starts a battle between the Countess (the eurotrash upstart) and Jo... with Jo's descent rivalling a stone dropped from a balcony - more and more groan-out-loud turns are made, she makes a right royal mess of absolutely everything, hitting rock bottom in Hush Puppies.

Then she decides to get even. She wants her good name back. She wants her position in New York society back. And she wants her money back.

Great stuff! Don't expect a tale of morality, or even to feel that the right woman won in the end. It's not meant to be a grand tale of righteousness... just a good rollicking ride!

[Natalie Parsons · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was cringe worthy. The main character was shallow, whiny, and naive. All she cared about was money and she complained constantly when she didn't have it. But she wouldn't do anything about acquiring more. She lacked common sense when it come to her debts and money she lended out. She was obsessed about the countess but didn't really do anything about it until the very end when she took her fortune back.

It was frustrating her lack of inaction in everything especially when she fell on hard times. Go get a freaking job and move out of NYC. I didn't like how she felt a rich man would be the solution to her problems. Solve your own problems!

The book ending was ok. But it dragged on.

The only thing that made this book redeemable was Barbara Rosenblat reading it. She has excellent voice and it very talented. Without listening to her I would have scrapped the whole novel.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the reader who would like a glimpse of the social scene centered around the super wealthy of NYC, "Social Crimes" by Jane Stanton Hitchcock is the book for you. Money may not be able to buy one happiness or even true friends, but the sudden lack of it can definitely change a person just like the mindless pursuit of riches can bring out the worst in people. This book is absolutely fascinating! Well written, deftly plotted with well described and believable characters, it was hard to put down. I just had to know what Jo Slater was going to do next. I highly recommend "Social Crimes" and look forward to reading more by Ms. Hitchcock.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

TITLE/AUTHOR: SOCIAL CRIMES by Jane Stanton Hitchcock
RATING: 4/B
GENRE/PUB DATE/# OF CD'S: Fiction/2002/10 cd's
TIME/PLACE: 2000, NYC
CHARACTERS: Jo Slater/ NYC Socialite
COMMENTS: Barbara Rosenblatt did an outstanding job
& altho' I'm not crazy about revenge themes the narrator
kept me listening. Jo, marries an older wealthy man abd
lives the high life of a NYC socialite. After 20 years of
marriage he dies of a heart attack and leaves his 200 million to Monique, his mistress, leaving Jo almost penniless. Jo conives & strives her way back into the life that was hers.

[Z · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a cute satire on the wealthy Manhattan society. I enjoyed the ever changing journey of Mrs. Jo Slater. However, it did get redundant. Also, many aspects are ridiculous to believe. *Spoiler Alert* For example, I find it difficult to believe that someone whom had grown up poor wouldn't know how to save money when thrown back to that financial bracket. I also found it far fetched that her husband would change his will at the last second to give the majority of his fortune to his mistress.

[Blurb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a great book! Great evil female protagonists are hard to find (the others I can think of are The Bad Seed and Wideacre) and this book provides one of the best.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn't sure I was going to like this book, because the subject matter isn't one that I normally pick up. But the author was doing a local book signing, which put it front/center on the shelf of our local bookstore. Have to say that I enjoyed the plot twists and the absolute cunning that the writer gave to Jo. Definitely walked away not liking Nate Nathaniel, or as Jo says (paraphrased), 'my father taught me never to trust someone with two first names.' Hope I got that right.

[Windy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read a couple of other books by this author which I really enjoyed. I didn't like this one as much. I think that the author wanted the reader to sympathise with the narrator and hold her as some sort of heroine, however I found her irritating and churlish. Maybe reading a tale of turn of the millennium New York jet setters isn't best done in austerity ridden Britain!

[Shanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Social thrillers are usually right up my alley. However, this book is so hackneyed that I predicted the denouement 100 pages in. On top of that, the protagonist is unlikeable and petty, and it is hard to sympathize with her in any way. Hitchcock did capture the visciousness of the socially elite, but I didn't need an entire book to understand that concept.

[Ramora Reggianno · Rating 3 out of 5]

well written and humanizes an ultra-rich socialite as much as is possible I guess. The French history from which it draws some plot points and emotional weight is well done most of the time but gets a little weary when its clear the protagonist's only real personality trait is an obsession with a few decades of history in France.

[Alison · Rating 1 out of 5]

A novelist who blogs had this on her bookshelf (she blogged about what was on her shelf)so I checked it out. I could not get into it at all. It was cliched to the max. I don't know what I was thinking; I don't usually like books about rich society people anyway. Back to the library.

[Kathryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

The main character is TSTL and has no sense of self preservation. She's also nearly impossible to have any sympathy for. Why does she think she's Marie Antoinette?
The revenge takes way way too long to get started.

[Joya Cousin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting plot, but the downward spiral of unfortunate events dragged on too long. By the time things started turning in the protagonist's favor, I'd just wanted it to be over. A bit of savvy editing, would have made it much more enjoyable.