I like talking with readers and book clubs. I'm excited to be part of a new venture called Skolay, which matches readers with authors: skolay.com/writers/patti-mccracken
Born and raised in Virginia Beach, then moved to Clearwater, Fl. for high school. Youngest of six. Worked for newspapers and magazines before moving to Europe, where I lived for about two decades in an Austrian village on the Slovak border. I was a media trainer in the former Soviet bloc, the Balkans, the Caucasus, North Africa and SE Asia. Came back to the US in 2016. I live now on Martha's Vineyard.
This just wasn't for me. On paper it sounds fabulous, a secret sorority of poisoners, taking action against abusive husbands, but ultimately going too far. Yet my whole time reading it, I felt like I was missing something crucial. It's marketed as non-fiction true crime but reads like historical fiction, with endless focus on individuals' inner thoughts and sensations: things which couldn't possibly be cited in a historical source. I love historical fiction, I just like to know I'm reading it. The author has clearly taken note that readers like to be immersed in the 5 senses, but this book will drown you in detail, while somehow doing nothing to actually compel you.
I found this fascinating. Although it’s a fictional account it’s based on real life events in Hungary in the early 20th century.
Unlike Giulia Tofana, I didn’t warm to the main protagonist at all - she was painted as a pretty self-serving and unpleasant woman, doing what she did for personal gain rather than for benevolent purposes.
In fact most of the characters are painted as being rather odious and selfish.
However I thought it was well written and it made me want to find out more about the history of events.