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The Four Wives and Five Deaths of Richard Milford
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Expected 13 Oct 26Win a free print copy of this book!
24 days and 14:22:54
5 copies available
U.S. only
From the author of the multi-award-winning, National Book Award–longlisted, “vivid, fast, funny, way-smart, and verbally inventive” (George Saunders) story collection Heads of the Colored People, comes a sly, spry, tall tale of a debut novel about the murder of an infamous moonshiner and the cacophony of true stories a small town can tell about itself.
Rich Milford is dead. At last.
We find ourselves in Oklahoma, just far enough out of Tulsa, just long enough after the Massacre of 1921. For as long as anyone can remember, the Milfords have led plentiful lives on the backs of the townspeople of Newville. Now, on the ominous brink of the Great Depression and at the height of Prohibition, Richard Milford is an infamous moonshiner and womanizer and, it seems, finally crossed the wrong person at the wrong time. He’s dead and buried with no one but his women to mourn him but a question who killed him, and why?
Top suspects are his four “wives,” Lally, Sophronia, Georgette, and Vivianne. But as their stories burst to light in a volley of competing narratives, the very idea of a true story comes apart before our eyes.
In an electric follow-up to her beloved and critically acclaimed debut collection, Nafissa Thompson-Spires once again serves up a brilliant distillation of front-of-mind happenings—think, cults of personality, capitalism run amok in politics, and rampant societal distrust—this time magicked into taut historical fiction structured as a stupefying line dance. In her uniquely powerful, humorous manner, Thompson-Spires takes on the interdependent clash of the traditional and the new-fangled in this genre-bending, gob-smackingly excellent debut.
Rich Milford is dead. At last.
We find ourselves in Oklahoma, just far enough out of Tulsa, just long enough after the Massacre of 1921. For as long as anyone can remember, the Milfords have led plentiful lives on the backs of the townspeople of Newville. Now, on the ominous brink of the Great Depression and at the height of Prohibition, Richard Milford is an infamous moonshiner and womanizer and, it seems, finally crossed the wrong person at the wrong time. He’s dead and buried with no one but his women to mourn him but a question who killed him, and why?
Top suspects are his four “wives,” Lally, Sophronia, Georgette, and Vivianne. But as their stories burst to light in a volley of competing narratives, the very idea of a true story comes apart before our eyes.
In an electric follow-up to her beloved and critically acclaimed debut collection, Nafissa Thompson-Spires once again serves up a brilliant distillation of front-of-mind happenings—think, cults of personality, capitalism run amok in politics, and rampant societal distrust—this time magicked into taut historical fiction structured as a stupefying line dance. In her uniquely powerful, humorous manner, Thompson-Spires takes on the interdependent clash of the traditional and the new-fangled in this genre-bending, gob-smackingly excellent debut.
176 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication October 13, 2026
About the author
Nafissa Thompson-Spires
7 books442 followersNafissa Thompson-Spires earned a doctorate in English from Vanderbilt University and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Illinois. Her work has appeared in Story Quarterly, Lunch Ticket, and The Feminist Wire, among other publications. She was a 2016 fellow of the Callaloo Writer’s Workshop.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
full review tk closer to pub day but this was a powerfully multifaceted novel despite being so short!
——
i’ve been meaning to read this, and it’s such a quick read, so time to dive in!
a man is dead and his four wives are suspected…
——
i’ve been meaning to read this, and it’s such a quick read, so time to dive in!
a man is dead and his four wives are suspected…
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I went into this expecting a straightforward historical mystery, but that’s not really what this book is, and honestly, I’m glad. It’s more like a chorus of voices all trying to tell their version of the truth, and somewhere in the middle of all that noise is the story of Rich Milford and the town that had every reason to want him gone.
Set in Oklahoma during Prohibition, the book builds around the death of this notorious moonshiner who clearly made a lot of enemies. On paper, it sounds simple: figure out who killed him. But the story quickly turns into something bigger, especially once his four “wives” start sharing their perspectives. Each woman brings her own version of events, and none of them line up neatly. It keeps you guessing, but not in a typical whodunit way.
What I really liked was how the writing captured the feeling of a small town holding onto secrets. There’s history in the background, especially with the shadow of the 1921 Tulsa Massacre, and you can feel how that tension lingers in the community. It adds weight to everything without the book feeling heavy handed.
The storytelling style is where this one might lose some people. It jumps between voices and timelines, and at times it feels intentionally chaotic. There were moments where I had to slow down and really pay attention to who was speaking and what was actually being said. It’s clever, but it can get a little overwhelming.
That said, I appreciated what the author was doing. The whole idea that truth isn’t one clean, simple thing really comes through. Everyone has their own angle, their own bias, and their own reason for telling the story the way they do. It made the reading experience feel more interactive, like I had to piece things together myself.
While it’s not the easiest read, it’s smart, original, and definitely memorable. If you like stories that play with structure and make you work a little for the payoff, this one is for you.
Thanks Netgalley and Scribner for the ARC and opportunity to provide an honest review.
Set in Oklahoma during Prohibition, the book builds around the death of this notorious moonshiner who clearly made a lot of enemies. On paper, it sounds simple: figure out who killed him. But the story quickly turns into something bigger, especially once his four “wives” start sharing their perspectives. Each woman brings her own version of events, and none of them line up neatly. It keeps you guessing, but not in a typical whodunit way.
What I really liked was how the writing captured the feeling of a small town holding onto secrets. There’s history in the background, especially with the shadow of the 1921 Tulsa Massacre, and you can feel how that tension lingers in the community. It adds weight to everything without the book feeling heavy handed.
The storytelling style is where this one might lose some people. It jumps between voices and timelines, and at times it feels intentionally chaotic. There were moments where I had to slow down and really pay attention to who was speaking and what was actually being said. It’s clever, but it can get a little overwhelming.
That said, I appreciated what the author was doing. The whole idea that truth isn’t one clean, simple thing really comes through. Everyone has their own angle, their own bias, and their own reason for telling the story the way they do. It made the reading experience feel more interactive, like I had to piece things together myself.
While it’s not the easiest read, it’s smart, original, and definitely memorable. If you like stories that play with structure and make you work a little for the payoff, this one is for you.
Thanks Netgalley and Scribner for the ARC and opportunity to provide an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
*Review of advance copy received from NetGalley*
Rounded Average: 3.75⭐️
Characters: 4⭐️
Setting: 4⭐️
Plot: 3⭐️
Themes: 3⭐️
Emotional Impact: 3⭐️
Personal Enjoyment: 4⭐️
This short story follows the Milford family, whose uncommon dynamic is driven by Richard's desire to have many children. When he's murdered, the narrative explores the difficultly of divulging truth using the perspectives of his four "wives." The discrepancies between each woman's account of what led to Richard's death highlights how easily truth becomes distorted.
Set in early 20th century Oklahoma, the author's writing style makes the world feel real and live-in. Racial tension grounds the story in the time period, while the addition of Black cultural elements adds depth to the setting.
Each wife has her own motivations, and the multi-POV format provides a well-rounded understanding of how the family operates. These differing views highlight the fact that reality is blurred by individual perspective; while one wife sees herself as the head of the family, another views her as overbearing and arrogant.
The plot was simple and, while the premise was intriguing, the length of the story limits the development of the plot. My greatest complaint (also possibly the story's greatest compliment) is that I wish it was longer. I was very compelled by the setting and characters and would have loved to see the story extended to a longer format with a more developed plot to match.
Given my enjoyment of Thompson-Spires' writing style, I will definitely be looking into longer-form books by this author.
Rounded Average: 3.75⭐️
Characters: 4⭐️
Setting: 4⭐️
Plot: 3⭐️
Themes: 3⭐️
Emotional Impact: 3⭐️
Personal Enjoyment: 4⭐️
This short story follows the Milford family, whose uncommon dynamic is driven by Richard's desire to have many children. When he's murdered, the narrative explores the difficultly of divulging truth using the perspectives of his four "wives." The discrepancies between each woman's account of what led to Richard's death highlights how easily truth becomes distorted.
Set in early 20th century Oklahoma, the author's writing style makes the world feel real and live-in. Racial tension grounds the story in the time period, while the addition of Black cultural elements adds depth to the setting.
Each wife has her own motivations, and the multi-POV format provides a well-rounded understanding of how the family operates. These differing views highlight the fact that reality is blurred by individual perspective; while one wife sees herself as the head of the family, another views her as overbearing and arrogant.
The plot was simple and, while the premise was intriguing, the length of the story limits the development of the plot. My greatest complaint (also possibly the story's greatest compliment) is that I wish it was longer. I was very compelled by the setting and characters and would have loved to see the story extended to a longer format with a more developed plot to match.
Given my enjoyment of Thompson-Spires' writing style, I will definitely be looking into longer-form books by this author.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I usually get nervous when a literary novel starts with a murder, since it can seem like an easy way to create drama: just add a dead body, a few suspects, boom, suddenly there’s a plot. But The Four Wives and Five Deaths of Richard Milford doesn’t fall into that trap. Rich Milford is of course dead, and almost everyone had a reason to want him gone, but this book isn’t really about solving the crime. The murder draws you in, but it’s not the main focus. What stood out to me was the writing, especially in the Newville sections, which move so quickly they feel like the whole town is speaking at once. Newville’s voice is part gossip column, part Greek chorus, part civic archive, and part group of people all interrupting each other to tell their version of the story. Brilliant!
At just 176 pages, this book is the perfect length: quick to read, but packed with enough detail to make you feel like you’ve experienced an entire town. What makes the novel special is how it makes Rich’s death matter to more than just him. It’s really a story about post-Tulsa Oklahoma, an all-Black town trying to find its identity and stay safe, and how respectability can be a way to survive. It’s also about the stories people tell when the truth is too risky or complicated to share openly. The characters are vivid, the voices are sharp, and the whole book is strange, funny, grotesque, and full of life. It’s a murder mystery that cares more about memory, myth, and how a community survives than about finding out who did it.
At just 176 pages, this book is the perfect length: quick to read, but packed with enough detail to make you feel like you’ve experienced an entire town. What makes the novel special is how it makes Rich’s death matter to more than just him. It’s really a story about post-Tulsa Oklahoma, an all-Black town trying to find its identity and stay safe, and how respectability can be a way to survive. It’s also about the stories people tell when the truth is too risky or complicated to share openly. The characters are vivid, the voices are sharp, and the whole book is strange, funny, grotesque, and full of life. It’s a murder mystery that cares more about memory, myth, and how a community survives than about finding out who did it.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This is Nafissa Thompson-Spires’ debut novel.
Richard Aloysius Milford bobbed up in his own gorge like the world’s most overcommitted corpse. Gangrenous, one foot gone AWOL, bullet in the chest, enough alcoholic poison to open a Prohibition speakeasy.
Five deaths. One body.
And the whole town quietly high fiving behind the church.
In the dusty all black fictional settlement in Oklahoma still haunted by the 1921 Tulsa Massacre, notorious moonshiner, serial philanderer, and professional family headache Richard Milford is finally, spectacularly dead. Only his four wives Lally, Sophronia, Georgette and Vivianne stand at the grave, side-eyeing one another.
Everyone else had motive, means and a suspiciously airtight alibi. Now the fab four must speak. Each voice contradicting the last, each revelation darker, funnier, and more damning than the one before.
As their stories slam together across decades of betrayal, shady moonshine deals and inherited trauma, the real question isn’t just who killed the old rascal. It’s whose version of the truth will actually survive the night.
A razor sharp, polyphonic literary thriller pulsing with dark wit, this is small town murder at its most treacherous.
**I would like to express my gratitude to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read this gifted ebook in exchange for an honest review. #ARC #NetGalley
#4Wives5Deaths
Richard Aloysius Milford bobbed up in his own gorge like the world’s most overcommitted corpse. Gangrenous, one foot gone AWOL, bullet in the chest, enough alcoholic poison to open a Prohibition speakeasy.
Five deaths. One body.
And the whole town quietly high fiving behind the church.
In the dusty all black fictional settlement in Oklahoma still haunted by the 1921 Tulsa Massacre, notorious moonshiner, serial philanderer, and professional family headache Richard Milford is finally, spectacularly dead. Only his four wives Lally, Sophronia, Georgette and Vivianne stand at the grave, side-eyeing one another.
Everyone else had motive, means and a suspiciously airtight alibi. Now the fab four must speak. Each voice contradicting the last, each revelation darker, funnier, and more damning than the one before.
As their stories slam together across decades of betrayal, shady moonshine deals and inherited trauma, the real question isn’t just who killed the old rascal. It’s whose version of the truth will actually survive the night.
A razor sharp, polyphonic literary thriller pulsing with dark wit, this is small town murder at its most treacherous.
**I would like to express my gratitude to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read this gifted ebook in exchange for an honest review. #ARC #NetGalley
#4Wives5Deaths
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you Netgalley for an advanced copy of this interesting read! This book was about a man named Rich who had four wives named Lally, Sophronia, Georgette, and Vivianne. Alongside his wives he had a surplus of wealth and a town full of enemies. At first I didn't know where this book was going. The writing style in my opinion was complex and my mind wanted to like settle and ready for "deepness" but this story was simply comical to me. I enjoyed how the author did her own rendition of a " who dun it" situation as I had never seen it done this way in a book before and I enjoyed it. The book did seem a little rushed and the deep undertone of wording wasn't necessary to me for how "light" the story truly was. It's a book I don't know how to describe without giving up important details. You do have different themes going mixed with a slight hint of racial tension but overall for a short read it was okay. Rich had so many problems that were told so fast I kind of felt like the book ended before I could really relate or sink into any of the characters.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you NetGalley and Scribner for the Advanced Reader's Copy!
Available October 2026.
Hilarious and deadly is what comes to mind when I read Nafissa Thompson-Spires' debut novel The Four Wives and Five Deaths of Richard Milford. Set in Newville, OK, an offshoot of Black Wall Street in Tulsa, the novel tries to unravel the mysterious death of local, wealthy polygamist Rich Milford. Bit by bit we learn about Rich's unsavory past, his wives' unwitting journey to the cult, and rhe town's history. Thompson-Spires brings each different voice to life with her signature dry humor and depth of research. I felt myself being drawn not only to each wife, but to the town itself and would love to read more!
Available October 2026.
Hilarious and deadly is what comes to mind when I read Nafissa Thompson-Spires' debut novel The Four Wives and Five Deaths of Richard Milford. Set in Newville, OK, an offshoot of Black Wall Street in Tulsa, the novel tries to unravel the mysterious death of local, wealthy polygamist Rich Milford. Bit by bit we learn about Rich's unsavory past, his wives' unwitting journey to the cult, and rhe town's history. Thompson-Spires brings each different voice to life with her signature dry humor and depth of research. I felt myself being drawn not only to each wife, but to the town itself and would love to read more!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I received an ARC of this book.Four Wives and Five Deaths…is writing reminiscent of Earnest Gaines, spare and compact. This is a story of lies, betrayal, hurt, loneliness, bitterness, anger and desperation – seemingly the universal story of women. The narrative style is warm and approachable drawing the reader in as if we had been away visiting and are now back to hear the news. This is an amazing debut, worthy of all awards!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
(Note: I received an advanced reader copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley)
What a ride! Multiple perspectives both clash and build upon one another in what I found to be a darkly comedic narrative that flies on by in a riveting gallop. Thompson-Spires' debut novel is a clever triumph, and I am very excited to see what else her creativity will produce.
What a ride! Multiple perspectives both clash and build upon one another in what I found to be a darkly comedic narrative that flies on by in a riveting gallop. Thompson-Spires' debut novel is a clever triumph, and I am very excited to see what else her creativity will produce.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Who wanted Rich Milford dead? The simpler question is, who didn't? We get a recounting of the day Rich died through the lense of each of the women in his life, his four wives and his housekeeper. Each account followed by the gossip narrative you can expect from a small town.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
This might be a perfect book
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April 20, 2026Reading for work, not currently rating (but very much enjoyed!)
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Despite the deceptively simple plot, who killed the very disliked Richard Milford and why, this work unfolds through multiple, competing, but not necessarily conflicting testimonies. The central premise is that there is no single truth; by implication, everyone is guilty, because justification boils down to shifting memory. This one is for anyone who believes murder is a lens for unraveling communal storytelling. Thank you, Scribner, for the ARC copy!!!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews