The Ghosts of Eden Park (by Karen Abbott)
I don’t recall how The Ghosts of Eden Park by Karen Abbott got on my radar. Probably from a social media outlet or one of the many bookish emails arrive to my inbox daily. I was intrigued by the book as I enjoy true crime stories.
George Remus leaves his law practice to bootleg whiskey. He becomes rather wealthy and famous during the early 1920’s. He and his second wife, Imogene, live in a lavish mansion in Cincinnati, Ohio. They host extravagant parties and hand out party favors of diamonds and new cars.
Rare for this time period, a woman, Mabel Willebrandt, is the federal prosecutor assigned to demolish George Remus and his empire of bootlegged whiskey. She assigns experienced investigator, Franklin Dodge, to work the case with her. Quickly enough, Remus is federally incarcerated for violating the Volstead Act. As most criminals learn, there is no loyalty among the players in the criminal lifestyle. Remus’ wife, Imogene, drifts away and communication between the two rapidly declines. Ironically, Imogene and Doge begin an affair and plot to destroy Remus. Tension and rage escalate between the three, and naturally someone ends up murdered.
While I can identify a lot of strengths for this book, it was just okay for me. Bootlegging is not a crime that interests me very much. I have a low tolerance for criminals who are narcissistic and think they are invincible. Remus’ grandiose behavior was nauseating, especially in the beginning of the story. With that being said, the book is very well written and extensively researched. Remus called Cincinnati his home, so I enjoyed learning about the city and surrounding areas where he engaged in his criminal business. I liked the historical Jazz Age setting of the story too. The book closed nicely with a description of how the remaining people lived out the rest of their lives.
I borrowed the audiobook from the Libby app. Narrator, Rob Shapiro, was the voice for the portions of the story that pertained to Remus and Dodge. When the story was told from the perspective of Willebrandt, narrator Cassandra Campbell was her voice. Both are top notch narrators.
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