Gilded Needles

Alluring and Simultaneously Repulsive Lefty To clear up an misconceptions pertaining to the book, I'm pressed to inform you it's more than well worth the read. However, the reason for the title to this review is the fact that while fragments or hints of wholesome characters exist within the story, most of the characters within are also far from perfect. A few could be considered a stygian sort in the context of Dante. In short, no one truly walks away unscathed, including the reader. This boo. "Highly entertaining novel of class and revenge with well rounded women characters" according to isecond. An upper class family, the Stallworths', neighborhood borders a lower class slum, where the Shanks family pursue their criminal enterprises. Each Stallworth uses or exploits the people of the slum to their own purposes, resulting in a scrumptious story of revenge. The feel of the novel is reminiscent of the socially conscious novels that predated the cold war - without the preachy part - describing the lives of upper, lower, and criminal class folks. C. Waters said I read this book TWICE!!. While i was reading this book the FIRST time? I realized quickly that the author did A LOT of research. My boyfriend grew up in New York - and vaguely heard of the "Bridge of Sighs", The Tombs, etc. They actually existed. So cool!He wrote in a way that made the reader not only interested in the characters - but actually quite comfortable with them. I was rooting for Lena Shanks, throughout this page turner.Maggie Kizer was portrayed in my opinion as

On a crusade to crush Lena's evil empire, the judge has sentenced three of her family members to death. The queen of this unsavory neighborhood is Black Lena Shanks, whose family leads a ring of female criminals - women skilled in the art of cruelty. One Sunday, all the Stallworths receive invitations - to their own funerals. Can even the wealth and power of the Stallworth family protect them from Lena's diabolical lust for vengeance? This first-ever republication of Michael McDowell's chilling classic of revenge features a new introduction by Christopher Fowler and cover art by Mike Mignola.. Only a few blocks away, amidst the elegant mansions and lily-white reputations of Gramercy Park and Washington Square, lives Judge James Stallworth. And now she wants revenge. Welcome to the Black Triangle, New York's decadent district of opium dens, gambling casinos, drunken sailors, gaudy hookers, and back-room abortions