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Reviewed by Grant Leishman for Readers' Favorite
The Bootlegger’s Bride by Rick Skwiot is a journey back to the often lawless, uncompromising streets of St Louis during prohibition. Narrated across two time periods from two different perspectives, the story follows a young son of Polish immigrants, Jan Nowak, as he seeks to find his place among the criminal elements that rule St Louis’ streets. When he meets a shy, beautiful young librarian, Hazel Robinson, sparks are immediate and so begins a relationship that will set the scene for the future. When Jan is killed during World War II and Hazel falls apart mentally, begins drinking heavily, and carousing with men, it is Jan and Hazel’s son, AJ Nowak, who must piece together his mother’s untimely death, as well as a murder committed decades ago with both bodies coincidentally found below the ice of Long Lake.
The Bootlegger’s Bride is a fascinating journey through the social history of the Depression, the Second World War, the post-war euphoria, the Korean conflict, and finally Vietnam. Author Rick Skwiot has drawn upon his Polish heritage to root this tale in the immigrant Polish communities of St Louis but realistically this could be set in any poor immigrant community of the era and still be relevant. In these times of anti-immigrant sentiment, this type of story reminds us that immigrants are the backbone of the United States. Amongst any immigrant wave, there will be those who cross the lines of morality and legality but there are many more hard-working, honest immigrant families seeking to adopt the “American dream” with gusto and commitment. The story is beautifully layered across two time periods and two sets of protagonists. I particularly appreciated the attention the author gave to scene setting and character building. This gives the narrative the depth that it needs. I enjoyed the moral question being posed for AJ; deciding whether he should avenge his mother’s death or walk away and move forward. This is a fantastic read about family, love, honor, and treachery that I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend.
