It’s a true crime story about murder and illegal gambling in my home town of Erie. Not many books are set in Erie so it’s kind of cool to know where all the action is taking place. I love the quote from the preface that begins “From the professions . . .” When my mom was about six or seven, long in Columbus, Ohio, her mom and grandparents used to play the numbers. My mom would run down to the neighbor’s house with some change or a dollar and give the numbers to Ruthie Heider’s mother (I guess she was the “bookie”!). I’ve always teased my mom about her “criminal” past, which she’s always maintained was just innocent fun (haha!) but when I read her this passage she was doubled up laughing. Not so innocent now, huh?! Apparently Ruthie Heider later became a nun.
