New York in the Roaring Twenties—a riveting true-crime novel, based on one of the most notorious unsolved murders of the era, where power, politics, and secrets conspire to bury the truth.
Manhattan, 1923. Scandalous flapper Dot King is found dead in her Midtown apartment, a bottle of chloroform beside her and a fortune in jewels missing. Dot’s headline-making murder grips the city. It also draws a clutch of lovers, parasites, and justice seekers into one of the city’s most mesmerizing mysteries.
Among them: Daily News crime reporter Julia Harpman, chasing the story while navigating a male-dominated industry; righteous NYPD detective John D. Coughlin, struggling against city corruption; and Ella Bradford, the victim’s Harlem maid, closest confidante, and keeper of secrets. Adding fuel to the already volatile crime: a politically connected Philadelphia socialite, an Atlantic City bootlegger, Dot’s dicey gigolo lover, a sultry Broadway dancer, and a cagey sugar daddy guarding secrets of his own.
From Broadway’s glittering lights to its sordid underbelly to the machinations of the country’s most powerful men, Julia embarks on a quest for justice. What she discovers, twist after breathtaking twist, might be even more nefarious than murder.
Genre: Historical Mystery
Manhattan, 1923. Scandalous flapper Dot King is found dead in her Midtown apartment, a bottle of chloroform beside her and a fortune in jewels missing. Dot’s headline-making murder grips the city. It also draws a clutch of lovers, parasites, and justice seekers into one of the city’s most mesmerizing mysteries.
Among them: Daily News crime reporter Julia Harpman, chasing the story while navigating a male-dominated industry; righteous NYPD detective John D. Coughlin, struggling against city corruption; and Ella Bradford, the victim’s Harlem maid, closest confidante, and keeper of secrets. Adding fuel to the already volatile crime: a politically connected Philadelphia socialite, an Atlantic City bootlegger, Dot’s dicey gigolo lover, a sultry Broadway dancer, and a cagey sugar daddy guarding secrets of his own.
From Broadway’s glittering lights to its sordid underbelly to the machinations of the country’s most powerful men, Julia embarks on a quest for justice. What she discovers, twist after breathtaking twist, might be even more nefarious than murder.
Genre: Historical Mystery
Praise for this book
"Sara DiVello's Broadway Butterfly is a hypnotic thriller with characters you won't soon forget wrapped up in a mystery that is as complexingly seductive as the glitz-and-glam era it takes place in. You will be rooted in your seat until you hit 'The End'." - Yasmin Angoe
"1920s Manhattan. A dead party girl. A list of suspects worthy of a killer game of Clue. Yes, please. Broadway Butterfly is the cat's pajamas. What a ride!" - Tracy Clark
"Sara Divello has written a vibrant, interesting, and exciting mystery that embodies the best of the hedonistic time in which it's set. Fantastic work." - S A Cosby
"A rip-roaring historical mystery with a true crime at its heart, Broadway Butterfly captures both the seedy underbelly and the glamour of New York in the 1920s - flappers and murderers and plots and gangsters and intrepid reporters and gruff detectives abound - and provides a pitch-perfect whodunit. DiVello's impeccable research and depiction of crimes and morality in Jazz Age New York will delight true-crime fans. Don't miss this!" - J T Ellison
"Glamour and greed collide in this whip-smart mystery set against the glittering backdrop of 1920s New York. The characters had me hooked. The incredible twists and turns kept me racing back for more." - Lisa Gardner
"Broadway Butterfly reads like an edge-of-your-seat movie. This impressively researched, fascinating true-murder story will have readers guessing and re-guessing on every page." - Lisa Genova
"Richly imagined and impeccably researched, Broadway Butterfly instantly transported me to another place and time. Sara DiVello revisits the glory and hardships of being a woman during the Roaring Twenties in this smart, enthralling story of obsession, scandal, and murder. With Broadway Butterfly, DiVello has proved herself a refreshing, exciting new voice in crime fiction. I'm a fan for life." - Heather Gudenkauf
"Corruption and secrets collide in this roller coaster of a read that reminds us truth is stranger than fiction. I was fully immersed in learning about one of the most infamous crimes of the century, which illustrates that the struggle for power and privilege - those who have it, those who want it, and those who would kill to keep it - is eternal." - Sally Hepworth
"DiVello's blisteringly immersive investigation of an unsolved 1923 murder doesn't just make for high-octane catnip for any true-crime reader; it also bends and transcends the genre for a read as gripping as a page-turning novel and as thrilling, cinematic, and full of mind-boggling wonder as a big-screen blockbuster. About injustice and justice, and murder and passion, all set against the loudly Roaring Twenties and the reign of the worst president America might ever have had, this who- and why-dunit should come with a warning label: buy extra press-on nails because you're not going to be able to stop biting yours." - Caroline Leavitt
"Calling all Hitchcock fans, Sara DiVello takes you into the gritty noir underworld of 1920s Manhattan with a page-turning glimpse into a real-life murder. I raced through the retelling of the investigation while trying to stay one step ahead in solving the crime." - Isabella Maldonado
"Sara DiVello is a wonderful and oh-so-talented new voice in true-crime fiction! Her spellbinding Broadway Butterfly - Gatsby meets Ragtime - is completely entertaining, with its jazz babies and gigolos, high-society galas and gritty newsrooms, tough cops and fast-talking criminals. Impeccably (and impressively) researched and ingeniously written, it's as cinematic and riveting as a classic film, where vibrant and passionate characters and their fascinating settings come to life - and history becomes even more compelling. This mix of true crime and stylish voice is simply terrific storytelling. I devoured it." - Hank Phillippi Ryan
"Sara DiVello transports us to a glitzy, glamorous, and dangerous 1920s New York City in this pacy, twisting mystery. Through her layered, intriguing cast of characters, DiVello boldly takes on issues of class, gender, race, and corruption, while ratcheting up the tension page after gripping page. Broadway Butterfly is classic noir suspense with a beating heart, and DiVello is a writer to watch." - Lisa Unger
"1920s Manhattan. A dead party girl. A list of suspects worthy of a killer game of Clue. Yes, please. Broadway Butterfly is the cat's pajamas. What a ride!" - Tracy Clark
"Sara Divello has written a vibrant, interesting, and exciting mystery that embodies the best of the hedonistic time in which it's set. Fantastic work." - S A Cosby
"A rip-roaring historical mystery with a true crime at its heart, Broadway Butterfly captures both the seedy underbelly and the glamour of New York in the 1920s - flappers and murderers and plots and gangsters and intrepid reporters and gruff detectives abound - and provides a pitch-perfect whodunit. DiVello's impeccable research and depiction of crimes and morality in Jazz Age New York will delight true-crime fans. Don't miss this!" - J T Ellison
"Glamour and greed collide in this whip-smart mystery set against the glittering backdrop of 1920s New York. The characters had me hooked. The incredible twists and turns kept me racing back for more." - Lisa Gardner
"Broadway Butterfly reads like an edge-of-your-seat movie. This impressively researched, fascinating true-murder story will have readers guessing and re-guessing on every page." - Lisa Genova
"Richly imagined and impeccably researched, Broadway Butterfly instantly transported me to another place and time. Sara DiVello revisits the glory and hardships of being a woman during the Roaring Twenties in this smart, enthralling story of obsession, scandal, and murder. With Broadway Butterfly, DiVello has proved herself a refreshing, exciting new voice in crime fiction. I'm a fan for life." - Heather Gudenkauf
"Corruption and secrets collide in this roller coaster of a read that reminds us truth is stranger than fiction. I was fully immersed in learning about one of the most infamous crimes of the century, which illustrates that the struggle for power and privilege - those who have it, those who want it, and those who would kill to keep it - is eternal." - Sally Hepworth
"DiVello's blisteringly immersive investigation of an unsolved 1923 murder doesn't just make for high-octane catnip for any true-crime reader; it also bends and transcends the genre for a read as gripping as a page-turning novel and as thrilling, cinematic, and full of mind-boggling wonder as a big-screen blockbuster. About injustice and justice, and murder and passion, all set against the loudly Roaring Twenties and the reign of the worst president America might ever have had, this who- and why-dunit should come with a warning label: buy extra press-on nails because you're not going to be able to stop biting yours." - Caroline Leavitt
"Calling all Hitchcock fans, Sara DiVello takes you into the gritty noir underworld of 1920s Manhattan with a page-turning glimpse into a real-life murder. I raced through the retelling of the investigation while trying to stay one step ahead in solving the crime." - Isabella Maldonado
"Sara DiVello is a wonderful and oh-so-talented new voice in true-crime fiction! Her spellbinding Broadway Butterfly - Gatsby meets Ragtime - is completely entertaining, with its jazz babies and gigolos, high-society galas and gritty newsrooms, tough cops and fast-talking criminals. Impeccably (and impressively) researched and ingeniously written, it's as cinematic and riveting as a classic film, where vibrant and passionate characters and their fascinating settings come to life - and history becomes even more compelling. This mix of true crime and stylish voice is simply terrific storytelling. I devoured it." - Hank Phillippi Ryan
"Sara DiVello transports us to a glitzy, glamorous, and dangerous 1920s New York City in this pacy, twisting mystery. Through her layered, intriguing cast of characters, DiVello boldly takes on issues of class, gender, race, and corruption, while ratcheting up the tension page after gripping page. Broadway Butterfly is classic noir suspense with a beating heart, and DiVello is a writer to watch." - Lisa Unger
Visitors also looked at these books
Used availability for Sara DiVello's Broadway Butterfly