Divided Lives by K.R. Mullins – Review by Tara Johnson Barnes

Divided Lives by K.R. Mullins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Lottie Flannigan is a young lady living and working in New York City in the year 1912. During the day she maintains a professional appearance while working as a legal clerk for a local law firm in Midtown. Her personal life while living in Greenwich Village is very different from that of her professional life. During her time away from her Conservative job in Midtown, Lottie maintains a Bohemian lifestyle in Greenwich Village where the traditional values of Midtown are rejected.

Lottie can keep her two lives separate until they suddenly collide when she starts working on a high-profile criminal case that involves a local police officer, Charles Becker. Lottie finds herself being blackmailed and risks her personal life being exposed if she does not do what the blackmailers say. Lottie is uncertain as to who she can trust and must risk everything to expose the truth behind who is blackmailing her.

I loved how the author so seamlessly blended fact and fiction together by intertwining the character of young Lottie into a real-life high profile criminal case that occurred in New York City in the year 1912. Lottie is independent, strong, persistent, and determined to get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding who is blackmailing her. Lottie as the niece of Emma from the Notebook Mystery Series, is a lot like her aunt, who makes appearances throughout the book. The author did a wonderful job of blending in topics that were taboo in that time such as exploring one’s sexuality, and the women’s suffrage movement. This book contained mystery, suspense, blackmail, romance, and some steamy sex scenes. A must read for anyone interested in historical crime.

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