Relative Fortunes

A Julia Kydd Novel, Book 1

By: Marlowe Benn

Narrated by: Sarah Zimmerman

Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

In 1920s New York, the price of a woman’s independence can be exorbitant - even fatal.

In 1924 Manhattan, women’s suffrage is old news. For sophisticated booklover Julia Kydd, life’s too short for politics. With her cropped hair and penchant for independent living, Julia wants only to publish books under her own imprint. But as a woman, Julia must fight for what’s hers - including the inheritance her estranged half brother, Philip, has challenged, putting her aspirations in jeopardy.

When her friend’s sister, Naomi Rankin, dies suddenly of an apparent suicide, Julia is shocked at the wealthy family’s indifference toward the ardent suffragist’s death. Naomi chose poverty and hardship over a submissive marriage and a husband’s control of her money. Now, her death suggests the struggle was more than she could bear.

Julia, however, is skeptical. Doubtful of her suspicions, Philip proposes a glib wager: if Julia can prove Naomi was in fact murdered, he’ll drop his claims to her wealth. Julia soon discovers Naomi’s life was as turbulent and enigmatic as her death. And as she gets closer to the truth, Julia sees there’s much more at stake than her inheritance....

©2019 by Margaret L. Benton. (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“[A] stylish debut... The author effectively shows the casual discrimination against women at the time. Benn is off to a promising start.” --Publishers Weekly

“Set in the 1920s and framed by the quest for women’s rights and details about publishing and printing, this satisfying historical mystery includes a smart, feisty heroine and numerous plot twists.” --Booklist

“Fans of Agatha Christie novels will love this clever murder mystery, with a cast of suspects to keep readers guessing. Julia Kydd’s endeavour is entertaining and engaging to the end.” --Gemma Liviero, international bestselling author of historical fiction

Excellent couldn't stop listening till the very end!! Thank you!

Excellent!!! More books please!! My eyes are going slowly so I have o been able to read as I love to , so this audible was a grand adventure for me!!

Well..........

Story is ok but the direction a bit hard to keep track of. The voice of the narrator was wimpy and irritating at best. She showed very little appropriate inflection and absolutely no differentiation in characters. Verbal emotion was consistently flat.

Recommendation....meh

Unexpected delight!

This audiobook - with excellent narration by Sarah Zimmerman - was something I had forgotten that I pre-ordered. So glad it landed on my list! It is very well written, with thoughtful details of the politics and the emotions of the time smoothly woven into the fabric of the story. Ms. Benn's main character, Julia, is urbane, intelligent, and a beautifully created character who questions her own education, status, and desires in ways that are plausible and insightful. It was a delightful read and I look forward to pre-ordering the next book in the series.

Read before Passing Fansies

Story was good. I wish I would have read this book first. Explains a lot about the family dynamics.

More, please!

Benn 's first of what I hope are many more Julia adventures was such fresh fodder. This author has two jobs: 1)write the third Julia Kydd (4th, 5th...+?) and 2) tell her publisher or the writing interns at Kindle to write better synopses, because these books are so much more than, well, their covers.

Christie Fans should like this

This is a good Agatha Christie type murder mystery. If you like her, you should like this.

Covers the realities of the lack of rights and perceptions of women in that era.

Overall, a good story well describing the realities of what women of that era had to face regarding their own personal freedoms (post the right to vote but before ERA passed). I would have rated it a 4 in all categories but parts of the story just dragged out a bit too long for me. Still an enjoyable read- I learned quite a lot from it.

Women unite

This was an excellent story that touch many of the struggles that women had in the nineteenth century. Even with the approval of the vote women were still experiencing difficulties in politics and their families. Julia Kydd was a 24-years-old young socialite who lived an independent and sexual liberated life. She arrived in New York seventeen days before her 25th birthday at which time she would receive her inheritance. What she discovers is the machinations of her brother to withhold what was rightfully hers and that she was powerless to oppose him.

Julia was pulled into the family drama of her friend Glennis. Glennis is seeking marriage for security and to get her inheritance. More immediately, Glennis needs Julia’s help in discovering who killed her sister Naomi.

Naomi epitomizes the struggles of the 19th century woman. She fought for the women’s right to vote and operated a women’s shelter much to the chagrin of her family. She was from a wealthy family with a considerable inheritance controlled by her brother. Her family referred to her as poor old Naomi, crazy Naomi or difficult Naomi. She was forced to live in abject poverty because her brother did not approve of her life-style. Her family wanted a quick and quite resolution to her death while Glennis felt that something sinister happened to her sister and she wanted the truth. Be damn if the truth embarrassed the family. Julia became involved as a friend to support Glennis then as an option to secure her inheritance.

It is a wonderful story with great character development of Julia and Glennis. They began as innocence young ladies each on a different trajectory for independence. Glennis through marriage and Julia owning her publishing business. Naomi’s death forces them to face the harsh truth about their place in a male dominated society.

Unexpected Delight!

I purchased this because I love both mysteries and historical fiction, but had never heard of the author, so wasn’t sure what to expect. Well written, with an engaging heroine and accurate period detail for this story set in 1920s era NYC. Hope this is the start of a series!

concept good but components need work

Would not bother unless you can borrow from library and I hope the author improves over each effort.