I'm a fan of Edna Ferber so this was catnip for me. Ifkovic envisions her solving mysteries in Chicago and dealing with her mother. It's an entertaining read.

Old News by Ed Ifkovic started out well. The author does a great job of setting the scene in a Jewish neighborhood of 1920s Chicago. He does a wonderful job of conveying the atmosphere of a hot and sultry summer in the city.

Edna and her financially dependent and somewhat resentful mother are visiting friends in their old neighborhood. Fifteen years earlier a scandal had occurred when the beautiful Leah was convicted of stabbing her husband to death and sent to an institution for the insane, leaving her sister Sarah to care for the children.

When she is released, deemed to no longer be a danger to anyone, she finds she has merely swapped one incarceration for another. Ostracized by both members of her community and some of her family and stalked by her brother in law, she rarely sets foot outside her house.

Edna's arrival and her declaration that she believes Leah to be innocent stirs up old resentments and reopens old wounds. One character says of Edna 'The rumors about you don't do you justice. In other countries they'd have burned you at the stake. To thunderous applause. .'

The first half of the book is quite delightfully entertaining. The characterisation is magnificent. You get the feeling that you are being set up for something wonderful. But then nothing happens. It is just more of the same - more sniping and family squabbling which all becomes a trifle wearing.

And so from a book I was enjoying greatly, it deteriorated into one I was glad to see end. And even that was a disappointment.

2.5☆

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press via Netgalley for providing a digital copy of Old News by Ed Ifkovic for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

I was not sure about this book when I requested it, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The mystery was told in a really original way-it is not your typical mystery. It is so interesting the way each of the characters was involved in the mystery of a decades old murder. I also liked the way the author slowly pulled the reader in by introducing each character and how they fit into the story. It was also a clever idea to use author Edna Ferber as the character who solved the mystery. I really enjoyed this author's unique style of writing, and I plan to read more by this author. Highly recommend!