A sprawling Gilded Age portrait as well as a deep dive into the murder of a high class woman. The author weaves history with death in a captivating way.

When is a murder not a murder? When an entire university is at stake, apparently.

In this highly readable true crime book by Richard White, we are introduced to the absolute insanity that is the founding and early years of Stanford University. Leland and Jane Stanford found the university in honor of their young son who passed too soon. After the death of Leland, Jane begins a tyranny over the university with increasing capriciousness that ultimately leads to her murder. White dives deep into the surviving documentation to try and understand how what was very clearly a murder was ultimately deemed natural causes by some authorities.

White writes a wonderful book which is easy to read and will appeal to anyone who loves true crime or even just the absurdity of early Stanford politics.

(This book was provided in advance by W. W. Norton & Company and Netgalley. The full review will appear on HistoryNerdsUnited.com no earlier than 30 days before the final publication date.)

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, W. W. Norton & Company and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

A step back in time, murder. intrigue, mystery a reminder as much times change they stay the same. A beautifully done work about a tragic story and a tale we all know too well.

This book was sent to me electronically for review by Netgalley. This is a fantastic book. Facts that I did not know...I could not stop reading...it read like great fiction...this author weaves a story that is unbelievable. Don't miss this great book.

I love reading all of these gilded age crimes. Even though it’s in a completely different era not a lot has changed. This is an exceedingly interesting true crime novel they will absolutely leave you on the edge of your seat. This book is an absolute winner!