Girlfriend to famed monster, Bugsey Siegel, Virginia Hill was a member of the mob in her own right. Having climbed the ranks from money launderer to being apart of bigger deals Virginia has money and power, and now she wants her freedom. To get that she will have to help the mob take down one of its own, a risky endeavour which could have disastrous consequences.
I struggled with this book a bit, especially early on. I feel like the book failed to capture what set Virginia apart, especially in the start, from all the other girls who came before her and all the ones who were involved in the organization. It was a case of being told she was special with no real evidence to back it up. This could be a case of missing information and trying not to make too much up for accuracy sake, but to me it felt like something was missing. I enjoyed the book quite a bit more after Virginia had already climbed the ranks and was in a position of importance. This book definitely sent me off to do some extra reading of my own because it was interesting and it’s not a part of history I am including familiar with.
Thank you to @netgalley and @blackstonepublishing for letting me have an advanced copy in exchange for a review. Mob Queen hits shelves June 17, 2025.
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First of all, WOW! I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I think early on I could not for the life of me understand why Virginia was committed to finding Madeline but as the story progressed I started to understand that this was never really about Madeline and it was always about Virginia and her pursuit for a better reality. This storyline was filled plot twists that kept me glued to the book. The introduction and realization of Ben’s true character and the Joey EP betrayal were amongst the most stunning. I especially appreciated that part of the story where we got to see Virginia’s family dynamic. So much of what she believed was built on her parents relationship, it was nice to see there be a resolution to that part of the storyline.

I really did enjoy this book and it’s made me interested in learning more about Virginia and even Ben. I’m off to go read the books the author mentioned at the end now.

*I received an ARC from Net galley in exchange for an honest review*

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2


Going in I didn’t know that this book was about a real person, and I won’t soon forget Virginia Hill.

Highly recommend this one. Mob life and toxic relationships, it had the feel of an elevated dark romance. I liked Virginia and Ben’s doomed and toxic relationship.

I loved how recklessly determined Virginia was to overcome her circumstances but unfortunately still having to wade through the mess of being a tool for the mob.

The only downside was the pacing. It would be slow the majority of the time and then when the action and tension would rise it would end quickly or be skimmed over. So I wished it was a little darker on that aspect. It would have made the story fuller and have that grit that I was expecting.

Overall in spite of the pacing issues, an engaging story following a strong woman trying to make her mark and elevate her circumstances while dealing with the mob. Recommend.

**Thanks to Blackstone Publishing & NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review**

Who was Virginia Hill? What made her become part of Chicago Mob?

This story explores briefly Virginia’s childhood and her abusive marriage at very young age, giving an understanding what might have led her to become one of the mobsters.

Set in 1930s Chicago, Virginia’s path to the Mob starts with her search for her missing friend who disappeared in New York. But when you deal with a mafia, once you’re in, there is no way out. In order to be sent to New York, Virginia has to prove that she can be trusted. She is put at racetracks and told on which horse to bet money.

At the racetrack, she meets charismatic Ben (Bugsy Siegel), and that’s when things take a turn, and she feels her trust is being tested.

Her path also crosses with Velma Capone who taches Virginia how to rise in popularity and reputation as Virginia is told to create a new persona.

Virginia goes from racetracks to money laundering and along the way discovering mafia’s involvement in things she didn’t expect. The freedom she sought seems to be closing on her as she learns more about mafia’s involvement.

As she searches for her friend, she discovers that those who she thought she could trust turn opposite. It seems that the sides constantly switch who she can trust. Her relationship with Ben is pretty complex and volatile.

As the story begins, it reveals backstories of both women. The backstories are short but they give enough depth to understand the subject and get attached to the characters. The progressing story has much longer descriptions which at times slow the pace. Nevertheless, it is a fascinating read, at times, making you cringe due to the reality of mafia’s work.

Erin Bledsoe did a fabulous job telling Virginia Hill's story. Virginia was a waitress in Chicago, and she had a friend, Madeline, who had vanished. Joey Ep, The accountant for the mob, used to frequent Virginia's restaurant. He always sat in her station and tipped largely. Eventually he asked her out. At first she didn't want to go with him, but then conceded. She learned from him that Madeline had gone to work for him. Virginia was determined to find her and agreed to go to work for him. Her sordid history with them was basically that of a whore. She started out going to the racetrack and laundering money. She had learned that Madeline had gone to New York, and that was Virginia's plan. To go to New York to find Madeline. So after the horse tracks, she was assigned to smuggling goods and money in New York. That's where she met Bugsy Siegel.

Bugsy was a married man but he was taken with Virginia. They had a tumultuous relationship whereby they would fight viciously and then end up having sex. Eventually, she learned that Bugsy had killed Madeline. That's when she started to hate him. After she learned about Madeline, she decided she wanted out. But getting out was not an easy venture. So she stayed in for 13 years. Eventually her contract was sold. She was told that if she helped them kill Bugsy, she would own her contract. And that she did. Bugsy had gotten heads strong and was determined to open a casino in Las Vegas. He had been in show Business and had a lot of contacts. So he hit up his contacts to invest in his casino. He opened the Flamingo. He had also stolen $2 million from the mob that he had stashed away for him and Virginia. His hotel and casino felt a hard times and it was closed. But a few months later it was reopened. Virginia sold him out and was able to acquire her contract. All of this took place between the years 1933 and 1946.

In 1950 she had met and married. Hans and was pregnant with their child. It was at that time that she got a call from Joey who told her that she would have to come and testify. She didn't want to do it but she knew she had no choice, so she decided she would lie. That way they'd have nothing on her. It seems that all went well, but in 1966 she was found dead. It was considered a suicide. I choose to believe that the mob caught up with her. She was definitely the mob Queen. She had a sharp tongue and she pretty much ran her own life, even though the mob was in control of her. She was the only woman to rise to the status that she did. She found herself in meetings with the upper echelon, who were only men.

I so very much enjoyed reading this biography. If I could give this book 10 stars I would, but I can only give it five, which I did. I praise the author for her exceptional work on this story.

I was so excited to receive this ARC two years after reading the authors debut, The Forty Elephants (a 5 star read for me). I really enjoyed this, but I do look forward to reading it again once it's published. Since this was an unedited ARC, it read quite choppily but that obviously says nothing about the quality of the book so l do intend to re-read it once it's finalized and may possibly update my review then.
All in all, I really liked this. I did find the beginning a bit slow, but I think TFE read slow as well and I still absolutely loved it. The one thing I didn't care for this time around, however, is that I felt it had some transitional/pacing issues. It would be so slow and then something big would happen but would be rushed and glazed over, I'd find myself disappointed and wanting more. And maybe that was just the author trying to keep it as factual as she could with what little information she had on the title character. I get that, but it left me disappointed nonetheless. For example, something big and dark would happen, like a murder or a sexual encounter, and it would just be a sentence or so saying oh bam this happened. Then cut to black and the next sentence would be completely unrelated and several months later. Because of that, several times throughout, I found myself confused about what was actually going on.
Again, I don't believe that speaks to the quality of the content of the book... And it's not to say that made me not enjoy it either. I simply just wanted MORE. Whereas the first half read slow, the second half felt really rushed... and had some of the darker stuff had more depth and detail, I think it would've made me more invested in the story and characters.
With all that being said, I still loved this book. I loved learning about Virginia Hill. I love the way this author writes (her dialogue is just some of the best l've seen. I find her writing so easy to read and her characters are always relatable. They NEVER feel cheesy or fake). And I can't wait to re-read this when it's all finished up!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this earc! One of my favorite reads of 2024, really captivating story.

The concept of the book Mob Queen by Erin Bledsoe was very interesting, as I love reading fictional stories based on the Mob and the lives of notorious gangsters. I also really liked the historical backdrop of this book as it takes place in Chicago in the 1930s. The story is told from the perspective of a real figure who was a part of the Mob; a woman named Virginia Hill who was a courier for the mob in Chicago in the mid-1930s and who had a highly tumultuous and abusive relationship with Bugsy Siegel, who was a well known mobster, I enjoyed the first half of the book in which Virginia's story about how she got involved with the Mob in the first place is told to the reader, but parts of it were slow and I did not care for all of the time in the book that was spent on Virginia's role at the race tracks. Towards the middle of the book, the pacing gets slightly better and picks up around the time Virginia meets Bugsy Siegel and begins a relationship with him. I found the ending to be a bit rushed and wished the author had spent more time on this part of the story compared to the beginning and middle of the novel. Overall, this was an okay read; I definitely thought I would have enjoyed it more than I did.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This story is fascinating. Set in the 1930s, she thought she was leaving a horrible life in Georgia. She then finds herself living in Chicago, married to a mobster. I read deep into the night. Loved it!

I got an ARC from NetGalley . Wow I literally just finished this and I feel so many things. I’m sad that it’s over, I’m sad that it was true and I’m sad that she died how she did . (That’s not a spoiler it’s history- look it up). This book reads like an award winning black and white movie where the whole theater is silent because they are entranced! I would read it again and again

This was a fascinating concept for a historical fiction novel, I really enjoyed the use of the 1930s and was engaged with what was happening. The characters had that feel that I was looking for and enjoyed getting to go on this journey with the characters. Erin Bledsoe has a strong writing style and am excited to read more from the author.

Writing is fair, just not my preferred style. A lot of dialogue and inner thoughts but not much detail or description of characters, references, setting, etc. I enjoy writers that spend a little more time ‘world building’. Tries too hard from the start to create a mystery, but didn’t build the desire to be invested in it.
Story had lots of potential, unfortunately not executed to its best.

This is not Camilia Sapranos story, or Victoria Gotti if that's what your thinking oh no this is 1930's heyday mafia style and she wasn't no arm candy this woman was iin it- Virginia worked as a waitress at a mob favorite diner when her friend disappears, figuring one of them knows/had something to do with it she searches for answers getting in deeper and deeper and ends up involved with a man named Bugsy (i sont think a last name is needed) i love all mob related stuff so I enjoyed this - it was a take we don't get often women kn the mob, and thr cover is absolutely gorgeous

Thank you netgalley for the arc!

MobQueen #NetGalley

She called him Ben.

History knows him by his more notorious name, Bugsy Siegel.

If this was the 2020s, you’d say he stealthily slid into her DMs.

In this authors’s telling, they encountered each other at the race track. By then, Virginia Hill lived quite the life as she balanced her job at a Mob frequented restaurant with her side job at a Mob funded brothel. She still managed to remain on the outskirts of the Mob.

Then it all changed. Armed with determination and courage, her quest to locate a long lost friend tangled her further into the Mob’s.

Her quest threads this into a compelling read. Her relationship with Bugsy is both complex and violent.

Yes, her story is shaped by men’s actions and desires. But with this historical novel she leaves her stiellto footprint in American history.

Imagined dialogue and action scenes were excellent.

This ARC was provided by the publisher, Blackstone Publishing, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! I love a good book especially ones based on real life people or events. This book had me hooked from first page till the very last.

Erin Bledsoe takes a spinoff of what Virgina Hills life may have been like up close. Virginia Hill was a real life girlfriend to notorious mobster Bugsy. The author takes real life facts and all the unknowns into something you don't want to miss reading!

Virgina Hill finds herself escaping from her abusive father's hands into the hands of a man she marries who promises to take care of her. Sadly, he too fails to give her a safe home. With the help and courage from her new friend Madeline; Virgina takes the drastic steps (during this time frame) and divorces him. The two girls wind up waitressing at a Hotspot for mobsters. Madeline goes missing after falling for one. Madeline saved Virgina from her abusive husband. Now Virginia feels the need to desperately repay the friendship and find her friend. Searching for answers about Madeline's whereabouts means getting caught up.....for life in the mob. Virginia engages, entertains, falls for, helps commit crime all for one outcome; find her friend. What she didn't expect was to be good at being in the mob. Will she ever find her friend? This book is an excellent read of what it would be like to be a woman of power in the mob. Highly recommend

I was very excited about the subject matter of this book. However, the idea was better than the execution. The book was a very slow to start and seem to drag for the first part which took about more than half of the pages. The second half of the book seemed relatively rushed by comparison. It seemed to focus only on 1 small part of the main character's life and then leave the breeder hanging as to the rest of her life with a brief epil0gue at the end. I liked the idea of this book, and the writing was fine, but the plot seemed to drag for me.

I love a good 1930s set book. Make it about the mob and I'm instantly hooked. But this one was about a woman climbing the ranks and as the title suggests, becomes the mob queen. This was very well written and the time period was done accurately. I loved reading about a woman rather than a man working his way up in the 1930s mob scene. This is one of my top 10 ARCs of the year!