Karolina and the Torn Curtain

Poland, police-corruption, political-corruption, 1890s, murder, murder-investigation, amateur-sleuth, women-sleuths, trafficking, historical-research, historical-fiction, cultural-exploration*****

Set in Poland at about the time when some of my grandparents left and came to a Polish enclave in Wisconsin, the names and speech patterns are only too familiar. Many thanks to Antonia Lloyd-Jones for her translation of this fun mystery. I also thought it a marvelous thing to "see" Crakow as it once was instead of the disaster left by the last world war.
Zofia is a rather snobbish wife of a professor who has a quick wit and an investigative bent. When one of her maids is found to have been murdered, her investigation (AKA snooping) brings her to show more the world of involuntary trafficking (which has yet to be eradicated in today's world). The main characters are perfect foils and the humor keeps the reality at a distance. Well done and even more enjoyable when the names are familiar in our area!
I highly recommend this book and plan to buy a print copy for my local library (and nag my Cleveland kid to do the same).
I requested and received a free temporary ebook copy from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/Mariner Books via NetGalley. Thank you! show less

I didn't know to pay close attention until too late, so maybe I missed something... but everything about the jewish community and the very phrase "white slavery" left a bad feeling. That really needs to be explicitly contextualized, I understand this is set in a specific time and society, but it seems like the critiques were focused on other issues and just flew by this.

Cracow 1895. Korolina ex-servant to Zofia Turbotynska has been murdered. With the help of her maid Franciszka she investigates.
Unfortunately the story, the characters or the writing style just couldn't keep my interest that much.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.