Synopses & Reviews
When Jo Slater, one of the grandest of New York's grande dames and great patron of the arts, befriends a young French countess, trouble begins. Ignoring warnings from friends, Jo abruptly discovers the truth about her mysterious guest. But it is too late. Jo is knocked off her pedestal and the young woman takes her place in society.
Dethroned and dispossessed in the world where she once reigned, she sets out to recoup her fortune and reclaim her throne. Using her knowledge of the eighteenth century, she concocts an ingenious scheme based on the greatest historical swindle of all time, a true story involving Marie Antoinette. In order for the scheme to work, she must resort to the most desperate of all measures: murder.
A compulsively readable novel that scales the heights and plumbs the depths of the New York social scene, Social Crimes also tells a riveting tale of mystery and manners, obsession and revenge.
Review
"[An] amusing saga....Hitchcock offers a funny, lightweight tale....Hitchcock's prose is airy and her plot moves quickly, making this a quintessential beach book." Publishers Weekly
Review
"Sophisticated entertainment for readers with a taste for luxury and a peeping-Tom urge to spy on high society." New York Observer
Review
"Ruth Rendell meets Dominick Dunne in this deliciously dark and witty novel....For sophisticated readers wanting the perfect beach read, Hitchcock's third novel offers a bubbly cocktail of psychological suspense and social satire." Library Journal
Review
"Beyond an elaborate plot featuring a swindle involving Marie Antoinette, Social Crimes doubles as a primer on decorating and entertaining dos and don'ts gleaned from the gilded set Ms. Hitchcock knows so well." The New York Times
Review
"A lukewarm tale....A Hampton breeze that rarely chills. Hitchcock misses the psychological insight that can make readers squirm with empathy." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"There is enough real-life inspiration for the fictional characters to keep cocktail parties from Martha's Vinyard to the Hamptons abuzz all summer." Avenue
Review
"In Social Crimes, Jane Stanton Hitchcock sets out to bring New York's high society low, and she does in a witty little book that taxes only the rich." New York Daily News
Review
"Although Jo won't gain much sympathy for her quest to rebuild her fantasy life, her rags-to-riches-to-rags story generates undeniable charm and will leave readers rooting for a magical Cinderella ending." Mary Frances Wilkens, Booklist
Review
"Jane Stanton Hitchcock has set her riveting tale of obsession and revenge in the highest financial tier of New York society. She writes with the perception of one who knows her territory well. The conversations are witty, lethal, and right on target. There will be a guessing game as to which character is based on which social figure in the highly publicized existence of this rich, rich group of people, but, believe me, this book is much more than that. It kept me up very late at night." Dominick Dunne
About the Author
Jane Stanton Hitchcock has written two previous novels, The Witches' Hammer and Trick of the Eye, which was nominated for both the Edgar Award and the Hammett Prize as the Best First Novel of the Year. She has written several plays including an adaptation of Edith Wharton's The Custom of the Country and Vanilla, which was directed in London by Harold Pinter. She is married to syndicated foreign affairs columnist Jim Hoagland. They live in New York City and Washington, D.C.