The only critique I would give is that I wish the epilogue gave a little more info on Lizzie’s trial.

I thought I knew the story of Lizzie Borden before I started reading, but the authors took the mystery surrounding the murders and molded it into a twisting and believable theory. The authors captured the offness of the Borden house and of the Bordens themselves. Bridget was a realistic and likeable voice and I think she was the perfect narrator for the story. It kept me engaged and anticipating what the next page would say. I really liked this book and read it in almost one sitting. A carefully researched account from a bystander who was once a prime suspect, Sweet Madness will give you a look into the doomed house on Second Street and a deeper understanding of one of history’s saddest and most controversial crimes. Told through the eyes of Lizzie’s Irish maid, Bridget Sullivan, who may have been Lizzie’s only true friend, Sweet Madness tells of a cruel, penny-pinching father who had plenty of enemies, an ambitious second wife, a distant older sister and Lizzie, a trusting and kind soul who grew more unstable by the day. Still, as this captivating realistic novel suggests, someone may have known the truth. A jury found her not guilty, for no one saw a thing and there wasn’t a single real clue. Andrew’s youngest daughter, Lizzie, was charged with the murders, sending shock-waves through the nation. Upstairs, police find his wife, Abbey - just as dead. On that day, Andrew Borden, a prosperous businessman, was found hacked to death in his parlor. On a steaming August day in 1892, a sweet-faced, young woman in Fall River, Massachusetts stepped from a naive girlhood into a dark legend that has lasted for more than a hundred years. Sad young woman … or cold-blooded killer? Authors: Trisha Leaver and Lindsay Currie

Sweet Madness by Trisha Leaver