![]() So many things muddy the investigation: newbies on the force who make rookie mistakes, oldies who make assumptions, bad interrogation techniques, raw deals, classism, racism, sexism, and flat-out corruption. But time and again other characters read her words and reveal that, in practice, she isn’t the champion of women that her internal narrative makes her out to be. “The singular life of a reporter” becomes her refrain. The Julia chapters always paint her as chasing justice, and she excuses occasional sensationalizing as necessary to keep the Dot King case on the front page, therefore making it more likely to get solved. Julia herself notes early on that people have a way of seeing themselves as a hero - a forecast of her own hubris. For those not already familiar with the history, it’s not until about a third of the way through “Broadway Butterfly” that it becomes clear why her narrative is woven into the broader story at all. Harding in Palm Beach ahead of his renomination. Then there’s Frances Stotesbury Mitchell, a high society woman with equally high connections getting ready to host the scandal-ridden President Warren G. Ella came from the South and, while she sees more opportunity and less overt racist violence and segregation in New York, is well aware of the dangers she and her family face simply by her connection with a murdered white woman. Coughlin is a hardened policeman whose preconceived ideas of others are solidified, and he’s constantly surprised at “girls these days” living and traveling alone, and at Broadway women’s apparent lack of moral values. Each takes on their own lexicon for a personal feel of character - Julia is obsessed with reporting and the hustle of being a pioneer newspaperwoman, and sees herself as a righteous champion of women. Coughlin, and Dot’s maid and confidant Ella Bradford. In “Broadway Butterfly,” a jazzy true crime historical thriller, author Sara DiVello unearths piles of evidence and presents them through witnesses, detectives and journalists in an attempt to find out what happened to the fast-living, generous and ambitious young woman whose life was suddenly and mysteriously snuffed out.Īll third person limited, the chapters go around between reporter Julia Harpman, inspector John D. ![]() But the hype around the case proved insufficient motivation to catch the killer. The unsolved murder of the beautiful Dot King captivated New York. ![]() “Broadway Butterfly” by Sara DiVello (Thomas & Mercer) ![]()
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