Shadow Men: The Tangled Story of Murder, Media, and Privilege That Scandalized Jazz Age America
Polchin knows the era, and brings to his account a wealth of colorful supporting detail ... For all its lurid trappings, the sensationalistic story ends up feeling a bit dry — and we never find out exactly what this important family was hiding.
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The criminal probe at the center of Shadow Men is absorbing. Unfortunately, the book, with its many unresolved riddles, lacks a satisfying denouement.
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If the author doesn’t definitively prove that sexual relations between Peters and Ward drove the latter to murder, neither did the courts. Regardless, Polchin’s investigation yields a compelling social history that makes clear the power of the press, wealth, political clout, and influence in determining legal outcomes and obfuscating the heart of scandalous affairs.
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