The Champagne Ladies (English Edition) [Kindle-editie] beoordelingen het boek quotes

“Why would the police not care about a murder case?” Ben asked.“It’s not a murder case,” Joey said.“I think it is.”“You’re the only one.”* * *Chicago, summer of 1968: Two young, sexy strangers named Rita and Sandra move to the city from a small rural community.No one knows why they choose the solidly conservative Little Village neighborhood as their home. Fifteen-year-old Ben Podlowski doesn’t care; he adopts them as his mentors. His friend, Joey Baloney, is convinced that these two attractive women must be Playboy bunnies.Rita and Sandra are tormented by the super-patriotic Ludmilla Kozak, who’s convinced they’re subversives intent on destroying life in Little Village. And Ben is warned by his deeply religious father: Stay away from those girls. They’ll lead you to sin. Others view their arrival, coupled with an influx of Mexican immigrants, as a threat to the stability of a traditional Eastern European neighborhood.Rita and Sandra’s goal is simple: make a difference in people’s lives. They do, but not in the way they expect. They set off a chain of events that leads to a murder. Incompetent investigators rule it an accident, but Ben never abandons his belief that it was intentional. Ten years later he enlists Joey Baloney to discover who was behind it.“The Champagne Ladies,” set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War and the approaching Democratic National Convention, explores the fears of the old and hopes of the young as “the whole world is watching” traditional values disappear. It depicts the anguish when family members are torn apart by their separate beliefs on race, religion and individual freedom.* * *From reader Marge Meyer: “I couldn't put your book down, and despite having weekend guests finished it in two days. It completely held my interest and I couldn't figure out the ending early on as I do with other books.”