"May's seductions and schemes begin to feel a tad repetitive, and the frequently interspersed and overlong courtroom scenes relegate both her and Doherty to the role of spectator, thereby losing the energy gained elsewhere from their entertaining interactions." - Library Journal Was the real May Dugas a cold-hearted swindler or simply a resourceful provider for her poor family?Īs the narrative bounces back and forth between the trial taking place in 1917 and May's devious but undeniably entertaining path to the courtroom - hoodwinking and waltzing her way through the gilded age and into the twentieth century - we're left to ponder her guilt as we move closer to finding out what fate ultimately has in store for our irresistible adventuress. To many, though, she was the most glamorous woman to grace high society. The Pinkerton Agency really did dub May the "Most Dangerous Woman," branding her a crafty blackmailer and ruthless seductress. Unfortunately, Reed Doherty is never far behind and continues to track May in a delicious cat-and-mouse game as the newly-minted Baroness's misadventures take her from San Francisco to Shanghai to London and points in between. Unflappable May quickly rebounds, elevating seduction and social climbing to an art form as she travels the world, eventually marrying a wealthy Dutch Baron. Insinuating herself into Chicago's high society, May lands a well-to-do fiancé - until, that is, a Pinkerton Agency detective named Reed Doherty intervenes and summarily foils the engagement.
Circumstances force her to take up residence at the city's most infamous bordello, but May soon learns to employ her considerable feminine wiles to extract not only sidelong looks but also large sums of money from the men she encounters. In 1887, at the tender age of eighteen, May ventures to Chicago in hopes of earning enough money to support her family. As the trial unfolds, May tells her version of events. The novel opens in 1917 with our cunning protagonist, May Dugas, standing trial for extortion. A sweeping historical novel about a beautiful con artist whose turn-of-the-century escapades take her around the world as she's doggedly pursued by a Pinkerton Agency detective.
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