Here’s a flattering review of my new novel The Bootlegger’s Bride published in the August 2025 edition of the quarterly Historical Novel Review:
The Bootlegger’s Bride, by Rick Skwiot.
Reviewed by Nate Mancuso
Jan Nowak, the son of Polish immigrants, came of age in Prohibition-era St. Louis. Fiercely independent, confident, and ambitious, Jan is hell-bent on writing his own ticket and forging his own path to the American dream. Jan secures his fortune as a bootlegger and loan shark in the city’s criminal underworld, while also educating himself outside the classroom and on his own terms. Jan is the quintessential self-made man who marches to his own drummer and lets nothing stand in his way.
By 1939, after the end of Prohibition, Jan, still young but with uncommon life experience, has turned to “banking” and become quite wealthy. He meets the beautiful and intelligent Hazel Robinson at a racetrack. They fall deeply in love, marry, and have a son, A.J. The young family lives happily together for several years until Jan is killed in combat in WWII, shortly after the Allies invade Normandy in June 1944. Hazel’s soul is crushed by her husband’s death, and her life spirals down into depression, alcoholism and promiscuity while A.J. is forced to grow up with no father and a troubled mother – all while dark and disturbing events from Jan’s past terrorize his family long after his death. A.J. is forced to confront these demons while protecting himself and pursuing his own dreams.
The Bootlegger’s Bride is an exciting, suspenseful novel set across dual timelines and character viewpoints. It’s well-structured with complex, layered characters and compelling sensory details that develop the characters and plot. Rick Skwiot is a gifted storyteller. I highly recommend this book.
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