Saving Sin City

“Mary Cummings breathes new and exciting life into the White-Thaw-Nesbit case, turning the eternal triangle into a dramatic pentagon with an ambitious D. A. and suave defense lawyer locked in a battle of images stronger than facts. She tells it all: flawed personalities, a range of motivations, and sensational behind-the-scenes revelations that keep us eager for more. She narrates this page-turner as if it had happened yesterday 'at a time not unlike our own.'” - James Presley, author of THE PHANTOM KILLER

“In Saving Sin City, Mary Cummings shows us a view of Gotham that is more like a Great Ball of Fire, exploding in decadence, secret politics, and the tickle of unavenged, sensationalized murder. Though there is always an endless supply of candidates for the "Crime of the Century," the author makes a grand and compelling case for this one: the murder of playboy architect Stanford White on the rooftop of Madison Square Garden by a jealous and vindictive madman. This story—of a Gilded Age love triangle gone bloody and dark— has been told before, but not like this. Cummings finally magnifies the story and role of William Travers Jerome, the district attorney, revealing at last how an open-and-shut murder—in front of witnesses, no less— became a truly unforgettable case for the ages. At the end, a kind of justice would finally be reached, but at great personal and political cost. True crime readers and courtroom aficionados alike will absorb Cummings' quick, journalistic style as if they were reading a newspaper in 1906, following every typeset word with hyperactive flurry in an attempt to reach the truth.” - Brad Ricca, author of Mrs. Sherlock Holmes and Super Boys

“Saving Sin City is The Age of Innocence meets Dominick Dunne. Mary Cummings is a wonderful storyteller and brings to life a rich, fascinating era at the turn of the last century, from ballrooms to courtrooms, with a fascinating cast of characters, high and low.” - Steven Gaines, author of Philistines at the Hedgerow