Swindler’s wife pays the price in ‘Widow’

Cosby books on library list for most challenged works

‘T

he Widow of Wall Street” (Atria Books), by Randy Susan Meyers How could she? How could the wife of a Wall Street swindler, a Bernie Madoff type, not walk out the door at first word that her husband has cheated their family, friends and hundreds of others out of their life savings? How could she defend him to her own children, who lost it all with dad?

And, come to think of it, how could she have not known this crime was being committed in front of her on a daily basis, as she collected beautiful homes, boats and cars, and accoutrements of artwork, fine crystal and a designer wardrobe?

Those questions seem like no-brainers, and in “The Widow of Wall Street,” author Randy Susan Meyers poses them right at the start. Yet as this compelling story unfolds, you realize nothing is as uncomplicated as it seems, especially when you’ve been married almost 50 years and you take so seriously your marital vows because you felt both gratitude and debt when you uttered those words.

Phoebe Pierce — frail, petite and pretty Phoebe — went through most of her adult life with blinders on, not because she wasn’t smart or capable to take Jake to task, but because she felt she owed him for a mistake she made during their courtship that he never knew about.

Of course, her daily life wasn’t too shabby, and for many years she lived by the mantra that ignorance is bliss. No questions about his business dealings, no questions about the hours he started to spend away from home — and the office — and certainly no questions about how they so quickly moved up the economic ladder from their Brooklyn, New York, roots to the Greenwich, Connecticut, charity-gala circuit.

And, even when she might have paused to have one of those passing thoughts, she convinced herself that her commitment to being good, doing good and spreading good made up for the corners that she eventually began to suspect Jake was cutting.

The author of “Hidden Figures” is setting

her next book around two prominent African-American households in mid-20th century Baltimore.

Viking told The Associated Press on Monday that it had a two-book deal with Margot Lee Shetterly that will continue her quest to tell of African-Americans who have been overlooked by historians. The first book centers on the Murphy family, which owned a leading African-American newspaper in Baltimore, and the Adamses, who were influential philanthropists and investors. A celebrity once beloved among young people now finds himself on a list of books parents and other community members most wish to see removed from libraries: Bill Cosby.

Cosby’s “Little Bill Books” series is among those making the American Library Association’s annual top 10 “challenged books.” The reason is unique for the list, which the ALA announced Monday: not the books themselves, but the multiple accusations of sexual assault against the actorcomedian.