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WOW! I love everything about “Mayhem in the Mountains” by Author Jane Loeb Rubin! This is a captivating, educational, intriguing, and powerful Historical Fiction Book. This is such a well-written and well-researched book, and I found myself looking up the Historical Events that had me so fascinated. The timeline for this book is 1924 in the Catskills, and most of the land was farmland. Many of the new residents were Jewish immigrants. In this future site of the Catskills, The Ku Klux Klan is targeting immigrants, especially the Jews. The Mob, represented by Dutch Schultz is interested in bootleg liquor during Prohibition. This is the fourth book in a series about the Isaacson Family, and can be read alone. I look forward to reading the other books. Jane Loeb Rubin vividly describes the scenery, the plot and the colorful, and dramatic characters. The characters are complex, complicated, and flawed. Some are courageous, ambitious, and others are mean-spirited with bad intentions.
One of the female protagonists, Ella, a 17 year old woman, and her young brother Robbie leave Brooklyn to stay with their relatives upstate. Their father is not responsible, and their mother has very little money. Ella’s ambition is to be a nurse. On the trip, Robbie is fascinated by a fancy automobile that belongs to Dutch Schultz. Dutch drives them to their new home. Ella is ambitious and helps all of her relatives. They are cautious of Dutch, but are concerned with the dangerous threats and actions of the Ku Klux Klan, in the area. An adopted relative, Albert is opening a Pharmacy, and will have a place for soda and snacks, and medications. He doesn’t realize that he is in competition with another Pharmacy a town over, that is involved with the Ku Klux Klan
I appreciate that the Author discusses important issues such as gambling addiction, racism, anti-semitism, Bullying, the importance of family and friends, love and hope. I have been to the Catskills in later years and found the Historical references memorable, and thought-provoking. I highly recommend this novel to others.
