Rating: 
Summary: Great read, but some loose ends
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book, not only for the light it shed on the inner-workings of New York society, but also for the symbolism and references to Marie Antoinette that Hitchcock continuously made. I bet that many of these details would have enhanced the story even more, but because I do not know much about Antoinette, they went over my head. Perhaps it's time for me to open up a book on France's history instead! At the end of the book, I definitely felt that a sequel would be appropriate because of the loose ends with Oliva and Shreve. I hope Hitchcock does indeed follow through with one.
Rating:
Summary: Very enjoyable until the very end
Review: I thought that this book was very entertaining and kept my interest. However, I felt let down at the end because the author essentially told what was going to happen and it did. I was expecting some sort of twist that I didn't expect. Other than that, it was a quick and enjoyable read.
Rating: 
Summary: SUPERB !!
Review: I TOTALLY LOVED THIS BOOK.
WENT OUT TODAY TO GET HER OTHERS.
Rating: 
Summary: Poor imitation
Review: I was very disappointed with this book. Social Crimes is a hollow imitation of Edith Wharton's books on New York Society. Hitchcock is well aware of Wharton having written a play based on two of her books. Like House of Mirth, her main character falls from society, but unlike Lily, Jo doesn't have any redeeming qualities. You simply don't care about her. I agree with some of the other reviewers that several parts of the story didn't ring true. I had to laugh when she goes on a diet and loses 15 pounds in 3 weeks. Talk about fiction! All the details of wills may have been legal, but again none of it seemed plausible. The main character doesn't really gain the reader's simpathy, she's just too ... Like Lily in House of Mirth, she keeps getting deeper and deeper into trouble and nothing seems to go right, but unlike Lily, she is very aware of her actions and seems downright petty in some of them (for example paying the waiter to spill a dessert on Monique's haute coutour dress). As for the similarities of Marie Antoinette, I think I would have rather read a real history rather than the bits and pieces in this novel. I was really hoping that Hitchcock would have a better resolution to Jo's dilemna, but with such a poor main character I wasn't surprised by the ending. Save your money and buy one of Edith Wharton's books, or if you want a modern take on New York Society, read "The Nanny Diaries."
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant Plotting
Review: I've been waiting for several years since devouring Jane Stanton Hitchcock's first two novels (the Edgar-nominated TRICK OF THE EYE, and the sinister WITCHES'HAMMER) and now she's back in brilliant form. Just in time for a great beach read, but far more clever and perceptive than simply a delightful diversion, SOCIAL CRIMES nails New York's society mavens and manners absolutely dead-on. This is a writer who clearly knows her subject and the world about which she writes, makes you care about her characters, has a great sense of humor, and uses an obscure and stunning legal device to set the devious plot in motion. Hitchcock took me directly into her world and kept me there, riveted to the pages. The book is smart, funny, well-written - and, as one of the reviewers said, drawing my attention to the book - just delicious. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Like Page 6? You Will Love This.
Review: If you read W Magazine every month, drooling at the "celebutantes", the parties, the clothes, the society; then you will love this book. It is impossible to put down (so make sure your laundry is done and the dog has been walked before picking it up). Hitchcock creates a modern day Edith Wharton novel about the dark side of New York society. The protaganist of the story, Jo Slater (queen of the middle aged socialites) is dethroned from her elite standing in society when a french countess appears on the social scene and steals her husband. After her downfall the reader is travels with Jo on her attempt to recover and regain her status--at any cost. Clever, well written, and plot driven, SOCIAL CRIMES is a mystery worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: What a refreshingly unusual novel!
Review: In my opinion this book was amazing. I was gripped from the very first sentence "murder was never my goal in life" and could not let go. I totally identified with the heroine, as her social, financial and mental deterioration is described gradually and logically, and so her plan seems fitting and the ending completely natural. Jo is a very engaging character: she has dignity, confidence, willpower and impeccable taste - you cannot help liking her. The fact that she realises that the New York social scene and all it represents are superficial, but admits this is all she knows and therefore where she is at home at, makes her completely honest and sincere - to the point where you feel honoured that she lets you, the reader, into her confidence.
Sure, you do feel the whole preoccupation with money and class is hideous at times - some parts of the story do ring impossible; the characters might not be the types of people you socialise with or would like to know. That is exactly why this book is brilliant - it transports you to this world where things you find trivial are vital, but succeeds to make you sympathise with it. And it does so with a style of writing fitting to the lovely paintings and antiques it describes. This is a pageturner.
Rating:
Summary: Good to the last page
Review: In SOCIAL CRIMES, author Jane Stanton Hitchcock has crafted a page-turner that will fascinate her fans right up to the final sentence. Her story is clever, and the detail she offers about upper class life, its affectations and its hypocrisy, alone is worth the book's price. Hitchcock writes about what passes for high society in modern-day New York. Knowledgable readers will have a lot of fun identifying all of the mimimally disguised characters and places in this book. Hitchcock pokes fun at many of this society's pretensions, such as when she uses the heroine's fascination with Marie Antoinette as a counterpoint for the basic plot. Wait! Wasn't it Mrs. G, the former stewardess, who went French on "tout New York" exactly as the heroine, a former restaurant hostess, herself does in SOCIAL CRIMES? This story is stunning in its cleverness, and it is a credit to Ms. Hitchcock's fertile imagination. She hangs this entire novel on the one loophole under New York estate law that obviates a spouse's absolute right to claim a share of inheritance under the will of the deceased husband or wife, and she uses this loophole with brilliance. Hitchcock's storytelling skills are wonderful. SOCIAL CRIMES is a fun read that leaves one thinking after the book concludes.
Rating:
Summary: Life Among the Rich and Famous Can Be Deadly!
Review: In the tradition of Edith Wharton, and with a clever and witty look at New York society, Jane Stanton Hitchcock presents a fast paced read with her newest book, Social Crimes.
This is the third book I've read by Ms. Hitchcock and this is her best book so far. With an almost tongue in cheek approach, the author presents less than sterling characters in a plot readers will long remember. Jo Slater is living a life beyond her wildest dreams. A former restaurant hostess from the Midwest, Jo is now married to an enormously wealthy older man. She has become a true society lady owning an estate in the Hamptons, a fabulous apartment in Manhattan and a collection of priceless art and antiques, which includes a necklace owned by Josephine Bonaparte. But Jo is about to suffer a fall from grace when she befriends a French Countess whose background is quite mysterious. When Countess Monique has nowhere to stay for the remainder of the summer, Jo graciously offers her their guesthouse. And while Jo and Monique become fast friends, and Jo reveals a bit too much about herself, Monique is soon to prove to be quite the manipulator at Jo's expense.
All too soon, Jo is living on the other side of great wealth and society life, while Monique is now one of New York society's latest society ladies. After a period of disbelief as to what has happened to her, Jo moves into high gear and learns that revenge can have a higher price than she thought possible. Like The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe, Ms. Hitchcock has a fine eye and ear for depicting life among the very wealthy. One reads this book with a chuckle and realizes at the end that position and wealth can be fleeting at the best of times.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing book!
Review: Insipid main character. Silly and weak plot. I bought the book because of and interview on NPR's Diane Rehm show. I will be more discretionary in the future. Huge disappointment. Don't waste your book buying dollars. It has some very positive reviews on the jacket. One from William Safire of the NY Times. "It's the novel to watch for best-sellerdom in 2002." Wow! Did he like it or does he think that the reading public is ignorant?
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