May 2026 Book Review: A Fortune of Sand

Book by: Ruta Sepetys
Review by: Dr. Wendy Hooper-Meletes, Ed.D., owner of Litchfield Books

Author Ruta Sepetys is a #1 New York Times bestselling author. Born in Detroit, she was captivated by the eccentric empire of Detroit during its golden age in 1927. Once dubbed “The Paris of the Midwest,” ambition, contradiction and reinvention allowed Detroit to become a place where fortunes were built and broken overnight. In this gothic page-turner, A Fortune of Sand stories of underrepresented women in power, mysterious millionaires, family dynasty wars, rumrunners, con artists and the cold shadow of secret gangs at speakeasies conceal a grave graveyard of secrets. 

Nothing short of inspiring, automotive magnate’s daughter Majorie Lennox joins a mysterious, exclusive arts program where women are disappearing, inspired by real events including the documented lives of automotive dynasties and the Eloise Asylum. Evoking the atmosphere of fear, danger, and hidden control that defined the 1920s Prohibition era, author Ruta Sepetys shines a light on women who seized power in a world built to deny it.

This novel materialized through meticulous research of a jewelry heist in 1925, yachts of auto barons, historic estates of Henry Ford, countless police reports all of which shaped history by those who held power. A colorful retrospective of the time period in general.

Join Litchfield Books at The Village House on Friday June 26, 2026 and their many readers as Ruta makes history live behind her new novel.

For tickets: www.litchfieldbooks.com/events