The Widow from Delray

On a crisp autumn evening in 1928, the Polish immigrant community of Delray in southwest Detroit is shaken by the murder of one of its own: Father Michał Pzechowski. The accused is Isaac Samuelson, accountant to the notorious Purple Gang, the man who helped the gang evade the law and maintain its grip on the rum-running trade and Detroit’s criminal underworld. In the aftermath, members of the tight-knit neighborhood gather at the home of Frankie Jablonski, a young widowed mother of two boys, uniquely positioned as both a friend of the victim and a former nanny to the accused. As she navigates her own recent loss alongside the watchful eyes of her large extended family and curious neighbors, the young seamstress begins to transform. With her fiery auburn curls and indomitable spirit, Frankie embarks on a journey marked by healing, danger, and secrecy, determined to uncover the truth behind the murder. Set against the backdrop of Prohibition-era Detroit at the height of its cultural ascent, The Widow of Delray draws readers into a vivid world of bootlegging, family loyalties, loss, and redemption.