Good References

Mary Wayne has brains, determination, and no references. In 1920s New York, that's as good as having nothing at all. When she encounters Nell Norcross, a young woman with pristine credentials but no prospects, Mary sees an opportunity too audacious to ignore. She assumes Nell's identity and talks her way into a position as social secretary for Bill Marshall, nephew to a formidable Aunt Caroline. What follows is a dazzling double life: Mary must be brilliant enough to deserve the job she lied to get, while maintaining a persona that isn't hers. The stakes are economic survival and social standing, but also something more tender, the possibility that she's fallen for the man she's deceiving. E. J. Rath writes with the rapid, knowing wit of a writer who understands exactly how arbitrary the gates of opportunity are. Good References is a sparkling comedy of manners and ambition, a story about what women will do when the system is rigged against them, and whether winning the game means losing yourself.