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A review by melissasbookshelf
The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell
4.0
Okay, I had to listen to this book twice because when I first finished it I was like "What the Heck?!" After listening to it again, I think I've figured out the story and the ending.
Here's my theory: Odalie is Ginevra. Remember, Rose tells us that Ginerva's parents both died and her mother died a year ago. A year ago is when Odalie first appears at the precinct as a typist. It is also at that time that the police are cracking down on Speakeasies. Thus there are few people who can expose her as Ginerva. Rose tells us that she herself has been working there for two years.
I think that Rose was a lonely orphan who is looking for a mother's love. I think she is starved for both physical and emotional attention. The Sargent, the nun, and Odalie all give Rose seemingly sincere complements and even just a brush on the shoulder and immediately Rose is enamored with that person. She is looking for that companionship, a true bosom friend. She is also the complete opposite of Odalie in that she finds comfort in rules. She is a true representation of the Victorian era.
Odalie/Ginerva is a con artist. She learned from a young age how to manipulate her father and has been manipulating people ever since. Using blackmail to get what she wants is her M.O. I think after that initial drop of the brooch, she spotted Rose as an easy mark. Once she was able to get Rose to fake the confession, she had her under her power. She is also able to get her friends off when they are arrested because she has the dirt on the Sargent. She gets Rose to "contribute" to the rent and could easily have transferred the apartment into her name. She also gets Rose involved in the bootlegging business to the point that Rose is running errands for the "business." Rose unwittingly tells Odalie all about her childhood including all the "bad" things the nuns did. Now Odalie has blackmail on the nuns and could easily have the nuns "forget" that Rose was ever there. Teddy is the fly in the ointment. He won't let things go and immediately recognizes Odalie as Ginerva. The one time we see Odalie lose it is when Teddy shows up. This is when Odalie ramps up her plans. I think that Odalie intended to kill Gib because he was blackmailing her and she saw a way she could pin that murder on Rose by having her procure the alcohol and showing up at the Speakeasy dressed almost exactly as Odalie. At one point, people mistake Rose for Odalie.
I do think that Rose killed Teddy. She says she wasn't thinking straight and she says that when Teddy notices the braclets, she just wants him to "be gone." She willing to do anything to protect her "bosom friend." I think she pushed him over the balcony and Odalie gets Rose to go get cigarettes so that she can clean up the scene so to speak and leave. She will frame Rose for both murders and also tell the police that Rose is Ginerva. Odalie can get on with her life. Her having the Lieutenant Detective deliver the brooch was the twisting of the knife. She was telling Rose, ha, ha I pinned this all on you and there is nothing you can do about it. She is assuming Rose's past. Rose, I think loses it in the end, but has the journal that she has hidden and presumably she intends to somehow use it and any means necessary to get back at Odalie.
I do think that Rose has violent tendencies and that she is extremely repressed. She is obsessive and exhibits stalker behavior. But, I don't think she is Ginerva. I think she has been set up.
Beyond the great mystery and Gatsby-like atmosphere, the contrast of the Victorian era and the Roaring Twenties is amazing. The author does a brilliant job of portraying the differing morals of these two time periods through these women.
Spoiler
I think Rose is who she says she is. At first I thought perhaps Rose and Odalie were one and the same, but there were just too many instances where it would be hard to pull off split personality, not to mention at the end when the Lieutenant Detective seemingly indicates that Odalie was a real person. Still this is Rose's retelling, so it's still possible.Here's my theory: Odalie is Ginevra. Remember, Rose tells us that Ginerva's parents both died and her mother died a year ago. A year ago is when Odalie first appears at the precinct as a typist. It is also at that time that the police are cracking down on Speakeasies. Thus there are few people who can expose her as Ginerva. Rose tells us that she herself has been working there for two years.
I think that Rose was a lonely orphan who is looking for a mother's love. I think she is starved for both physical and emotional attention. The Sargent, the nun, and Odalie all give Rose seemingly sincere complements and even just a brush on the shoulder and immediately Rose is enamored with that person. She is looking for that companionship, a true bosom friend. She is also the complete opposite of Odalie in that she finds comfort in rules. She is a true representation of the Victorian era.
Odalie/Ginerva is a con artist. She learned from a young age how to manipulate her father and has been manipulating people ever since. Using blackmail to get what she wants is her M.O. I think after that initial drop of the brooch, she spotted Rose as an easy mark. Once she was able to get Rose to fake the confession, she had her under her power. She is also able to get her friends off when they are arrested because she has the dirt on the Sargent. She gets Rose to "contribute" to the rent and could easily have transferred the apartment into her name. She also gets Rose involved in the bootlegging business to the point that Rose is running errands for the "business." Rose unwittingly tells Odalie all about her childhood including all the "bad" things the nuns did. Now Odalie has blackmail on the nuns and could easily have the nuns "forget" that Rose was ever there. Teddy is the fly in the ointment. He won't let things go and immediately recognizes Odalie as Ginerva. The one time we see Odalie lose it is when Teddy shows up. This is when Odalie ramps up her plans. I think that Odalie intended to kill Gib because he was blackmailing her and she saw a way she could pin that murder on Rose by having her procure the alcohol and showing up at the Speakeasy dressed almost exactly as Odalie. At one point, people mistake Rose for Odalie.
I do think that Rose killed Teddy. She says she wasn't thinking straight and she says that when Teddy notices the braclets, she just wants him to "be gone." She willing to do anything to protect her "bosom friend." I think she pushed him over the balcony and Odalie gets Rose to go get cigarettes so that she can clean up the scene so to speak and leave. She will frame Rose for both murders and also tell the police that Rose is Ginerva. Odalie can get on with her life. Her having the Lieutenant Detective deliver the brooch was the twisting of the knife. She was telling Rose, ha, ha I pinned this all on you and there is nothing you can do about it. She is assuming Rose's past. Rose, I think loses it in the end, but has the journal that she has hidden and presumably she intends to somehow use it and any means necessary to get back at Odalie.
I do think that Rose has violent tendencies and that she is extremely repressed. She is obsessive and exhibits stalker behavior. But, I don't think she is Ginerva. I think she has been set up.
Beyond the great mystery and Gatsby-like atmosphere, the contrast of the Victorian era and the Roaring Twenties is amazing. The author does a brilliant job of portraying the differing morals of these two time periods through these women.