Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned... 
 "Gilded Needles" is the tale of an all-female crime circuit and the lengths they go to exact revenge on a judge who prosecuted one of their family...and it's terrific! 
 I REALLY enjoyed this. I was expecting more of a horror theme based upon the author's previous work but in truth it's more of a crime drama that happens to have some murders thrown in. I thought the author did a great job setting up not only the seedy setting, but the characters (and there's quite a few of them) are all well rounded and believable. The matriarch of the crime family manages to come off as menacing despite being an old lady, and overall it's just a fun and enjoyably seedy tale. 
 Excited to pick up some more of Mcdowell's books soon! 
 4 stars ****