Starred review from November 1, 2021
Cantor (Half Life) succeeds brilliantly with this audacious revisionist murder mystery featuring characters from The Great Gatsby. In Fitzgerald’s version, it was George Wilson who killed Jay Gatsby. Here, Cantor imagines a woman shooting Gatsby in “heat...anger...and...madness.” Three women figure prominently in the narrative. There’s “careless, carefree” Daisy Buchanan from Louisville, Ky., who “wanted to be someone who mattered”; her ambitious, sporty childhood best friend, Jordan Baker, who is embroiled in a women’s golf circuit scandal; and Catherine McCoy, who leaves the family farm for New York City, where she works for the National Women’s League, attends suffrage meetings, and worries about the bruises on her sister. Cantor successfully captures the style and tone of the 1925 novel with vivid details, such as Daisy’s “lavish honeymoon in the South Seas”; a life of luxury in Santa Barbara, Calif.; a Cannes chateau; and the ultimate extravagances of East Egg. Also featuring into the story is Det. Frank Charles, who believes everyone he interrogates about Gatsby’s death is an “incurable liar.” Loneliness, homesickness, and the “forever endless winding river” of grief pursue Daisy as justice is served. Proving once again that it is “hard to forget the past,” Cantor’s admirably convincing act of literary skullduggery offers many rewards. Agent: Jessica Regal, Foundry Media.

November 1, 2021
Several women involved with Jay Gatsby would like to set the record straight. Using The Great Gatsbyas a springboard, Cantor gives voice to that novel's female characters as they provide their recollections and interpretations of the events leading up to the murder of one of American fiction's most enigmatic characters. Gatsby's original narrator, Nick Carraway, swaps his role as narrator for one as a character. The storytelling here is done by Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker, and Catherine McCoy (in a promotion from her small original role as the doomed Myrtle Wilson's sister). Even Myrtle is heard from, however briefly. As Detective Frank Charles--who harbors the secrets and heartaches which so often haunt the lonely detective of mystery novels--untangles the stories told to him by the women who survive Gatsby, the whodunit aspects of the refocused version of Fitzgerald's rags-to-riches saga gain momentum. Daisy's motives for marrying (and staying with) the boorish Tom Buchanan are cast in a new light, as is the backstory shadowing Jordan Baker. Gatsby himself is less of a cipher now that the women are getting their say. Cantor's title borrows from Daisy's remark, from Fitzgerald's original and echoed here, when she was informed her baby was a girl: "a fool--that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool." (Sadly, the phrase "a beautiful little fool" is reported to have been what Zelda Fitzgerald uttered when told she had borne a daughter.) Less glittering and lyrical than the original, this Gatsbyretelling reveals more about the women in the story by casting them as humans, not decorative baubles. Cantor asks and answers: Who were the real fools in Gatsby's world?

COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

December 1, 2021
"That's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool," says Daisy in The Great Gatsby. Cantor reframes Fitzgerald's masterpiece through the perspectives of its women, Daisy, her friend Jordan Baker, and Catherine (sister to Daisy's husband's mistress). Avoiding spoilers for the original and this derivative, here's the plot: Daisy Fay, a Louisville socialite, has a torrid romance with Jay Gatsby, a penniless soldier, before he ships off to WWI. She doesn't wait for him, instead marrying fabulously wealthy polo player and serial philanderer Tom Buchanan. Years later, Gatsby has built a fortune for one purpose, recapturing what he believed he had with Daisy. Cantor rewrites elements of the tale, giving Jordan Baker a "secret" that could destroy her, Daisy a familial backstory that influences her actions, and Catherine a behind-the-scenes role. Unlike the original destructive, self-absorbed characters and the pervasive issue of class, Cantor focuses instead on portraying Daisy and her fellow females in a sympathetic light, reimagining and empowering them to speak to readers with a feminist bent.

COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

"Jillian Cantor's shifting kaleidoscope of female perspectives makes F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic tale of Jazz Age longing and lust feel utterly modern. A breathtaking accomplishment." — Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue

"In Beautiful Little Fools, Jillian Cantor gorgeously captures the complex lives of the women in The Great Gatsby, creating a delicate and intricate story that dovetails perfectly with F. Scott Fitzgerald's. It was engrossing to the final page." — Jill Santopolo, New York Times Bestselling author of The Light We Lost

"Glittering with intrigue, full of fast-paced tension, and saturated in Jazz Age decadence, this powerful exploration of the women of The Great Gatsby will forever change the way you see the American classic—and perhaps, too, the role of women in all the stories we take for granted." — Kristin Harmel, New York Times bestselling author of The Forest of Vanishing Stars

"This is the untold story we've all be waiting for! Lush, beautiful, and dazzling, Jillian Cantor transports readers back to an era of hot summer nights, jazz music, and lounging poolside at one of Jay Gatsby's infamous parties. This book is an instant classic." — Shea Ernshaw, New York Times bestselling author of A History of Wild Places

"Jillian Cantor beautifully re-crafts an American classic in Beautiful Little Fools, placing the women of The Great Gatsby center stage: more than merely beautiful, not so little as the men in their lives assume, and certainly far from foolish. Both fresh and familiar, this page-turner is one to savor!" — Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Rose Code

"Both heartbreaking and satisfying, Cantor's gorgeous reimagining of Fitzgerald's classic novel gives each of its female characters the depth she deserves, by placing the women center stage. Jordan Baker and Daisy Buchanan shine as they navigate a gin-soaked summer rife with the dangers of male egos struggling for power. I could not stop turning the pages as I rooted for each of these women, balancing the tightrope of societal expectations while daring to dream. Jillian Cantor is a sparkling talent in the genre of historical fiction." — Meredith Jaeger, USA bestselling author of The Pilot's Daughter

"Cantor succeeds brilliantly with this audacious revisionist murder mystery featuring characters from The Great Gatsby. . . . Cantor successfully captures the style and tone of the 1925 novel with vivid details. . . . Proving once again that it is 'hard to forget the past,' Cantor's admirably convincing act of literary skullduggery offers many rewards." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"This Gatsby retelling reveals more about the women in the story by casting them as humans, not decorative baubles. Cantor asks and answers: Who were the real fools in Gatsby's world?" — Kirkus Reviews

"Unlike the original destructive, self-absorbed characters and the pervasive issue of class, Cantor focuses instead on portraying Daisy and her fellow females in a sympathetic light, reimagining and empowering them to speak to readers with a feminist bent." — Booklist

"The women of The Great Gatsby finally take control is this re-crafting of the American classic . . . Think Big Little Lies but in the jazz age." — E! Online (15 Books to Fall in Love with this February)

"The story of The Great Gatsby is reimagined and retold by three of the novel's women, Daisy Buchanan,...