The Half-Life of Ruby Fielding

A Novel

By: Lydia Kang

Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld

From the bestselling author of A Beautiful Poison comes a spellbinding historical mystery about hidden identities, wartime paranoia, and the tantalizing power of deceit.

Brooklyn, 1942. War rages overseas as brother and sister Will and Maggie Scripps contribute to the war effort stateside. Ambitious Will secretly scouts for the Manhattan Project while grief-stricken Maggie works at the Navy Yard, writing letters to her dead mother between shifts.

But the siblings’ quiet lives change when they discover a beautiful woman hiding under their back stairs. This stranger harbors an obsession with poisons, an affection for fine things, and a singular talent for killing small creatures. As she draws Will and Maggie deeper into her mysterious past, they both begin to suspect she’s quite dangerous—all while falling helplessly under her spell.

With whispers of spies in dark corners and the world’s first atomic bomb in the works, the visitor’s sudden presence in Maggie’s and Will’s lives raises questions about who she is and what she wants. Is this mysterious woman someone they can trust—or a threat to everything they hold dear?

©2022 Lydia Kang (P)2022 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Saskia Maarleveld's narration is the best part of this historical mystery, set in Brooklyn in October 1942.… The story is told from multiple perspectives, and Maarleveld does a great job creating believable character distinctions and capturing the tension as the story builds to a final twist.”—AudioFile Magazine

“A complex, intertwined narrative.”—Historical Novel Review

“Lydia Kang does it again. The Half-Life of Ruby Fielding is riveting. Set in Brooklyn and New York City at the height of World War II, we are dropped into a world where no one can be trusted. The Manhattan Project is in its early stages and the key to winning the war. But who works for who? Not only are loyalties to country challenged, but family loyalties as well. Characters’ motives and desires shift and twist. No one is who they claim to be. And in the middle of it all is the strange, alluring, and enigmatic Ruby Fielding, who may undo them all. A marvelous, complex, and thrilling read.”—Kim Taylor Blakemore, bestselling author of After Alice Fell

Loved it

Loved it. Loved all the characters and the story line . Nice twist at the end

Engaging!

This book was fabulous. Very engaging and I couldn’t stop listening until the very end.

Another phenomenal work

I just love Lydia Kang. This story was like all her other works- just phenomenal. I use her books to get through my weekend chores. I have audible going while I maximize my productivity. I mindlessly do my weekend chores while I get lost in these stories. I wish there were more because I'm pretty sure I've gotten through them all at this point 🙃

Loved it!

This was another engaging story filled with twists and turns that keep you guessing. I liked the narrators performance as well.

WWII Story for Millennial Generation

Lydia Kang has grown more interesting as a writer with every book. Her unique ability to blend vivid imagination with the rigor of science is enchanting. A delicious book with a clear eyed yet gentle exposure of deep moral questions. And always the romance! A great read.

amazing

simple and amazing and so so so interesting! what an amazing performance and an amazing story line

Hard to believe….

Character development was shallow, and the characters themselves were fairly unbelievable. Pretty formulaic and the twist was a little disappointing.

lurid details

Stopped reading when the sexual details became th free essence of the story. Disappointed as it had the potential for a lot of political intrigue.

just FYI its a lesbian story

Just FYI it turns into a lesbian story. If you like that you might like the book, but that's not what I'm looking for and stopped reading when it got into that.

don't bother

too long and very boring. the writing was nothing special. I would not recommend thus book.