Russell, Ona [Sarah Kaufman series #1], (O’Brien’s Desk) [hc, Sunstone Press, 2004] 978-0865344167 [pb, Sunstone Press, 2008] 978-0865345492 [The first novel introduces Sarah in 1923 Ohio. Sarah’s mentor, the prominent and progressive Judge O’Brien O’Donnell, suffers a near-fatal breakdown following a blackmail attempt after the birth of his first child. The book is based on the real career of Russell’s husband’s grandfather, a well-known judge in Toledo who actually worked with a woman named Sarah Kaufman. It explores the tension between political corruption and progressive reform, including early 20th-century struggles for racial tolerance and women’s suffrage.]
United States · Fiction author
Ona Russell
Ona Russell (born 1952 in Los Angeles and resides in Solana Beach, CA) - She is the author of a trilogy set in Los Angeles in the 1920s and featuring Sarah Kaufman, a Jewish probate officer and social justice advocate based on a real historical figure Russell discovered in 1920s news clippings. Sarah is depicted as a complex, independent professional working in a male-dominated environment. As a Jewish woman, she frequently encounters and overcomes the era’s common prejudices, including gender bias and anti-Semitism. Sarah is deeply connected to her Jewish heritage, though her “Jewishness” is often expressed through cultural identity and social justice rather than strict religious ritual. She is a secular but proud Jewish woman who is acutely aware of her “outsider” status in 1920s America. Her identity is shaped by the immigrant experience and the specific challenges faced by Jewish professionals in that era. Her heritage makes her naturally empathetic to other marginalized groups, such as the Mexican community she defends in Rule of Capture. Because she understands what it feels like to be “othered,” she is often the only character willing to investigate crimes involving other overlooked populations, like immigrants and the poor.
Russell, Ona [Sarah Kaufman series #2], (The Natural Selection [pb, Sunstone Press, 2008] 978-0865346284 [The second book takes Sarah to Tennessee in July 1925. While visiting her cousin Lena, an English professor at Edenville College, Sarah investigates the mysterious murder of one of Lena’s colleagues. The investigation leads Sarah to the famous Scopes “Monkey” Trial in Dayton, where she encounters historical figures like H. L. Mencken, Clarence Darrow, and William Jennings Bryan. The story deals with the clash between religious fundamentalism and Darwinian evolution, as well as the presence of the KKK in the South.]
Russell, Ona [Sarah Kaufman series #3], (Rule of Capture [pb, Sunstone Press, 2015] 978-1632930477 [The final book in the trilogy moves the setting to Los Angeles in 1928. Sarah travels to L.A. to witness the trial of the perpetrators of the Julian Petroleum stock scandal, which had cost her her own savings. While there, she discovers the body of a young Mexican woman whom the police are quick to dismiss, prompting Sarah to launch her own investigation. The novel features early Hollywood landmarks (like Grauman’s Chinese Theatre) and the real-life “Julian Pete” Ponzi scheme. It highlights racial and ethnic tensions in Southern California, specifically comparing Sarah’s experience as a Jewish woman with the treatment of the Chicano community.] [Google/AI]