LADY X

The hunt for a notorious female vigilante in seedy 1970s New York City reverberates five decades later for three generations of women.

Margot Cooper’s perfect life as the wife of an A-list Hollywood actor and as a lifestyle influencer implodes one morning in 2024 when her husband’s sexual indiscretions are shared over social media. With her teenage daughter, Skye, Margot flees to her childhood home in Pittsburgh, now inhabited by her older sister, Julia. As Margot and Julia take the opportunity to sort through their parents’ possessions in the attic, Skye pulls out a box of newspaper clippings and photos that suggest her grandmother, Ginger Daughtry, might have been the notorious Lady X who, in 1977, committed violent acts against abusive men—possibly including murder. Skye and Julia, a journalist, are eager to investigate further. The narrative then flashes back to that gritty summer when the “Son of Sam” terrorized the Big Apple and disco ruled the dance floors. Ginger and her roommates, Rachel and Faye, uneasily navigate New York life, which is dominated by predatory men, until one of them is sexually assaulted. When the police are unresponsive, the women decide to take matters into their own hands with cans of spray paint, and Lady X is born. Author Fader sets up an intriguing premise that doesn’t quite work in its execution. The 1977 sections, with their evocative depictions of a bankrupt city on the edge and the power of female friendship against a patriarchal system, overshadow the meandering modern-day plotline. Margot, the epitome of wealthy white privilege, is off-putting in her narcissism, feeling sorry for herself instead of trying to understand her mother’s rage, and the male characters are cardboard cliches, from the gay best friend to a villainous cop.

Despite its flaws, an intriguing feminist thriller.