How were the books received?
By the people who read them, very well. Crooked House was reviewed in several newspapers, and bought by many libraries; reviews were uniformly positive. Crumbling Dreams was also favorably reviewed, but not as extensively as Crooked House. About the first book, one reviewer wrote: And They Built A Crooked House is Ruth Martin’s retelling of the whole horrific story. . . the reader is confronted with a virtual encyclopedia of ineptitude, dishonesty and greed on the part of almost every so-called professional the couple trusted [and] paid. . . Shoddy construction is only half the story here. The American system of justice is also taken to task. . . And They Built a Crooked House is an incredible but not uncommon story. People in the construction industry can regale listeners with stories of similar atrocities. . . it should be required reading for those considering the average person’s largest single purchase, a home. On a more personal note, several acquaintances who read Crooked House
