Publication Date: March 4, 2025
Based on the true story of a famous trial, this novel is Law and Order: 1800, as Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr investigate the shocking murder of a young woman who everyone—and no one—seemed to know.
At the start of a new century, a shocking murder transfixes Manhattan, forcing bitter rivals Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr to work together to save a man from the gallows.
Just before Christmas 1799, Elma Sands slips out of her Quaker cousin’s boarding house—and doesn’t come home. Has she eloped? Run away? No one knows—until her body appears in the Manhattan Well.
Her family insists they know who killed her. Handbills circulate around the city accusing a carpenter named Levi Weeks of seducing and murdering Elma.
But privately, quietly, Levi’s wealthy brother calls in a special favor….
Aaron Burr’s legal practice can’t finance both his expensive tastes and his ambition to win the 1800 New York elections. To defend Levi Weeks is a double win: a hefty fee plus a chance to grab headlines.
Alexander Hamilton has his own political aspirations; he isn’t going to let Burr monopolize the public’s attention. If Burr is defending Levi Weeks, then Hamilton will too. As the trial and the election draw near, Burr and Hamilton race against time to save a man’s life—and destroy each other.
Part murder mystery, part thriller, part true crime, The Girl From Greenwich Street revisits a dark corner of history—with a surprising twist ending that reveals the true story of the woman at the center of the tale.
An 18th-century Manhattan murder investigation features two bitter rivals fighting together to save a man from the gallows.
Author Lauren Willig delves into the Manhattan Well murder in The Girl from Greenwich Street. What happened to Elma Sands remains much of a mystery, with the details morphing into fantasy, myth, and legend.
Using the transcript from the trial that was designed to find Levi Weeks guilty, the author crafts a compelling account with insight into the female victim. Once she fleshes out Elma’s character, another big mystery centers around why Levi’s trial drew such heavy hitters as Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr.
The author’s theories hold up well in her version, demonstrating an attention to detail courtesy of her meticulous research. It is also refreshing to see who she deemed to be the culprit and why, along with additional research for readers interested in mulling over the clues.
The Girl from Greenwich Street offers true crime enthusiasts a mystery more than 200 years old with all sorts of twists and turns throughout the ages. 
Lauren Willig is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. An alumna of Yale University, she has a graduate degree in history from Harvard and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. She lives in New York City.
