T.E. W. (terez93) reviewed Last Call at the Nightingale (Nightingale, Bk 1) on + 273 more book reviews
If walls could talk... whenever I'm in New York City, I often wonder what the inside of these magnificent old buildings have seen in the time they've been standing. There were tens of thousands of the types of speakeasies featured in this capable novel, and each probably had a compendium of stories to tell! This fictional account could well have been based on real life, such were the goings-on in these illicit establishments, despite the fact that most people who frequented them were simply trying to have an entertaining night out, to enjoy a respite from their hard lives which were often filled with struggle and deprivation.
Vivian Kelly's story is probably representative of a life many young women experienced at that time: raised in an orphanage with her sister, after the death of their mother, they were both taught a trade and were then packed off to work for a seamstress to spend their lives in conditions which amounted to little more than a sweatshop, where they were paid a pittance for the backbreaking labor they performed. Vivian lives with her sister in a two-room apartment in a slum, spending her days sewing gowns for the rich and notorious, with little to look forward to aside from the potential to end up with a half-dozen children, not unlike the many other tenants of their bleak tenement building. To break up the monotony of her dreary life, she escapes almost nightly to a local speakeasy, The Nightingale, where she meets a variety of colorful characters, including Danny, the Chinese bartender, Bea, a waitress and close friend, well-to-do flappers from the other side of the proverbial tracks, an assorted cast of gentlemen dancers, and Honor, the mysterious owner who has an eye for attractive young ladies as well.
One night, Vivian stumbles across a dead man in the alley behind the club, and she is increasingly drawn into a tangled web of intrigue as she attempts to uncover the mystery behind his death, somewhat unwillingly. I don't want to provide too many spoilers, but this was an engaging read, set in a period most people don't think too much about these days. The descriptions of the characters kept the plot moving at a decent pace, and the twists and turns keep the story interesting. I think this will likely become one of a series, as the ending definitely set the stage for additional novels to come. Recommended if you are looking for an entertaining light read with a hint of noir.
Vivian Kelly's story is probably representative of a life many young women experienced at that time: raised in an orphanage with her sister, after the death of their mother, they were both taught a trade and were then packed off to work for a seamstress to spend their lives in conditions which amounted to little more than a sweatshop, where they were paid a pittance for the backbreaking labor they performed. Vivian lives with her sister in a two-room apartment in a slum, spending her days sewing gowns for the rich and notorious, with little to look forward to aside from the potential to end up with a half-dozen children, not unlike the many other tenants of their bleak tenement building. To break up the monotony of her dreary life, she escapes almost nightly to a local speakeasy, The Nightingale, where she meets a variety of colorful characters, including Danny, the Chinese bartender, Bea, a waitress and close friend, well-to-do flappers from the other side of the proverbial tracks, an assorted cast of gentlemen dancers, and Honor, the mysterious owner who has an eye for attractive young ladies as well.
One night, Vivian stumbles across a dead man in the alley behind the club, and she is increasingly drawn into a tangled web of intrigue as she attempts to uncover the mystery behind his death, somewhat unwillingly. I don't want to provide too many spoilers, but this was an engaging read, set in a period most people don't think too much about these days. The descriptions of the characters kept the plot moving at a decent pace, and the twists and turns keep the story interesting. I think this will likely become one of a series, as the ending definitely set the stage for additional novels to come. Recommended if you are looking for an entertaining light read with a hint of noir.
