Last Call at the Nightingale
By Katharine Schellman
305 pages
What’s it about?
Vivian Kelly and her older sister Beatrice work at a dressmaker’s shop and struggle to put enough food on the table. It is 1924 and New York City is a hard place to be for young single women. Beatrice is content to work and sleep but Vivian wants more out of life. So Vivian goes dancing at the Nightingale late into the evenings. When she accidentally finds a dead body in the alley she may be mixed up in something that threatens the small life she and Beatrice have carved out.
What did it make me think about?
Who doesn’t love a good mystery?
Should I read it?
This was a solid mystery with good characters and well paced plot. 1920’s New York is an interesting setting- and the setting adds to the story. You will need to suspend your disbelief at some of Vivian’s decisions, especially towards the end of the book, but her curiosity keeps the plot moving. This book is the first of a series, so if you enjoy these characters you can look forward to more.
Quote-
“Did she love the Nightingale because she felt at home there or because she couldn’t stop fighting against the narrow prison of the life she had been born into?”What’s it about?
Vivian Kelly and her older sister Beatrice work at a dressmaker’s shop and struggle to put enough food on the table. It is 1924 and New York City is a hard place to be for young single women. Beatrice is content to work and sleep but Vivian wants more out of life. So Vivian goes dancing at the Nightingale late into the evenings. When she accidentally finds a dead body in the alley she may be mixed up in something that threatens the small life she and Beatrice have carved out.
What did it make me think about?
Who doesn’t love a good mystery?
Should I read it?
This was a solid mystery with good characters and well paced plot. 1920’s New York is an interesting setting- and the setting adds to the story. You will need to suspend your disbelief at some of Vivian’s decisions, especially towards the end of the book, but her curiosity keeps the plot moving. This book is the first of a series, so if you enjoy these characters you can look forward to more.
Quote-
“Did she love the Nightingale because she felt at home there or because she couldn’t stop fighting against the narrow prison of the life she had been born into?”
