Tag Archives: historical mystery

Book Review: The Last Drop of Hemlock

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Title: The Last Drop of Hemlock
Author: Katharine Schellman
Release Date: 6 June 2023
How I Got It: Bought print copy
Rating: 4 Stars

Last year I wrote a review for Katharine Schellman’s book Last Call at the Nightingale, which is a Jazz Age-set historical murder mystery. You can find that first review here. The sequel to that book came out in June, so of course I had to get it. I’ve mentioned before (I think) that Schellman became an instant-buy author for me the minute I read her debut novel, a regency-era mystery called The Body in the Garden, which came out in 2020 and which I wrote about here. I am so happy I found this author. I have loved everything she’s published so far, and this newest book, The Last Drop of Hemlock, is no exception.

The Last Drop of Hemlock picks up a couple months after the end of Nightingale (you will need to read the first book to get some reference and know who all the main players are). Our resident disaster bi (and my personal mascot) Vivian Kelly (Viv) is getting used to her new job working at the Nightingale, the speakeasy owned by the dangerous woman she is dangerously attracted to, Honor. As she did in the first book, Viv quickly finds herself entangled in a murder: this time she has promised to help her best friend Bea find out who murdered her uncle with poisoned whiskey. This investigation leads her to asking for favors from Leo, whom she has indecisively kept at a distance since learning of his deception at the end of the first book. She also has to make deals with mobsters, gets attacked, uncovers a bizarre plot of threats and blackmail, and steals a priceless dress covered in gems.

In the midst of this, she finally convinces her straight-laced sister, Florence, to come to the Nightingale where Honor’s right-hand man, Danny, takes an immediate liking to her and the two begin a (truly sweet and adorable) flirtation. For reasons Viv can hardly explain even to herself this budding relationship makes her strangely jealous. It’s not that she has any designs on Danny for herself. It’s more that she is lonely, stuck and confused by her attractions to both Honor and Leo, and hurt by Honor’s decision to push her away despite acknowledging that the attraction is mutual. So, even though she is happy that her serious sister is having fun, becoming more joyful, she is also afraid of losing her place in Florence’s affections, and she’s jealous that she has not likewise found someone who makes her happy the way Danny seems to make Florence happy.

I would say this installment is not quite as good as the first, which I absolutely adored. But it’s still a ton of fun. The murder mystery in this book doesn’t shock me the way the first one did. The way all the pieces fall together in the end is still very satisfying, but I did actually figure it out ahead of the characters this time, which I did not quite manage in the first book.

As with the first book, the research and attention to historical detail is impeccable. As someone who is trying (and mostly failing) to write a 1920s set historical fiction novel, I know how much work that takes, and I am duly impressed. Schellman really does a great job building the setting with rich detail. This version of Jazz Age New York feels real and lived in. The Nightingale in particular comes to life with technicolor and Dolby surround sound. And even the streets and shops and Chinatown and the various incidental characters that live there all feel real and alive.

There are many things I love about the series in general. First, of course, is Viv. As a disaster bi myself, I have a lot of fellow-feeling for Viv. For her chaotic tendencies, her attractions to two very different but both wildly appealing people, her confusion, her need to get lost in the smoke and the sweat and the music at the speakeasy. This is a character I know and understand. One of the things about this installment was getting to see/learn more of the other supporting characters, especially Bea, Florence, and Danny.

I also really liked some of the small bits of social commentary threaded throughout the plot. As Danny shows Viv and Florence his home in Chinatown, they (and we as the readers) learn more about the way the Chinese immigrant community lived in the 20s, and the kinds of racism and obstacles they had to face when they arrived in New York. These books (both of them, but especially this one) also do not shy away from examining the huge gaps between the wealthy and the working class during this time period. So often, Jazz Age stories focus on the wild lives of the rich, but this book stays with the working class and the poor. The ones living in cheap, rundown tenements, who are struggling to scrape by. And in these spaces we see the ways these working class communities supported each other and helped each other in times of crisis. This is one of the biggest strengths of the book in my opinion.

Was this book on quite the same level as the previous one? No. But that is a common issue with the follow-up to a strong opener. That said, I did still really enjoy it and recommend it. And I am looking forward to the next installment. The ending of the Last Drop of Hemlock does, of course, wrap up the big mystery plot of the novel. But it opens up new possibilities for Viv’s personal/romantic life that I am very excited to return to. I am also interested in seeing how the budding romance between Florence and Danny shakes out. Obviously, I don’t know for certain that there will be a next book, but mystery novels like this tend to be popular in long-series form, and provided this one does well enough it seems a safe bet to assume there will be a follow up.

In the meantime, Murder at Midnight – the next book in Katharine Schellman’s other series, the Lily Adler Mysteries, is due out in September. As I said at the top of this post, the first Lily Adler book was Schellman’s debut and I loved it so much that she became an instant-buy for me based on that single book. The third book in the series came out last year, and while I absolutely enjoyed it, I felt strongly that it suffered from missing Lily Adler’s staunch supporter, Captain Jack Hartley. It seems like he should be back in the next book and I am SO excited for it. Yes, I swoon over this character. So sue me. (Don’t actually sue me, I have no money.) If you read these books you will probably understand. And in all fairness, I’m also swooning over Lily the entire time too. And in the grand tradition of many murder mystery series, this one appears to be a Christmas installment!

So, you will no doubt be getting another Katharine Schellman-centered book review in September.

Some Queer Joy Books for Pride Month

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I’m getting the blog back up and running, and I’m just in time, because: It’s Pride Month! In the face of all the current awfulness in the U.S. (which I’m not going to get into here, because it’s terrifying and rage-inducing and I’m tired), let’s focus on fun things. So, as your resident Disaster Bi™, allow me to offer up some Queer Joy books for your reading pleasure!

By happy coincidence (probably not coincidence, they probably did it on purpose), a bunch of books releasing THIS WEEK are happy and gay!

Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall — Alexis Hall of Boyfriend Material fame, returns with a sapphic, Regency-era romance fantasy this time! Which is pretty much my absolute favorite combination of words in the English language. I’ve been a Regency-era nut since I was a kid, and when you combine sapphic, romance, and fantasy together, you put me smack-dab in my happy place. I am SO excited for this one! (I love these trope/tag meme book graphics! I don’t care if anyone else thinks they’re dumb. Also, look how pretty this cover is!)

We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian — the newest book from Cat Sebastian (famous for her queer books of mostly, but not only, gay man) sounds like a really great romp. You can always count on Cat Sebastian for relatable characters, engaging plots, and all the gayness. This one is set in 1950s New York, and features a scrappy newspaper writer and the son of a Newspaper Tycoon who grow close in the midst of the very dangerous anti-gay atmosphere of the 50s.

The Last Drop of Hemlock by Katherine Schellman — This book is primarily a historical mystery novel set in 1920s New York (another one of my favorite time periods!). It’s the sequel to Last Call at the Nightingale, for which I wrote a glowing review last year. Like the first, it features my fellow resident Disaster Bi, Vivian Kelly as she navigates her new job at a speakeasy, her attraction to the dangerously alluring woman who owns the speakeasy, and stumbling upon yet another murder (and, okay, this one might stretch the definition of “joy” in “Queer Joy,” as Vivian is really Going Through It™, but still…). Katherine Schellman is an instant-buy for me and I cannot recommend her work highly enough! (I couldn’t find a fun graphics version of this cover, alas.)

There are, of course, PLENTY MORE. But all three of these literally released this week so I thought it would be fun to highlight them. Hopefully, I’ll do a second post with even more options. And, of course, I’ve written about plenty of queer books in the past, such as:
“Queer Romances for Pride”
“Queer Romances Redux: The Whyborne & Griffin Series”
“Book Review: Imperfect Illusions”
“Two-For-One Book Review: Marvellous Light and Restless Truth”

My Month of Victorian Romances

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Sometimes I get in these moods, where I read one particular kind of book and just CANNOT STOP reading that particular kind of book. I go through cycles where I absolutely devour certain genres or sub-genres. Back in 2020 I went through a huge space opera phase. In mid-2021 there was a big period of murder mysteries. My romance reading in general tends to happen in big chunks.

Starting around the beginning of December, and going through Christmas and New Years, and the first couple weeks of January, I’ve been voraciously consuming historical romance novels set in the Victorian time period. Within that there have been a few variations: a few straight romances, a few mystery types, a few fantasy types. But all of them have been Victorian historical fiction.

In order, I have now read:
Soulless by Gail Carriger
The Siren of Sussex by Mimi Matthews
A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Mayhem by Manda Collins
An Heiress’s Guide to Deception and Desire by Manda Collins
The Belle of Belgrave Square by Mimi Matthews
Widdershins by Jordan L. Hawk (a re-read by still in the same Victorian-set genre)
Changeless by Gail Carriger (started by didn’t finish)
Jackaby by William Ritter
Beastly Bones by William Ritter

Soulless and Changeless are the first two books of Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series (paranormal romance/steampunk set in Victorian England). I read Carriger’s YA The Finishing School series last year. I didn’t realize until after the fact that the Parasol Protectorate series was an adult series, and written first, and the Finishing School series is a prequel. But I enjoyed the YA books enough to try out the adult series. I wouldn’t say I loved the Finishing School books, but I enjoyed them. They were silly and frothy and adventurous and fun. I found Soulless for cheap at the used bookstore and enjoyed it enough, and then I grabbed the sequel, Changeless, at the library. I won’t say it’s a DNF. I think I might come back to it eventually, probably. But some of the characters that I knew from the Finishing School series appear in ways I really didn’t like (again, I realize the Parasol books came first, so it’s my own fault, but however it happened, I am far more attached to the version of the characters from the prequel series and I was pretty upset about some things in Changeless, which I won’t specify as they are spoilery). Changeless, also frankly was not scratching the particular ITCH I had when I jumped into these Victorian books. So I returned it to the library early.

The Belles of London series encompasses the books The Siren of Sussex and The Belle of Belgrave Square by Mimi Matthews (and a third one is coming out in 2024). These were straight Victorian romance – no magic or murder mysteries in these, just lots of Victorian-period melodrama, which I loved. I loved them so much that The Siren of Sussex made it onto my favorite books of the year list! They are swoony and fun and filled with smart, interesting, complex women and honorable men trying to do the right thing under difficult circumstances, and all the kinds of societal roadblocks and miscommunication issues one might expect from the genre. They are not out to defy the genre expectations, but rather play them up to great effect. I am really looking forward to the third one.

In what appears to be very much a pattern in these kinds of novels, the two books by Manda Collins, A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Mayhem, and An Heiress’s Guide to Deception and Desire are also linked books, with at least one more book to be released in the series this year in March. These are historical romance/mystery hybrids (one of my favorite combos!), with each book featuring a woman MC solving a crime while also following in love with the charming man helping them investigate. They are both really great mysteries (I had the first one figured out about ⅔ of the way through but the second one kept me guessing until right near the end). And the romances are both sweet and swoony. The first one is a rivals-to-lovers pairing (a police detective and a woman who’s doing her own investigating and keeps messing with his career). The second book is a second-chance romance with a pair of lovers who broke off their engagement years ago, mixed with a marriage of convenience (it’s complicated!). I really loved both and I cannot wait for the third one!

Finally, I have an already completed series of four books by William Ritter that are Victorian-age historical paranormal mysteries. They are not romance, strictly-speaking, though there is a romantic subplot threaded through all the books. They are about a woman from England who comes to America and finds employment with a paranormal investigator. The books are written in first person with the woman, Abigail, narrating her adventures with the investigator, Jackaby, in a way similar to Watson’s narration of the Sherlock Holmes stories. I have finished the first two books, and already have the third one checked out from the library and ready to go. These books are BLAST. Fun mystery writing, lots of period-appropriate set dressing and some really fun paranormal monsters including the usuals such as werewolves, vampires, ghosts, as well as some things you would not expect. I can’t wait to see where these go next!

So that’s what my reading has looked like the last month or so (about a month and a half now, actually, I guess). I think I’m going to finish the William Ritter series now, and then I’m thinking I might jump into something different. I’m thinking about getting back into big epic fantasy tomes. I used to read them almost exclusively in high school. Big giant 800-page types. But I fell out of the habit in college and then grad school killed my reading altogether (as I’ve talked about on this blog before), and since I’ve gotten back into the swing of things I haven’t really returned to my roots yet. I think it’s about time. But we’ll see…

My Fave Reads of the Year, 2022 Edition

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Hello all and welcome to the last Friday of the year! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday week last week, and that you are excited for the new year and all the possibilities that might bring. The last year, or two years really, have been pretty rough, and I am really hoping that 2023 will be a bit kinder to us all. But I am… skeptical, let’s say. Still, I am trying to approach the new year with a feeling of cautious optimism. We shall see how it goes.

Before I jump into my fave reads list, I have several things in the works I want to mention. I have officially started my work as a freelance editor. And I am preparing to launch an etsy shop to sell the fluid paintings I’ve been making off-and-on for the last couple months. The first handful were all gifts to various family and friends, but I have a bunch now that are piling up in my office, so I’m hoping to sell them for just a bit – enough to clear out the space in my office and buy supplies so I can make some more. I’ll have the shop linked here probably in the first week of January for the curious.

I am also considering changing the name of the blog… though, I am still on the fence about that. As I mentioned in my About page ages ago, I chose the name “Night Forest Books” as the name of my hypothetical future bookstore. I’ve had the name in mind since AT LEAST 2016. It’s a reference to my favorite book, The Neverending Story, and the location called “Perilin, the Night Forest.” When I first chose the name I did a lot of research to make sure no other bookstore or related business had claimed the name already. I bought the .com domain for future use, and I claimed the IG name (@night.forest.books) and this blog title. However, I was nowhere near ready to actually register a business or LLC name as I knew it would be probably years before I was financially ready to start the bookstore.

Well, apparently in mid-2020 a brand new micro-press started in CANADA, and they named themselves Night Forest Press. Obviously, even if they did research on the name, they did not consider my teeny-tiny blog a problem, whether it had essentially the same name or not, and since I didn’t have an actual business registered under that name it was legally up for grabs. I could probably still get away with naming a bookstore Night Forest Books if I really wanted to (maybe, I’m not certain), but googling “Night Forest Books” right now just brings up the press website. And I had vague ambitions of maybe someday starting a press associated with the hypothetical bookstore, which would no longer be a viable option under the current name. So, I will need to find a new name for the hypothetical bookstore…

Of course, the blog name is still fine right now. However, as I said, googling for “Night Forest Books” right now does not remotely lead to my blog, which is really disheartening. Besides which, my initial thought was that the blog would be a good way to establish some recognition among readership in advance of opening the bookstore, and if the bookstore has an entirely different name from the blog that kind of defeats the purpose…

So… yeah… I’m on the fence about changing the blog name, or just letting it be and worrying about the bookstore name later. Maybe I’ll just go back to using my actual name for the blog for the time being. That might at least make it obvious in search engines again… maybe. *shrug* If anyone has any thoughts, please feel free to share.

OKAY! And now the thing I’m supposed to actually be writing about today. My Favorite Reads of 2022 List!

I had a really difficult time narrowing the list down this year. (Well, ok, every year). What I have ended up with is a list of 10 books. My top 5 favorite new release fiction books, released in the calendar year of 2022, plus my top 5 favorite nonfiction books, none of which were new releases for 2022 but which were all new reads for me.

My Top 5 Fiction New Releases:

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher: This book by the masterful T. Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon) is a beautiful dark fairy tale with prose that makes me weep with awe and jealousy. I wrote a full review for Nettle & Bone way back at the beginning of the year, where I predicted that it might end up being my favorite book of the year when it was all said and done, though I conceded that Nona the Ninth might easily change my mind when it was released. But lo and behold! I stand by my initial statement! I absolutely adored this book and it remains my favorite book of the year.

A Restless Truth by Freya Marske: you can find the full review of this one and the first book in the trilogy just a few weeks back. This one is a historical romance fantasy set in Edwardian England, featuring a murder mystery, lots of magic, and some very steamy sex. I loved it (and the first one, A Marvellous Light), and I’ve already re-read it once since finishing it.

Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir: I know I still owe you all an actual review of this one, oops… For those still in the dark (how?) this book (and series) is a mind-bending, genre-busting, space opera mixed with necromantic magic, and one of the most complex examinations of love in all its forms (including toxic and self-destructive) that I have ever read. I’ll admit that I fully expected this one to overtake Nettle & Bone as my favorite, but though I loved it immensely, it ended up slipping down to third place. Nona the Ninth, the third of the Locked Tomb series, was excellent, and mind-boggling, but of the three it is my least favorite. Nona was a delight of a character, but the first book is still by far the most FUN. So far I love them in order, lol (Gideon, then Harrow, then Nona).

Last Call at the Nightingale by Katherine Schellman: here’s another one I read and reviewed pretty early in the year! It’s a historical murder mystery novel set in the 1920s, which is of course a good portion of what I love about it. And it features a disaster bi protagonist that I relate to rather strongly, lol! I read the whole thing in one sitting, just absolutely DEVOURED it. I fervently await the sequel!

The Siren of Sussex by Mimi Matthews: I have not written a full review for this one yet, but I might try to put one together for it and its sequel later. This one is straight romance novel material, historical (Victorian setting), and absolutely lovely! I read it about a month ago and I am currently in a big Victorian-set historical romance brainrot mode. I also read the sequel to this one, The Belle of Belgrave Square. There will be a third one apparently sometime next year, so maybe I’ll do a double review for books 1 and 2 in time for the 3rd release. This book just really made me happy, with a headstrong intelligent female lead and a Indian-immigrant working-class love interest, and lots of witty banter.

My Top 5 Nonfiction Books:

Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet by Thich Nhat Hanh: this is the last book that came out before Thich Nhat Hanh’s death in 2021. If you are unfamiliar with him, he was a very famous well-respected Buddhist monk who wrote many books on Buddhist, meditation, and finding peace in your own life. He gave lectures, met with world leaders, ran retreats, and generally just made the world a better place by his existence. He was/is one of the greatest heroes in my life, and I was absolutely DISTRAUGHT when he died last year. (And, shit, I am genuinely getting choked up just typing this.) This book is kind of exactly what the title suggests: a way of approaching the crises of our planet (ecological, political, systemic, personal) from a Buddhist perspective but also from a largely non-denominational place of deeply human spirituality and compassion. It made me cry at least three or four times, and the minute I finished it I threatened to buy a copy for every person I know to make them read it (if I’d had the funds, I really probably would have).

Make Your Art No Matter What by Beth Pickens: I have a soft-spot for self-improvement books, but more specifically I really love self-improvement books about living an authentic and creative life. For instance, I also liked Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert (though I do find Gilbert a little too woo-woo and mystical hand-wavy at times). This book by Beth Pickens is about living life as an artist — and she defines “artist” very broadly — and offers real concrete advice on how to live that life to the best of your ability and with the most fulfillment you can manage, whether you are a full-time professional artist or someone trying to eke out a practice around a day job and family and other responsibilities. I found it incredibly insightful, down-to-earth, actionable, and really inspiring.

The Dragon Behind the Glass by Emily Voigt: I really love nonfiction books about history or science, and this one is kind of both. I picked it up on a whim and found it absolutely fascinating. It’s about the exotic fish trade, of all things! Specifically about a rare exotic fish called an arawona, which is allegedly the most expensive kind of collector/live fish in the world (most expensive fish of any kind in the world are, I think, some of the giant tuna caught/killed in Asia and sold by auction to high-end restaurants for sometimes millions of dollars). This book, and the exotic fish trade, includes: trips into the deepest barely-explored jungles of Asia and South America, run-ins with the black market and the mob, and devolves into fraud, betrayal, and even murder. It’s absolutely shocking and enormously fascinating!

1920: The Year That Made the Decade Roar by Eric Burns: I think I’ve mentioned before I am a bit obsessed with the 1920s Jazz Age era? So I assume no one is surprised that I picked up this book. It is pretty much exactly what it says it is: its a history book that focused on JUST the single year of 1920, and makes an argument that the events of that single year was the catalyst and predictor for everything that came after it. One of the major events the book focuses on is the 1920 Wall Street bombing, which remained the most destructive incident of domestic terrorism until the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. (I found that section SO interesting that the Wall Street bombing eventually became the instigating event for the plot in my 1920s historical fiction work-in-progress). The whole book was really enlightening and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in American history.

Blood, Sweat, and Pixels by Jason Schreier: the subtitle for this book is “The triumphant, turbulent stories behind how video games are made.” It’s a really well-researched account written by a games journalist about the game industry, using an enormous amount of first-persons accounts and interviews. Each chapter focuses on the story of a different game, including (but not limited to) Witcher 3, Uncharted 4, Dragon Age: Inquisition, and Stardew Valley. I’m not even a big gamer (just a dabbler), so I’m not 100% sure why I decided to pick this one to begin with, but I’m so glad I did! It was so cool to learn about how these games are developed and the kind of crazy sheningans that happen behind the scenes. (The dude who made Stardew Valley continues to blow my mind.) It’s also really fun now to watch the comedy tv show Mythic Quest on Apple+ and constantly go “that’s not how that works! That’s not how any of that works!” Lol…

So, that’s my list, for whatever it’s worth. I’d love to hear what books you read and loved this year! Please feel free to share in the comments!

Book Review: Last Call at the Nightingale

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(Apologies for the delay!)

I think I’ve said this before, but Katharine Schellman is an absolute delight on social media. She is so kind and generous with her fans. There is, of course, a certain amount of patience and politeness expected from authors when they interact with fans on social media, but that’s not what I mean. I mean she is genuine and kind and friendly and generous with her time. I have had a couple “conversations” with her on twitter, which mostly consisted of me raving about how much I loved her three Lily Adler books (reviews of which can be found here), and her telling me how much she appreciated the support.

Well, during one of these conversations she asked me if I would be interested in an ARC of her next new release book, Last Call at the Nightingale, which is not part of her Lily Adler series but the start of a new mystery series set in the 1920s. Reader, I’m sure you can imagine what my response was!

Of course I jumped at the chance! Mostly because I love absolutely everything she has written so far, and also because I am actually obsessed with the 1920s and love historical fiction set in the 20s. She asked for my mailing address, and I gave it to her, and then a couple weeks ago the ARC arrived in the mail. She even sent a nice little note with it, which I will treasure.

It took some effort to get the quiet time and space needed to sit down and read it. I knew I was going to need a whole free evening because, based on previous experience, a Katharine Schellman novel is a read-in-one-sitting novel. I did that with both books 2 and 3 of the Lily Adler series, and it is clearly going to be the standard for these. Finally, I did find the time, and true to my prediction, I read the entire book in one sitting.

So, here’s my review, lol!

Title: Last Call at the Nightingale
Author: Katharine Schellman
Release Date: 7 June 2022
How I Got It: gift from the author
Rating: 5 out of 5!

Last Call at the Nightingale is a new mystery set in New York in 1924, and follows the misadventures of Vivian Kelly as she stumbles into a murder mystery, gets in over her head, and flirts her way both in and out of trouble. Vivian Kelly and her older, prim-and-proper sister Florence, are both Irish-descent and orphans, and therefore poor, disdained, and in desperate need of any respectability they can muster. But Florence has enough respectability for the both of them, and Vivian much prefers to be the wild child quietly working as a seamstress during the day, while spending her nights dancing with abandon at the Nightingale, the speakeasy that feels more like her home than any other place she has ever been. During one of her many late nights at the Nightingale, Vivian and her best friend Bea, a waitress at the speakeasy, accidentally stumble across a dead body. And not just any dead body – judging from his expensive clothes and the secrecy around his death, this dead body was someone important.

At first, Vivian intends to stay well clear of the trouble. Then, she gets caught up in a raid at the speakeasy. Poor and unwilling to call her sister for help, she is bailed out by the owner of the Nightingale herself: the dangerously alluring Honor Huxley. Honor has a deal for Vivian: in exchange for the bail money, Honor would like Vivian to snoop for her, get in close with anyone who might know about the dead man, and find out who killed him. This will be especially easy for Vivian, Honor claims, because Vivian likes to make friends and knows everyone who frequents the speakeasy, and because Vivian was just that night dancing with one of the men Honor suspects was involved – the charming Leo Green, newly arrived from Chicago.

And so Vivian finds herself questioning maids, sneaking into the offices of wealthy women, being attacked and threatened by brutes, and flirting with the increasingly attractive Leo, all in the name of finding a killer and paying off a debt.

This book was SO MUCH FUN. The 20s New York setting is well executed and believable, details and ambience applied with a deft touch. The smoky speakeasy, the crooked cops, the realities of living as a poor woman in the middle of the glitz and glamor of the Jazz Age. The characters themselves were absolutely the highlight. I adored Vivian – the absolute definition of disaster bi who is constantly being pulled in different directions by her attractions to both Honor and Leo (you and me both, girl!), and her smart mouth that got her in and out of trouble on quite a few occasions. Vivian’s best friend, Bea, was also a highlight – a well-educated black woman working at a speakeasy to support her mother and keep her siblings in school. There was also Danny Chen, a Chinese immigrant who works as Honor’s bartender and second-in-command at the speakeasy.

And then, of course, there were Honor and Leo, the two equally attractive people pulling Vivian in different directions. Honor is dangerous and intelligent and more than a little manipulative and absolutely SEXY. Leo is gentle and charming and honorable, with an aura of safety about it. Like Vivian, I was pretty in love with them both by the end.

I was kind of in love with all of the characters actually. I was live-tweeting a bit while I read the book, and I think some of these tweets are pretty indicative:

On top of all that was the mystery itself. And BOY was it twisty! I thought I had it figured out about halfway through, but I realized I was wrong at about the ¾ mark. Then at about the 80% mark the CHARACTERS think they have it solved, but I KNEW they were wrong – both because it didn’t feel right, and because there were (of course) like 30 or 40 pages left… (lol). When the final pieces came together and Vivian had it all figured out I was shocked. Did not see it coming at all.

Here, my tweets are pretty good gauge there as well:

This novel was HIGHLY enjoyable. I really loved all the principal characters. And I really hope the book does well enough to guarantee a second installment (and hopefully many more of that *fingers crossed*). The book releases on June 7th. The supply chain being what it is, I highly recommend pre-ordering, but alas, I know that is not always possible. In any case, if you enjoy a good twisty mystery novel and historical fiction set in the Jazz Age, you should definitely pick this one up!

Double-Review: Lily Adler Mysteries 2-3

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Back in March 2020, right at the beginning of the pandemic, I read an ARC for Katharine Schellman’s debut novel and the first of the Lily Adler Mysteries: The Body in the Garden. I devoured it in 3 days. And it was a revelation for me for a couple reasons. First, I just love a good historical mystery, and this was a very good historical mystery novel. Second, I’d been dealing with an inability to read for going on 5 or 6 years in 2020 due to extremely severe depression. While the cloud had been starting to lift in mid-2019, and my brain was finally starting to reanimate a bit, reading (except for audiobooks, which had literally saved my life from about 2014-onward) was still proving almost-impossible. And then I read The Body in the Garden, and it was like a strong wind blowing the clouds away to reveal clear skies. It was like the floodgates opening wide.

I don’t know if it was just a matter of good timing, and that my brain was just about ready to open up again anyway. I don’t know that another book might not have had the same effect. Frankly, it doesn’t really matter. Lily Adler is forever cemented in my mind as an integral element of my ongoing recovery. (It’s also just a really really good book).

So, of course, when the second installment, Silence in the Library, released in August 2021, I leapt for it. And I read it in a single night, in a single sitting in fact. And then I got my hands on an ARC of the third book about a month ago (and read that book in one sitting as well).

So, I thought I would do a double-review of books two and three as I continue to try and convince everyone I know to buy and read these books. My review for the first book can be found here: “Book Review: The Body in the Garden.”

Title: Silence in the Library
Author: Katharine Schellman
Release Date: August 2021
How I Got It: bought from indie mystery bookstore, Murder by the Book
Rating: Five Stars

Let’s begin with the basic plot premise. Silence in the Library opens a few months after the events of the first novel, with Lily having to face possibly her most difficult challenge: dealing with a visit from her father. When Lily’s father demands that she pay a visit to one of his oldest friends, who has recently re-married, the visit quickly goes to hell when the husband is murdered, leaving the new bride in hysterics and the dead man’s adult son (from a previous marriage) the most likely suspect. Add in a shifty cousin who may or may not have been in need of more money, a maid who is murdered before she can tell Lily something she knew, and Lily’s father hindering her at every turn, things get wildly out of hand.

What the first book did well, the second book built upon beautifully. The writing is crisp, the research and historical context impeccable, the mystery compelling, and the characters charming. The core mystery of the novel is clever and twisty, though I confess I like to make a game of seeing if I can solve the mystery before the characters (my mother and I also compete like this when watching murder mystery tv shows – of which we watch a lot), and I succeeded this time. Clearly, I can’t spell it out here without giving everything away, but I told my mother my theory well in advance and was right.

The main character, Lily Adler, is a brilliant, stubborn, somewhat reckless woman, and I love her. I want to be her when I grow up (yes, I am grown up, I am almost 37, but shush, let me have this). In the first book, we see her shaking off the paralysis of her widowhood, and in the second book we see her really stepping into this role she has chosen for herself.

But, of course, there is also the complication of her emotionally-cold, judgmental, domineering father, who has arrived to disapprove of everything she does. Her father’s awful treatment and verbal lashings seem to shake Lily on a few occasions, and she has to fight off the knee-jerk reaction to revert to her more timid childhood-self. Watching the ways Lily alternately defies and bends to her father’s moods is highly relatable (at least to those of us who have parents with… shall we say, powerful personalities?) and deeply inspiring.

The characters I adored in the first book: Captain Jack Hartley, Ofelia, and the Bowstreet Runner Simon Page are all in attendance for the second book. The Captain is as witty and charming and protective of Lily as he was in the first book (and may possibly be developing less-than-platonic feelings for his best friend’s widow). Ofelia, now happily married, continues to be a supportive both as a friend and as a cohort in Lily’s mystery-solving pursuits. And Simon Page, who started out by resenting Lily, has developed a begrudging respect and appreciate for Lily and her skills.

In the middle of the plot-madness, Lily is faced with several red herrings, and a very handsome and charming former soldier that she must (clumsily) attempt to flirt with for information. We also get a glimpse into Simon Page’s personal life and a few scenes from his perspective — something I had not even realized I needed until I had it. (I already respected Simon Page, now I really love him).

Throughout the novel are several disabled and neurodivergent characters of different backgrounds and abilities who are all written with complexity and empathy, and not painted with broad strokes and stereotypes. There are, of course, instances of these characters being treated with derision and cruelty in sadly-historically-accurate ways, but at no point does the text (or the main characters) excuse or condone this behavior, and the perpetrators face consequences for their bigotry.

Just as in the first novel, one of the best parts is the dialogue, which is at turns sharp, warm, and downright hilarious at some points. Lily, Captain Jack Hartley, and Ofelia in particular, all play off each other so well with their differing flavors of sarcasm, dry wit, and gentle teasing. (I continue to adore Jack Hartley.)

And the ending is satisfying while also packing a potent emotional punch.

Title: Death at the Manor
Author: Katharine Schellman
Release Date: 9 August 2022
How I Got It: ARC provided by publisher
Rating: 4.5 Stars

In the third book of the Lily Adler Mysteries series, we go farther afield as Lily Adler leaves London for a few months visiting friends and family in the country. The novel deftly shifts tone in an homage to Regency-era Gothic Literature (think Castle of Otranto or The Woman in White), as Lily must confront a supposedly-haunted country estate in the village where her aunt lives, and attempts to solve a murder that everyone else is content to attribute to a ghost.

In this installment, after Captain Jack Hartley leaves to return to his ship (having been stuck on land for so long due to extended repairs), Lily leaves London to visit her aunt in a small village in the country, bringing her Ofelia and Ofelia’s (ridiculously sweet) husband Ned along with her. Her aunt and her aunt’s friend/companion have been living as two “respectable unmarried women” in a small cottage for decades, and are the only family Lily actually likes. But once there, Lily and her friends accidentally find themselves entangled in yet another murder. While touring a nearby manor to hear about the rumors of a ghost haunting the estate, the Lady of the manor is discovered dead in her locked bedroom, with only her two adult children and four servants (the others having left because of the ghost) as the possible suspects.

At first determined to leave the matter to the authorities, Lily quickly changes her mind when the local authorities admit defeat in the face of the locked door, and accept that the purported ghost must be the cause of death. So Lily and Ofelia, with the grudging assistance of Ned and Lily’s aunt, decide to the solve the murder themselves. An added complication comes from the fact that the charming widowed soldier from the previous book, the ever-attractive Matthew Spencer, happens to live in the same village, and offers his assistance as well, much to Ofelia’s consternation.

The mystery of this installment was especially fun for me because I love a good locked-room mystery, and this one is very well done. The characters run through every possible suspect with increasing confusion and uncertain, and it is a ton of fun to watch the whole thing unfold and try to play along. (I guessed right, again, by the way, but it took me longer than usual and I wasn’t too far ahead of Lily figuring it out lol).

The nods to the gothic genre were also a ton of fun (particularly because as an English Lit grad school I read and studied Regency and Victorian era gothic novels and love them anyway!) I mean, who doesn’t love ghost stories, and creepy dark hallways and billowy white curtains and ominous men standing in shadows and secret passages?

Like Silence in the Library, Death at the Manor gives us an opportunity to see and learn more about different characters. This time we get some concentrated attention paid to Ofelia and her husband Ned, both of whom I adore. We also see a lot more of the charming widower Matthew Spencer. And Lily’s aunt and her aunt’s friend were both delightful as well. (There’s some queer rep in there as well, but spoilers!)

I did, however, feel that the story misses Jack (just as the characters do). When I was starting to read the book, I announced on twitter that if Jack did not make some dramatic mid-book return I was going to be distraught. And reader: I was distraught. For one thing, I simply love that character. For another, he adds so much humor and snark to the dialogue, and does such a good job of keeping Lily on her toes (while Ofelia keeps him on his, lol). That said, I still read the entire book in one setting and loved it and have no real complaints. (The 4.5 stars rating is an only semi-serious, kinda-joking protest on Jack’s behalf.) I also missed Simon Page, who likewise does not make an appearance in this installment.

When I was lamenting the loss of Jack on Twitter, the author, Katharine Schellman, kindly assured me he would return in the next one. Thank goodness. (By the way, Katharine Schellman is an absolute delight on social media as well. She is so kind and generous and friendly with her fans/followers, which is by no means required.) We also know that she has been contracted for a 4th and 5th book (at minimum, I hope), but that they won’t be out for some time.

The worst part about reading arcs far ahead of release date, especially for books in a series, is that you have ALL THAT MUCH LONGER to wait for the next one. Le Sigh. I suppose I’ll probably just re-read all three books at some point this summer…