The Wicked City - Dark Urban Fantasy Novel | Gripping Supernatural Thriller for Adults | Perfect for Late-Night Reading & Book Club Discussions
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SKU:10143868
Product Description
New York Times bestselling author Beatriz Williams recreates the New York City of A Certain Age in this deliciously spicy adventure that mixes past and present and centers on a Jazz Age love triangle involving a rugged Prohibition agent, a saucy redheaded flapper, and a debonair Princetonian from a wealthy family.When she discovers her husband cheating, Ella Hawthorne impulsively moves out of their SoHo loft and into a small apartment in an old Greenwich Village building. Her surprisingly attractive new neighbor, Hector, warns her to stay out of the basement at night. Tenants have reported strange noises after midnight--laughter, clinking glasses, jazz piano--even though the space has been empty for decades. Back in the Roaring Twenties, the place hid a speakeasy. In 1924, Geneva Gin Kelly, a smart-mouthed flapper from the hills of western Maryland, is a regular at this Village hideaway known as the Christopher Club. Caught up in a raid, Gin becomes entangled with Prohibition enforcement agent Oliver Anson, who persuades her to help him catch her stepfather Duke Kelly, one of Appalachia's most notorious bootleggers.Headstrong and independent, Gin is no weak-kneed fool. So how can she be falling in love with the taciturn, straight-arrow Revenue agent when she's got Princeton boy Billy Marshall, the dashing son of society doyenne Theresa Marshall, begging to make an honest woman of her? While anything goes in the Roaring Twenties, Gin's adventures will shake proper Manhattan society to its foundations, exposing secrets that shock even this free-spirited redhead--secrets that will echo from Park Avenue to the hollers of her Southern hometown.As Ella discovers more about the basement speakeasy, she becomes inspired by the spirit of her exuberant predecessor, and decides to live with abandon in the wicked city too. . . .
Customer Reviews
Wow! This book was was unexpectedly powerful and intensely exciting at times. I enjoyed this book, and I think that the book jacket blurb and book description do not, and could not, convey the essence of this book. This is one where the sum parts add up to something much more than could be expected.I greatly enjoyed the dual storylines of this book, both the historical prohibition era storyline and the modern (1998) storyline. Although the historical storyline took up a larger portion of the book and was the focus, I found the modern storyline added to the piece and was interesting. The way they were spliced together made for good climatic tension and created something more satisfying than a solo story.One of the best things about this book was the way the author strategically revealed important plot points and details about the characters. Plot twists were delicious and masterful. I have to say that this book did not immediately grab me and it took me awhile to appreciate the depth of the historical heroine in particular. However, I became more and more enmeshed in this book, and both storylines. At some point, this one became an absolute page turner for me.I want to point out that this book has some scenes of brutal violence. (It is the prohibition era and there is a criminal element to the story.) There is a true "bad guy" in this book, who does evil things. I found these things were important to the storyline, but they have the potential to be disturbing.To be fair, I need to say that this book left off with a bit of a cliffhanger and both storylines felt a bit incomplete. I have read other reviews that have indicated this is the first book in a new series involving these characters, and I desperately hope this is true. I need more of them and I need a resolution to some of the threads which were left hanging. I was also hoping for more of a supernatural element or more emphasis and explanation of the speak easy "ghosts" inhabiting the modern apartment complex.Characters and families from previous books, including the Schuylers, were incorporated into this book. Personally, I wish there was an official reading order to these books. Although I believe this could be read as a standalone, I have a sense that having a background knowledge of previous characters introduced in this book might add something to the story.Although this book left me wanting more, I found it very enjoyable, and at times thrilling, and I am hoping for fabulous sequels.
