annieb123's Review of Harlem After Midnight (A Canary Club Mystery, #2)

by Louise Hare

Named a Must Read by Ebony ∙ Boston Herald ∙ Book Riot ∙ Bookish ∙ Minneapolis Star-Tribune and more!

A body falls from a town house window in Harlem, and it looks just like the newest singer at the Apollo...in this evocative, twisting new novel from the author of Miss Aldridge Regrets.

Harlem, 1936: Lena Aldridge grew up in a cramped corner of London, hearing stories of the bright lights of Broadway. She always imagined that when she finally went to New York City, she’d be there with her father. But now he’s dead, and she’s newly arrived and alone, chasing a dream that has quickly dried up. When Will Goodman—the handsome musician she met on the crossing from England—offers for her to stay with his friends in Harlem, she agrees. She has nowhere else to go, and this will give her a chance to get to know Will better and see if she can find any trace of the family she might have remaining.

Will’s friends welcome her with open arms, but just as Lena discovers the stories her father once told her were missing giant pieces of information, she also starts to realize the man she’s falling too fast and too hard for has secrets of his own. And they might just place a target on her back. Especially when she is drawn to the brightest stage in town.

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Harlem After Midnight is a well written historical mystery and the second in a series by Louise Hare. Released 29th Aug 2023 by Penguin Random House on their Berkley imprint, it's 352 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links.

Told in first person PoV as well as through parallel chapters in 3rd person PoVs, this is a subtle and engaging mystery set in 1936. The author is adept at setting and description, and she does a great job of calling forth the spirit of the interwar years and the "golden age" of mystery. Readers of Marsh, Christie, Blake, and Crispin will find much to enjoy here. It's *not* those authors.. but you can see them in the writing.

The writing is more than competent and the mystery, clues, and plotting are well engineered and intricate. One codicil. This is absolutely not a standalone book and to understand context, characters, their interrelationships, and to get much out of the book, it should be read subsequent to the first book in the series.

Four stars. This is an engaging and beautifully written period mystery with an incredibly intricate denouement which would've done E.C.R. Lorac proud.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Reading updates

10 March, 2024: Started reading

10 March, 2024: Finished reading

10 March, 2024: Reviewed