Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme that highlights books soon to be released, the ones we’re excited about but haven’t read yet. It’s hosted by Wishful Endings, and was formerly hosted by Breaking the Spine. Y’all can check out all of this week’s Can’t-Wait Wednesday posts here.
Title: The Last Drop of Hemlock
Author: Katharine Schellman
Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Thriller
Publication Date: June 6, 2023
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Synopsis:
The rumor went through the Nightingale like a flood, quietly rising, whispers hovering on lips in pockets of silence.
New York, 1924. Vivian Kelly has gotten a job at the Nightingale, a speakeasy known to the young and fun as a place where the rules of society can be tossed aside for a dance and a drink, and things are finally looking up for her and her sister Florence. They might not be living like queens—still living in a dingy, two-room tenement, still scrimping and saving—but they’re confident in keeping a roof over their heads and, every once in a while, there is fried ham for breakfast.
Of course, things were even better before Bea’s Uncle Pearlie, the doorman for the Nightingale, was poisoned. Bea has been Vivian’s best friend since before she can remember, and though Pearlie’s death is ruled a suicide, Bea’s sure her uncle wouldn’t have killed himself. After all, he had the family to care for . . . and there have been rumors of a mysterious letter writer, blackmailing Vivian’s poorest neighbors for their most valuable possessions, threatening poison if they don’t comply.
With the Nightingale’s dangerously lovely owner, Honor, worried for her employees’ safety and Bea determined to prove her Uncle was murdered, Vivian once again finds herself digging through a dead man’s past in hopes of stopping a killer.
My thoughts:
I love good historical fiction (and the Jazz Era is a great book setting!). I love a good mystery. Put them together and it sounds like a winner to me! And look at that gorgeous cover! How could I not want to pick up a book that pretty?
This is the second in a series, and I haven’t read the first. But if I enjoy The Last Drop of Hemlock as much as I think I will, I’ll be going back to pick up Last Call at the Nightingale, too.
What book are you eagerly awaiting this week?
I love books set in this era, and you’re right, add in a mystery and it’s a great combination! Thanks for sharing:-)
What a gorgeous cover and I love historical mysteries as well. I hope you love your selection.