Beatriz Williams isn't an author I've been reading for all that long, but after the first novel I read, I was instantly hooked, and she has become one of my go-to authors.
The Wicked City alternates between the present and the past, sharing the story of two women.
Ella has recently left her husband after she found him cheating on her. She moves into an apartment in an older building in Greenwich Village. She quickly becomes friends with Hector, a bachelor who lives upstairs who advises her to stay out of the laundry room at night.
Gin is a flapper who visits the Christopher Club frequently. It's Prohibition and Gin enjoys having a drink every once in a while which can only occur in secret. When she's caught in a raid, she is approached by a Prohibition agent who needs her help bringing down Gin's stepfather, a successful bootlegger from Appalachia.
The novel moves back and forth in time sharing each woman's story, and eventually allowing the two to intersect.
I love storylines that can move so effortlessly between two time periods. I also enjoy that Williams' characters often show up in some of her other novels. (Unfortunately I am usually fairly slow at realizing this and then have to go back and figure out how I know these characters).
Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, and Williams continues to do it well. I'm already anxious for her next novel, Cocoa Beach, to be published in June.
Thanks to TLC Book Tours for providing a copy of this book for my review. All opinions expressed are, as always, my own.
2 comments:
I've yet to try this author although I've heard good things about her. Im not too big on historical fiction but, I wanted to try her first book as I recall hearing it takes place in RI.
I love it when an author includes characters from other novels she's written - it is so fun to catch those references!
Thanks for being a part of the tour.
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