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olevin84's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
bookguyinva2022's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this series, assuming there are only 2 books as this takes us to the end of the roaring '20s. I've grown fond of Gina and wish only the best for her. Susanna Calkins proved very capable in bringing us into this age of change and turmoil.
nrhayes16's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
pryorlee's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
somewherestar's review
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
nasselin's review
5.0
Love love love this series. Another enjoyable edition to the series. The descriptions of the time period are so vivid that I feel like I'm living in the age of prohibition! The mystery was intriguing, and I was desperate to figure out the killer by the end. I can't wait to keep reading.
zombeesknees's review against another edition
4.0
October, 1929, Chicago: Prohibition is in full swing and Gina Ricci is living a life of clandestine excitement. Every night she works as a waitress and cigarette girl at the Third Door, a speakeasy beneath a drugstore, making enough money to take care of her ailing father and carefully staying on the good side of the Signora who owns the neighborhood.
Gina’s a smart girl. She knows better than to get involved with the customers and how to spot Drys, the police tasked with raiding the underground bars. She also knows how dangerous it would be to get more involved with the shadowy, criminal world of Chicago. The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre was just months ago, and for weeks there have been a rash of deadly bombings across the city. Working as a waitress is one thing; anything more would be too dangerous.
But she’s also curious — and that curiosity could prove dangerous.
Mr. Morrish seemed amused by her reaction. He touched her arm before she could step away. “You happy here? The Signora good to you?”
“Quite happy,” she said, wary of his sudden intimacy.
“Bad things go down here, Gina. You’ve got to know that. A girl like you—” he paused.
“What? What about a girl like me?”
“Well, let’s just say it would be a real shame if something happened to a girl like you.”
Gina froze. Was that a threat or a warning?
He dropped his hand then, breaking their odd contact. Then he smiled. “I’ll be around. Don’t you worry.”
When Gina’s cousin Nancy, a policewoman desperate to move up in the ranks, asks her to come over and bring her camera, she’s in for a shock: one of the cop’s neighbors has died suddenly, and Nancy wants Gina to photograph the scene so she can get a head start on the investigation.
Even more surprising, Gina realizes she recognizes the dead woman and her roommate.
“I wish we could see under her blanket.”
“Oh, I can move it,” the woman said. Before either Nancy or Gina could stop her, she had stripped the blanket off, a look of revulsion crossing her face as she stared down at her roommate’s body, still clad in a shiny evening ensemble. Clearly, the woman had not yet readied herself for bed when she died.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” Nancy said blandly as she leaned over to look more closely at the corpse.
“Well, it’s how I found her,” the woman replied, sniffling back tears. “I just thought it was more respectful to cover Fruma up a bit, you know?”
Fruma! Gina forced herself to stare down at the dead woman’s face. The face was purple and distorted. Virtually unrecognizable. Yet her curly brown hair was memorable.
Gina glanced back at the roommate, with her messy blond hair, pale cosmetics-free face, and tousled demeanor. Out of context Gina hadn’t recognized her at first, but memories from the night before came flooding back. Both these women had definitely been at the Third Door last night.
Then a second body with ties to the Third Door is discovered, and another customer becomes deathly ill. Could the speakeasy’s supply of alcohol be tainted? Is someone knocking off patrons to drive the Third Door out of business, or send a message to the Signora?
Gina can’t help but dig deeper. For Nancy’s sake, to protect her livelihood, and to satisfy her own curiosity. She uncovers peculiar secrets in the dead woman’s past — a broken engagement, a daring airplane jump that may have been a hoax — and several threads leading to the volatile stock market.
Meanwhile, her personal life is complicated by a cutthroat gambler with bad news stamped all over him; the return of the handsome ex-soldier, ex-cop, current crime scene photographer Roark; and her wealthy aunt and uncle suddenly wanting to reconnect with her for their own reasons.
Things sure are exciting in Prohibition-era Chicago…
In the follow up to Calkins’ first, Agatha Award-nominated Speakeasy Mystery, heroine Gina remains in fine form. She’s plucky, feisty, and capable, holding her own amongst rough men and dangerous mobsters.
Calkins devotes many pages to the atmosphere and details of her historical setting, particularly the Third Door. It doesn’t take long for the reader to sink into the time period when everything from the fashions to the dialogue ring with authenticity. The speakeasy itself is a character in its own right; you can practically smell the smoke and cheap gin.
Sprinkled throughout are plenty of references to big events most know from history books, such as the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, and tension from the ever-impending threat of raids adds a wonderful frisson of danger to the story.
And it wouldn’t be a story about flappers without commentary on society’s swiftly changing attitudes toward the young women who began to buck convention:
Lulu opened up her holder to place a cigarette inside. She lit the end and took a puff, leaning against the store. Gina popped a stick of peppermint Wrigley’s into her mouth, enjoying the minty burst of flavor.
As she did so an elderly couple strolled by and regarded them with extreme contempt.
“Hussies,” the man said with a pronounced sniff.
“Tarts,” the woman said, adding in a very haughty tone, “Smoking in public! Such a sight would never have been seen, back in our day.”
“Back in your day, women couldn’t vote, either,” Gina called back before she could stop herself.
“Or have fun,” Lulu added with a wicked smile. “We’re just waiting for our dates. I don’t even know mine.”
The pair looked completely scandalized. “What do you expect from women dawdling in front of the ice cream parlor?” the woman said to her husband before rushing him along.
“Ah, the ice cream parlor,” Gina said, when the couple was out of earshot. “A den of iniquity if there ever was one. Far worse than any speakeasy.”
Ultimately, the murder mystery at the heart of The Fate of a Flapper is only a small portion of the story, and Calkins doles out the vital clues slowly and late in the game, making this a hard nut to crack even for the seasoned armchair sleuth.
But that’s not a failing in the slightest. This is a historical mystery with the emphasis placed squarely on the historical portion. There’s plenty of enjoyment to be had in simply following Gina through her days, watching her work at the colorful speakeasy, dance around Roark, and react to the monumental changes sweeping through her city during this oh-so-eventful month. This is a story to sit with and savor for all of its well-crafted details.
If you’re looking for a story set during a colorful time period and starring well-developed characters, but don’t feel like a giant brick of a book with ultra dense prose, The Fate of a Flapper is a good fit. Calkins manages a light and readable tone without sacrificing the historical meat, making this more substantial but still as fun as a cozy mystery, and a great choice for anyone who’s a fan of Daisy Dalrymple or Phryne Fisher.
Gina’s a smart girl. She knows better than to get involved with the customers and how to spot Drys, the police tasked with raiding the underground bars. She also knows how dangerous it would be to get more involved with the shadowy, criminal world of Chicago. The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre was just months ago, and for weeks there have been a rash of deadly bombings across the city. Working as a waitress is one thing; anything more would be too dangerous.
But she’s also curious — and that curiosity could prove dangerous.
Mr. Morrish seemed amused by her reaction. He touched her arm before she could step away. “You happy here? The Signora good to you?”
“Quite happy,” she said, wary of his sudden intimacy.
“Bad things go down here, Gina. You’ve got to know that. A girl like you—” he paused.
“What? What about a girl like me?”
“Well, let’s just say it would be a real shame if something happened to a girl like you.”
Gina froze. Was that a threat or a warning?
He dropped his hand then, breaking their odd contact. Then he smiled. “I’ll be around. Don’t you worry.”
When Gina’s cousin Nancy, a policewoman desperate to move up in the ranks, asks her to come over and bring her camera, she’s in for a shock: one of the cop’s neighbors has died suddenly, and Nancy wants Gina to photograph the scene so she can get a head start on the investigation.
Even more surprising, Gina realizes she recognizes the dead woman and her roommate.
“I wish we could see under her blanket.”
“Oh, I can move it,” the woman said. Before either Nancy or Gina could stop her, she had stripped the blanket off, a look of revulsion crossing her face as she stared down at her roommate’s body, still clad in a shiny evening ensemble. Clearly, the woman had not yet readied herself for bed when she died.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” Nancy said blandly as she leaned over to look more closely at the corpse.
“Well, it’s how I found her,” the woman replied, sniffling back tears. “I just thought it was more respectful to cover Fruma up a bit, you know?”
Fruma! Gina forced herself to stare down at the dead woman’s face. The face was purple and distorted. Virtually unrecognizable. Yet her curly brown hair was memorable.
Gina glanced back at the roommate, with her messy blond hair, pale cosmetics-free face, and tousled demeanor. Out of context Gina hadn’t recognized her at first, but memories from the night before came flooding back. Both these women had definitely been at the Third Door last night.
Then a second body with ties to the Third Door is discovered, and another customer becomes deathly ill. Could the speakeasy’s supply of alcohol be tainted? Is someone knocking off patrons to drive the Third Door out of business, or send a message to the Signora?
Gina can’t help but dig deeper. For Nancy’s sake, to protect her livelihood, and to satisfy her own curiosity. She uncovers peculiar secrets in the dead woman’s past — a broken engagement, a daring airplane jump that may have been a hoax — and several threads leading to the volatile stock market.
Meanwhile, her personal life is complicated by a cutthroat gambler with bad news stamped all over him; the return of the handsome ex-soldier, ex-cop, current crime scene photographer Roark; and her wealthy aunt and uncle suddenly wanting to reconnect with her for their own reasons.
Things sure are exciting in Prohibition-era Chicago…
In the follow up to Calkins’ first, Agatha Award-nominated Speakeasy Mystery, heroine Gina remains in fine form. She’s plucky, feisty, and capable, holding her own amongst rough men and dangerous mobsters.
Calkins devotes many pages to the atmosphere and details of her historical setting, particularly the Third Door. It doesn’t take long for the reader to sink into the time period when everything from the fashions to the dialogue ring with authenticity. The speakeasy itself is a character in its own right; you can practically smell the smoke and cheap gin.
Sprinkled throughout are plenty of references to big events most know from history books, such as the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, and tension from the ever-impending threat of raids adds a wonderful frisson of danger to the story.
And it wouldn’t be a story about flappers without commentary on society’s swiftly changing attitudes toward the young women who began to buck convention:
Lulu opened up her holder to place a cigarette inside. She lit the end and took a puff, leaning against the store. Gina popped a stick of peppermint Wrigley’s into her mouth, enjoying the minty burst of flavor.
As she did so an elderly couple strolled by and regarded them with extreme contempt.
“Hussies,” the man said with a pronounced sniff.
“Tarts,” the woman said, adding in a very haughty tone, “Smoking in public! Such a sight would never have been seen, back in our day.”
“Back in your day, women couldn’t vote, either,” Gina called back before she could stop herself.
“Or have fun,” Lulu added with a wicked smile. “We’re just waiting for our dates. I don’t even know mine.”
The pair looked completely scandalized. “What do you expect from women dawdling in front of the ice cream parlor?” the woman said to her husband before rushing him along.
“Ah, the ice cream parlor,” Gina said, when the couple was out of earshot. “A den of iniquity if there ever was one. Far worse than any speakeasy.”
Ultimately, the murder mystery at the heart of The Fate of a Flapper is only a small portion of the story, and Calkins doles out the vital clues slowly and late in the game, making this a hard nut to crack even for the seasoned armchair sleuth.
But that’s not a failing in the slightest. This is a historical mystery with the emphasis placed squarely on the historical portion. There’s plenty of enjoyment to be had in simply following Gina through her days, watching her work at the colorful speakeasy, dance around Roark, and react to the monumental changes sweeping through her city during this oh-so-eventful month. This is a story to sit with and savor for all of its well-crafted details.
If you’re looking for a story set during a colorful time period and starring well-developed characters, but don’t feel like a giant brick of a book with ultra dense prose, The Fate of a Flapper is a good fit. Calkins manages a light and readable tone without sacrificing the historical meat, making this more substantial but still as fun as a cozy mystery, and a great choice for anyone who’s a fan of Daisy Dalrymple or Phryne Fisher.
tyrshand's review
4.0
This historical mystery has great voice and atmosphere. I definitely enjoyed learning more about speakeasies and the way the territories work. I haven’t read the first book in the series, but I was able to fall into this book right away. I’m not sure if there’s more to come, but if there is I’ll be reading it.
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