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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
mysterious
medium-paced
Too many characters, a long drawn out story, could easily have been shorter. And some ‘mysteries’ explained almost as footnotes!
1926 London is one party after another in clubs owned by Nellie Coker. She stocks the clubs with cards and booze and lots of young girls willing to dance for tips. Nellie keeps a tight rein and an eagle eye on all her clubs. She pays off the coppers to get a heads-up on the raids and she trusts only family members to manage the accounts. And still, you can't help but make enemies when doing business and someone is trying to take over her empire. At the same time, young girls are coming to London to make it big on stage and are ending up dead or missing. Inspector Forbisher enlists former librarian, now spy, Gwendolyn Keeling, to infiltrate Nellie's clubs and help look for the missing girls. A delightful story on many levels, with delicious characters, which weaves in and out of the high and low places in London. I kept expecting to meet Sherlock Homes or Charles Dickens at any moment. Loosely based on a club owner named Kate Meyrick.
I very much enjoyed this novel. Plucky, female characters. I appreciated that Atkinson used language and expressions of the time period.
There are so many threads in this story that it could feel overwhelming, but Atkinson weaves them into a beautiful tapestry.
Having recently re looked at Kate Atkinson’s Life after Life after the fabulous BBC dramatisation ,I was delighted when my wish to read this book on NetGalley was granted
Kate is an author I am very familiar with ,I always find that her books are enjoyable and relatively straightforward reads .I find that she uses words I’m not always sure of their definitions and I was glad that I was reading on Kindle as I was so able to look any words up easily .Any author who expands my vocabulary gets my vote
The book was for me like reading an episode of Peaky Blinders set as it was at a similar stage on history and having at its heart a family of east end crooks in place of the Blinders Birmingham river gypsies .
The novel contrasts the experiences of a formally very law abiding right laced librarian with the complex more exotic family of crooks .
Kate writes believable characters who are so well described that you feel you could visualise them and setting much in the book in night clubs and at night adds an exotic steamy element to the book .
I didn’t love this book there is something prickly about it that I couldn’t explain fully but I appreciated a well crafted novel and I’m sure this book will sell well to her many fans
The book is published by Random house Uk Transworld Publishers on 27th September 2022 I was fortunate to read an early copy on NetGalley Uk
Kate is an author I am very familiar with ,I always find that her books are enjoyable and relatively straightforward reads .I find that she uses words I’m not always sure of their definitions and I was glad that I was reading on Kindle as I was so able to look any words up easily .Any author who expands my vocabulary gets my vote
The book was for me like reading an episode of Peaky Blinders set as it was at a similar stage on history and having at its heart a family of east end crooks in place of the Blinders Birmingham river gypsies .
The novel contrasts the experiences of a formally very law abiding right laced librarian with the complex more exotic family of crooks .
Kate writes believable characters who are so well described that you feel you could visualise them and setting much in the book in night clubs and at night adds an exotic steamy element to the book .
I didn’t love this book there is something prickly about it that I couldn’t explain fully but I appreciated a well crafted novel and I’m sure this book will sell well to her many fans
The book is published by Random house Uk Transworld Publishers on 27th September 2022 I was fortunate to read an early copy on NetGalley Uk
I absolutely loved this! Kate Atkinson never disappoints. This was a wild ride through the underbelly of London during the roaring 20s with a large cast of characters who were well-developed and from all walks of life. The story moves quickly and I had a hard time putting this one down. Nellie Coker is the self-made wealthy owner of several London nightclubs and mother to 6 young adult children who are to inherit her empire. Just released from prison, Nellie is anxious to ensure the security of her empire's future while others are anxious to gobble it up by whatever means necessary. Sharp and witty, with mystery and intrigue, murder and a little romance, this would make a fabulous TV series that could be drawn out into a few seasons - and the ending leaves enough room to play with expanding on future storylines for these characters! I would absolutely watch and I'm already imagining the costumes and the set designs! Strongly recommend this to any fans of historical fiction, the 20s, or Kate Atkinson in general. This isn't to be missed!!
Thank you to NetGalley, Kate Atkinson, and Doubleday Books for the advanced e-copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Thank you to NetGalley, Kate Atkinson, and Doubleday Books for the advanced e-copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
An entertaining bit of historical fiction, with a sparky heroine...well, maybe several sparky heroines and the characters around them. A good time.
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Sadly, I couldn’t connect with the prose. I’ve never read a book that felt so intentionally detached and dry.
The first flaw was in the first 150 pages that could have been trimmed down. It mostly consisted of people entering scenes and then leaving.
On the upside, it got progressively more interesting as it went, but then it just ended.
I did like the mood of it, but it felt like too little too late. Some characters were more interesting than the others, but it didn’t lead anywhere.
And too many things happened by accident. It’s hard to imagine this story is set in the bustling city of London when virtually all the characters run into each other by chance. A lot depended on accidents and little of it felt earned.
I also wish it had more to do with the actual clubs and the night scene of Soho as promised. For something titled as grandly as Shrines of Gaiety, too much of the story takes place away from the clubs, either geographically or in a different time altogether through memories and introspection.
I see why some like it. I sadly didn’t. It felt like the narrator wanted me to stay at a distance so I never got into it.
The first flaw was in the first 150 pages that could have been trimmed down. It mostly consisted of people entering scenes and then leaving.
On the upside, it got progressively more interesting as it went, but then it just ended.
I did like the mood of it, but it felt like too little too late. Some characters were more interesting than the others, but it didn’t lead anywhere.
And too many things happened by accident. It’s hard to imagine this story is set in the bustling city of London when virtually all the characters run into each other by chance. A lot depended on accidents and little of it felt earned.
I also wish it had more to do with the actual clubs and the night scene of Soho as promised. For something titled as grandly as Shrines of Gaiety, too much of the story takes place away from the clubs, either geographically or in a different time altogether through memories and introspection.
I see why some like it. I sadly didn’t. It felt like the narrator wanted me to stay at a distance so I never got into it.