Reviews with content warning for Sexism - The Spectacular

When I saw that Book of the Month had a new Historical Fiction book set at Radio City Music Hall, I had to grab it! This was a fascinating look at being a Rockette in the 50s set against a compelling mystery. I really enjoyed it and can’t wait to read more by Davis!

Marion is living her quiet suburban life outside of NYC, all geared up to marry her high school sweetheart and remain in the small town she grew up in teaching dance. But she risks it all and auditions to become at Rockette on a whim and gets it! Defying her traditional father, she takes the job and gets swept up in the hard work and glamor of Radio City. She meets a young doctor named Peter who specializes in psychological profiling, even though the rest of the world doesn’t put stock in this. The pair have ideas to stop the Big Apple Bomber who is targeting NYC landmarks, but will anyone take them seriously?

This was a very well researched novel- I was particularly impressed with the truth to backstage life! I cared about Marion and found Peter’s skill fascinating. I also really enjoyed the Author’s Note at the end that explained the facts that the novel was inspired by. The only reason this wasn’t 5⭐️s is because the middle was a tad repetitive. But overall, what a glitzy mystery!

✨Trigger Warnings: Death of a Parent, Murder, Sexism, Terrorist Attacks, Infidelity

Content Warnings

sarahweyand's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

Thanks to Dutton and NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and feedback are my own.

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this book but I was pleasantly surprised! The Spectacular does a great job of teaching readers about the Rockettes and their history, and includes a lot of interesting facts and information I didn't know before reading. I would say this book is a mystery first and a historical fiction second, which is opposite from what I was anticipating, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

I liked reading about Marion's struggles and personal growth being a woman in the 50s, which was realistic and therefore extremely frustrating. I liked her as a character a lot, but some aspects of the story didn't work as well for me as I wished. The romance was sweet at the end but very insta-lovey and too full of poor communication for me to get invested. In addition, the scenes with the police officers didn't feel all that realistic (not in terms of their ineptness but in terms of their communication and information sharing with Marion and Peter).

Overall, I think people will enjoy this book if they love mysteries or historical fiction. I haven't read any books about Rockettes, so that was an interesting niche to me as well. Will definitely be on the lookout for more Fiona Davis in the future!

Content Warnings

More...