Reviews

Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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fourwhitetrees's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

laelyn's review against another edition

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3.0

I absolutely adored Moreno-Garcia's "Mexican Gothic" so I might or might not have screamed a little when my request for the arc of her newest book got approved. I had high expectations because I love her writing style, and I wasn't disappointed.
"Velves Was the Night" is a beautifully written historical pulp noir novel set in Mexico, and it very much reads like pulp noir, too. I admit that I'm not the biggest fan of that subgenre and rarely do read it, but it's always fun and I'm always entertained. The same goes for this novel. What really drew me in, though, was the political and historical background of it. I've heard about the Dirty War and the student protests, but really, I barely know a thing. It was fascinating and brutal to read about it. The Author's Note made me go on a Wikipedia binge, wnd Moreno-Garcia is right when she calls it a real-life horror story.

In the end, though, I was still just a little bit... bored. The plot is complex but at the same time very simple, there is a lot going on while at the same time nothing substantial is really ever happening. It's a short, quick read with slow pacing so I never really felt the sense of urgency needed to create excitement. Maybe the reason for it is that I just didn't connect at all with the characters, either. Both Elvis and Maite are interesting protagonists and their perspectives on what's going on in Mexico, what they learned through meeting different people, were enlightening and intriguing. But I just. Did not care about them. Neither of them managed to get me emotionally involved, leading to me being kind of meh about their fates in the story.

It's definitely a good novel and I'm pretty sure that fans of the pulp noir genre can appreciate it much much more than I do.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group for the arc!

verustek's review against another edition

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2.0

I adore Silvia Moreno-Garcia, but this one was just not for me. That can be chalked up to the fact that I very rarely enjoy mystery thrillers, so if that genre is for you, you will likely be more into this book than I was.

sheilasamuelson's review against another edition

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adventurous dark informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Rating: 5 Stars!!
Review:
Where do i begin with this review?!

This was my first time reading a Historical Mystery Novel by Silvia Moreno-Garcia so i wasnt sure what to expect but i have to say i enjoyed this one more then i thought i would.

This book was about Maite, A Politicians Secretary who helps a Local Detective Elvis El Mango solve her friend's murder in June 1971 Mexico.

The Characters were fun and enjoyable to read about. Maite was definately my favorite even tho at times she came off as a "Know it All" when helping Detective El Mango solve the murder. Kind of like Jessica Fletcher is in "Murder She Wrote".

The Setting was beautifully described which made me feel like i was actually in June 1971 while reading especially when the scenery and musicians were described.

Overall a Good Historical Mystery Novel!! I do wish this was part of a series cause i'd love to see what other Murders Maite and Elvis would solve.

Can't wait to read more by Silvia in the future!!