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A review by chantaal
Off-Time Jive by A. Z. Louise
3.0
A noir detective story with a speculative backdrop, Off-Time Jive is a pleasant surprise. It's based in an alternate Harlem Renaissance where black joy can create magic, and follows investigator Bessie Knox who has had enough heartbreak in her past that conjuring up feelings of joy is difficult at the best of times. When a murder occurs, Bessie begins to investigate and cracks open a connection to her past.
There's some interesting magic here, and a decent mystery. The writing was the strongest part, giving Bessie a pretty good voice and anchoring it firmly in this alternate Harlem Renaissance. I think the mystery itself kind of fell apart toward the end, not really making any sense to me a reader - Bessie comes up with ideas and clues that never felt like they were concretely tied too what I was reading on the page at the time. The ending felt a little confusing as well, but also left things tied off with a great deal of hope.
It's still a lovely and unique novella, well worth giving it a good try.
There's some interesting magic here, and a decent mystery. The writing was the strongest part, giving Bessie a pretty good voice and anchoring it firmly in this alternate Harlem Renaissance. I think the mystery itself kind of fell apart toward the end, not really making any sense to me a reader - Bessie comes up with ideas and clues that never felt like they were concretely tied too what I was reading on the page at the time. The ending felt a little confusing as well, but also left things tied off with a great deal of hope.
It's still a lovely and unique novella, well worth giving it a good try.