I really enjoyed Schellman’s Lily Adler series, and was hoping this would be a good follow-up. I feel pretty neutral about Last Call at the Nightingale. To be fair, this is the first book and a series can take a bit to find its footing. 

The setting is interesting and the mystery itself was more complicated than it first appears. However, the complicated elements weren’t introduced until the very last part of the book, which felt a little contrived. This led to a bit is a pacing issue where the majority of the middle of the book drags but the end feels too fast. The cast of characters is diverse and complicated. None of them are strictly lovable. 

The FMC, Vivian, is younger than the FMC in the Lily Adler series, which may contribute to why I find her harder to connect with. I think she’s supposed to be spunky and charming in her willfulness, but she comes across as being a bit self-important and foolish. She’s repeatedly told she’s getting in beyond her depth, but she’s repeatedly insistent that she HAS to know things, so it becomes exasperating when the people warning her are shown to be right over and over. Will still probably read the next one to see if pacing improves and if there’s better character development.

This was pretty good. I really like Katharine Schellman's Lily Adler mysteries, and I was interested to see their take on a 1920s murder mystery. I liked most of the main characters, and the mystery investigation and 1920s setting were done well enough. I think my biggest complaint is that some of the dialogue felt a little too clunky or loaded with unnatural exposition.

Thank you to the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

3.5/5 I did enjoy this but I kind of wanted more from it.

Last Call at the Nightingale is a Jazz age mystery murder. Vivian Kelly is trying to make ends meet at her dress shop job with her sister, while at night she goes out dancing and drinking at the Nightingale. One night Vivian finds someone murdered, next thing she knows, she's being arrested in a raid. When the boss of the Nightingale, Ms. Huxley, asks Vivian to look into the murder, Vivian doesn't know if she should. But she wants answers herself, looking into the dark side of NYC puts her in deeper danger than she expects.

Vivian was an easy character to like. I totally got that she wanted to enjoy her youth, not just waste it working at the miserable dress shop. I do wish her relationship with her sister was better discussed. It mostly felt like Florence was made into a villain because she doesn't approve of Vivian's nightly activities. To an extent I get it, but Florence is entitled to her own opinion and likes. It felt like she wasn't given the page time to explore or explain this to her sister.

I loved the cast of the Nightingale. Bea and Danny were such great friends to Vivian. I loved these two so much. Then there's Ms. Huxley. I was so in love with this boss ass bitch. I really enjoyed the dynamic between Vivian and Hux, I wish we got more of it. I did enjoy her relationship with Mr. Green, but it didn't have the same intensity as Hux did.

The murder mystery was so well done. This part I have zero complaints. I loved seeing Vivian snooping around and figuring shit out. There were so many twists and turns and I enjoyed this part of it very much.

Rep: white bisexual female MC, Jewish male love interest, white lesbian female love interest, Chinese male side character, Black female side character. 

CW: Illegal alcohol consumption (prohibition), blood, death, gun violence, injury/injury detail, lesbophobia/lesbomisia, queer slur, misogyny, murder, panic attacks, racism, sexism, violence.