Today I’m reviewing a new book called Speak Easy, a historical mystery set in 1922 by Lori Adams. If you’re interested in reading this book and leaving some feedback for Ms. Adams, I got my copy on Netgalley; or, you can wait until the book is officially released and read it then.
The first thing that drew me to this book was the cover art–it screams the Roaring 20s, and as some of you know, my favorite book is The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Knowing that this was a mystery set in the same era as my favorite book, I decided to read further into the book’s details (how long it was, what the plot was etc), and clicked the ‘request’ button so fast I actually surprised myself.
Right away we learn some bits and pieces about the main character, Kate March, and why she became the person she is; also right away, I developed an interest in the character of Nicky Masino with his mysterious backstory. We get vivid descriptions of locations such as Kate’s house and her father’s newspaper office, which makes the scenes feel incredibly plausible and realistic, and this vivid imagery continues throughout the book, with a well-written first-person narrative.
Now, this being categorized as a mystery, and having read the description, I knew there would be a murder. While I had expected the murder to be in the first few pages (as with most books lately), it took a little time to reach, which is not necessarily a bad thing. The scene of the crime, as well as the story to how Kate became the first person (not just the first reporter, first person) on the scene, was again, written very well. Thought was put into Kate’s perspective and what she took in during her time investigating the scene on her own, making it not only realistic and easy to visualize, but easy to remember later on. Kate conducted her investigation in a thorough manner, and even learned of alibis and inconsistencies before the police did, which for me, gained Kate March some major points in the ‘good reporter’ category.
Throughout the book, Nicky Masino continues to be a major mystery, and it unravels slowly–just slowly enough that it keeps you interested, and impatient in a good way; the outbursts that Kate witnesses and the refusal to show public emotion make it more intriguing, and as you learn more about the character and his experience with the war, you begin to theorize what might have happened.
I was pretty quick to wonder if a romance was beginning to blossom between Kate and Nicky, although the main point of this book was a murder mystery. Little things like Kate’s thoughts surrounding Nicky propelled this line of thinking, and then came a beautifully written scene set on Nicky’s back porch, when neither he nor Kate could sleep, and they began to open up to one another. This was certainly one of the turning points for me, and this was the second time I couldn’t stop reading until my eyes burned, the first being when Kate witnessed Nicky’s first outburst from her bedroom window.
Jumping far ahead into the book, I was really invested in the Kate’s transformation into a Modern (you know, the women in the 1920s who wore flapper dresses and beads and had super short hair). It was fun to see that transformation and the characters who were introduced to help her do so; following this, was sneaking into a Paramount party at The Grove, where the vivid imagery, thought and research made it incredibly easy to see. While I highly disapprove of the use of wild animals chained and drugged for entertainment, it absolutely was accurate for the time period, so while I could have done without their use in this book, I do understand the need for accurate representation of Hollywood in the 1920s. That also said, it seemed unimportant to the plot and quite frankly didn’t need to be brought into the story at all, or made to be glorified–something the character of Abner seemed to agree upon with his exclamations of “ungodly excess” and “nonsense”.
Showing up to the party was our favorite mysterious police officer, Nicky Masino, there to ensure Kate was safe and staying out of trouble. This gave us a sweet dance between to the two, further proving the early theory of a slow-blossoming romance between the two, something I fully enjoyed and welcomed. Then came some drama on the behalf of Nicky’s aforementioned mysterious past, and in need of causing a major distraction, Kate began a food fight–which, while incredibly absurd, was funny and at the same point, was oddly fitting.
Some little details I picked up and thoughts I had and noted while reading this book, were that Addy and Kate are by far the most loyal best friends portrayed in a fiction novel, and that there were wonderful descriptions not just in the scenes themselves but in the 1920s buildings and fashion. It held interesting tidbits of information from the 1920s, such as accurate slang and the mention of reinstating Christmas in 1918. I give major props to Ms. Adams for mentioning my favorite author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, who as we all know became one of the most popular writers of the era, and several references to Nellie Bly, the famous female reporter, who Kate admires as a budding reporter herself.
Intelligently littered with quotes from writers and film stars, this book was not only historically accurate, but incredibly detailed and well-thought out. I never suspected the killer, and yet at the same point the reasoning behind this character made perfect sense upon further thought, and was a wonderful choice, thought out quite cleverly, by the author. This said, I was a little dissatisfied that the killer was not apprehended, though this does, in part, lead up to a sequel in this new series.
Some other little things I’d like to mention; I was not a fan of the way the story jumps back and forth between what happened and little, almost useless interruptions by the detective she is telling the story to, although, I fully see how it helped to propel the story forward on more than one occasion.
The cover art, which originally drew me to the book, did confuse me for a long time, but begins to make sense and becomes an important part of the plot at the end of chapter sixteen, as does the book title itself.
One quote in particular that I enjoyed was, “You’d think he invented the comma or something,” which while not only funny, made me wonder who actually did invent the comma (in case you were wondering, it was Aldus Manutius, a 15th century Italian printer).
There were minor typos here and there, but overall a strong story that I read in two sittings of approximately 2.5 hours each.
Now you all know I don’t give good reviews and recommendations to just any book, so if I’m giving this book an eight-of-ten star review, you know it must be good! And that’s exactly the rating I’m giving it, with my enthusiastic recommendation to anyone who loves a good murder mystery or is a fan of accurate historical fiction. Well done to Ms. Lori Adams!
SheReadsWorlds 