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ClareR (5955 KP) rated Shrines of Gaiety in Books

Dec 5, 2022

Shrines of Gaiety

Kate Atkinson | 2022 | Crime, Fiction & Poetry, Mystery

10.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

What can I write to do this book justice, other than say “just read it?” I have to admit to not having read much Kate Atkinson before - only the first Jackson Brodie novel, which I loved - but I really feel I should read more of her books!

Shrines of Gaiety is set in the 1920’s, post First World War, and encompasses post war life with all of its excesses, poverty, grief and debauchery.

Nellie Coker is a self made woman who owns a series of nightclubs in London. She’s a single mother, and five of her six children help her to run her empire (the sixth is too young). How she came to own these clubs is a mystery. But the chances are that it wasn’t legal money!

Then there are the 14 year old runaways, Freda and Florence, who want to take to the stage to find fame and fortune.

Detective Chief Inspector Frobisher is determined to bring Nellie Coker and her corrupt empire down, as well as the corrupt police officers that support her. He also becomes involved in the search for the two runaways, thanks to Gwendoline Kelling, a librarian who has inherited a considerable amount of money. She’s a friend of one of the runaways sister, and vows to find her.

I won’t just regurgitate the story, that’s no fun, and you need to read this book for yourself! Needless to say, I loved these characters - the whole novel in fact! It’s a gripping, entertaining story, and it was a joy to read.

Very highly recommended.

Oh, and for the book cover fans, it’s a gorgeous one!

Kudos

The Numbers Game: Why Everything You Know About Football is Wrong

Chris Anderson and David Sally

(0 Ratings) Rate It

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The Numbers Game by Chris Anderson and David Sally reveals football's astonishing hidden rules Fully...

Erika Kehlet (21 KP) rated The Diviners (The Diviners, #1) in Books

Feb 21, 2018

Evie O'Neill is a seventeen year old flapper with a gift - the gift of "reading" an object to discover its owner's secrets. After an impromptu reading at a party gets her in trouble at home in Ohio, she is sent to live with her Uncle Will in New York. Her uncle runs a museum of the paranormal, and is called in by the police to help look into a string of unusual murders. Hoping to secure a permanent place in New York, Evie joins her Uncle Will's team and helps investigate.

Libba Bray has done a wonderful job of transporting the reader back to 1920's New York. I could almost see the flapper dresses and cloche hats, and hear the music and the clinking of glasses in the speakeasy clubs. The book would be worth reading for the glimpse into the past alone, but it has so much more to offer. Mystery, danger, secrets, powers, music, romance - I could go on and on!
I listened to this book, rather than reading a print edition, and I would highly recommend it. January LaVoy did an amazing job of bringing each character to life with his or her own voice and inflections. This was no small feat considering the size of the cast of characters she had to work with! I hope she will continue to read the rest of the books in this series as they are published.