Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.

Last Call at the Nightingale

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
New York, 1924. Vivian Kelly's days are filled with drudgery, from the tenement lodging she shares with her sister to the dress shop where she sews for hours every day. But at night, she escapes to The Nightingale, an underground dance hall where illegal liquor flows and the band plays the Charleston with reckless excitement. With a bartender willing to slip her a free glass of champagne and friends who know the owner, Vivian can lose herself in the music. No one asks where she came from or how much money she has. No one bats an eye if she flirts with men or women as long as she can keep up on the dance floor. At The Nightingale, Vivian forgets the dangers of Prohibition-era New York and finds a place that feels like home. But then she discovers a body behind the club, and those dangers come knocking. Caught in a police raid at the Nightingale, Vivian discovers that the dead man wasn't the nameless bootlegger he first appeared. With too many people assuming she knows more about the crime than she does, Vivian finds herself caught between the dangers of New York's underground and the world of the city's wealthy and careless, where money can hide any sin and the lives of the poor are considered disposable...including Vivian's own.
  • Creators

  • Series

  • Publisher

  • Release date

  • Formats

  • Languages

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from March 7, 2022
      Vivian Kelly, the courageous protagonist of this excellent series launch set in 1924 Manhattan from Schellman (the Lily Adler mysteries), shares a tenement apartment with her older sister, Florence. Florence is serious and practical, but Vivian, who loves to drink and dance, is a regular at the Nightingale, a speakeasy, and often comes home at dawn before having to toil as a seamstress during the day. Her friends at the Nightingale, all of whom are distinctive characters readers will care about, include bartender Danny Chin, waitress and singer Bea Henry, and Nightingale owner Honor “Hux” Huxley. When Vivian and Bea find a dead man in the alley behind the club, they wonder if he was a bootlegger, but Hux forbids them to talk about it. After the cops raid the speakeasy, Hux bails Vivian out of jail. In return, Vivian agrees, after the cops find the victim’s wallet with his ID in it, to spy on the dead man’s family to determine whether they can help find the killer. Schellman vividly evokes Jazz Age Manhattan as Vivian proves to be a most imaginative sleuth. Readers will eagerly await her return. Agent: Whitney Ross, Irene Goodman Literary.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Sara Young brings Schellman's new mystery series, set in the Roaring Twenties, to life with a smooth narration and unique voices for its diverse characters. Irish orphans Vivian and her sister, Flo, work as seamstresses by day. Looking for excitement, Vivian spends her nights dancing at a speakeasy called the Nightingale. Vivian's voice is self-assured and flirtatious. Timid Flo sounds exasperated as she attempts to rein in Vivian's wildness. When Vivian and her friend, Bea, discover a dead body in the alley behind the speakeasy, life suddenly becomes more dangerous. Honor, the owner of the speakeasy, who hires Vivian to investigate, has the self-assured voice of a person who is used to being obeyed. N.E.M. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      September 1, 2022

      Author Schellman (the "Lily Adler Mysteries") is back with a new series about The Nightingale, a hip and carefree speakeasy in Jazz Age New York City. Vivian Kelly dances to escape her troubles--she's an Irish American orphan who lives and works with her straitlaced sister, both barely earning enough at the dress shop to survive. When Viv discovers a dead body outside the club's back door, others think she saw the murderer, and soon she's engulfed in a tangled mystery of local rumrunners, Chicago gangsters, secret pregnancies, and entitled aristocrats. Open-minded Vivian isn't sure whom to love or trust--Honor, the sexy club owner, who asks Vivian to find the murderer and offers free drinks? Or Leo, the handsome stranger who mysteriously appears after the murder to rescue Viv from dangerous situations? Narrator Sara Young doesn't have many titles in her repertoire, but her confident and skilled approach make her a narrator to watch. She uses a Midwestern American accent for most of the characters, and Nightingale owner Honor has a delightfully sultry tone. VERDICT Traditional mystery readers and lovers of 1920s historical fiction will enjoy this subtly inclusive listen.--Sarah Hill

      Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

Languages

  • English

Loading