Mystery novels are not usually my favorite genre. However, this book piqued my interest as it was set in the Jazz Age. Hard to resist for me. because HF is my favorite go-to in books. I enjoyed the novel even though it wasn't the best I've read. My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

this was an enjoyable read, the characters were great and I really enjoyed the world that was built in this novel. I hadn't read the first book in the series but I felt that it didn't effect my enjoyment of the book.

I have not read the first book in this mystery series but will now. The mystery was interesting and the characters were well written and engaging. I recommend for cozy mystery lovers

Julia Kydd is so stupid that it was amazing.

Julia becomes fast friends with Eva, a singer in a Harlem nightclub who is getting a book published that is inspired by her life experiences. Eva's boss doesn't like this and steals the manuscript because Eva is also an idiot for not thinking her boss would hear about her book deal. The next day the boss is dead and both Eva and the manuscript is missing. Because Julia is BBF with Eva after one meeting, she decides that Eva is not the killer and to clear her name.

I felt sorry for every character that Julia interacted with because she was so stupid and naive. The amazing thing is that all the other characters are far more interesting than the main one. I really just read this book for her not-brother Philip. Can next book just be about him?

I was very excited about the setting (New York in the 1920's and a bibliophile) but I love anything from this period anyway. Unfortunately it was a slow read and the story wasn't very interesting. I liked most of the characters except the main one, Julia. She met a woman once and suddenly they're BFF? She keeps saying this to justify her "meddling" in the police investigation. I thought it was a bit of a stretch and all in all that didn't sound sincere – I wondered until the end of the book if there might be something else to it.

Thank you to the publisher who provided me with an e-copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the setting and descriptions, but it was a very slow read. The story just wasn't very interesting.

Julia's pressing naivete presents as much more striving and self - congratulatory than considerate or sincere.