Spirits and Smoke by Mary Miley is a 2022 Severn Publication.

Maddie, a young widow with a small son, finds a home with Carlotta, a fraudulent medium. Maddie’s job is to investigate potential clients prior to their séance sessions. Maddie’s conscience does bother her, but she also finds she is a darned good investigator.

When she begins investigating one of Carlotta’s clients, she learns he is not who he claims to be, which leads her to the discovery that an innocent man who died from tainted alcohol, might have been murdered. This suspicion leads her into the dangerous world of gangsters, while under the watchful eye of the Chicago police who are skeptical of Carlotta’s ‘skills’….

I have enjoyed Mary Miley’s historical mysteries over the years and jumped on this one the minute it popped up on my radar. Somehow, though, I had not realized this book was the second book in a different series from the one I’d been following.

No worries, though, really. The author provides enough background so that one can jump in without feeling lost. I absolutely love stories set during the 1920s- and Miley does a great job of capturing the popular interest in spiritualism during that era, as well as describing the landscape and climate of Chicago- which was run by gangsters. The mystery is compelling, with a few surprises here and there. The story is light on violence, but also has a good crime drama quality to it, as well.

I also enjoyed the way Miley had the characters speak and act in the way a real person would during this decade- with no modern vernacular. Naturally, today we wouldn't say or do these things, as we are better informed- but this gave the story more authenticity, and I appreciated that quality about the book.

Overall, this is fun, clean, jazz age mystery. I enjoyed the characters, atmosphere, and attention to historical details.

4 stars

Spirits and Smoke is the second novel in the Maddie Pastore mysteries. I found Maddie to be a fun and capable female sleuth. The story of the 1920s era is very well-written and seems to come alive. They only thing I did not like about the book was that the mystery was a little bit underwhelming. Nevertheless, this was still an entertaining mystery. I recommend this for fans of Jessica Fellowes, Radha Vatsal, and Mariah Fredericks!

This is the second instalment in the Maddie Pastore Mysteries and is up to the series debut, The Mystic’s Apprentice.

The story runs on two parallel tracks. On the one hand, the mystery. Maddie learns of a possible murder from the séance she helps to stage. She involves the police – while she’s becoming involved with a certain cop, too. On the other hand, we learn more about Maddie’s personal life as she discovers unexpected things about her late husband.

I’ll admit that I became more interested in Maddie’s life than the actual mystery at a certain point. She’s discovering things about her husband’s ‘first’ wife, and honestly, I am wondering what’s the entire story there because, sure, it feels like there is a lot to discover and maybe not everything so good. And maybe I feel more involved because this is so important to Maddie, where solving the mystery is only a matter of civic duty, after all.

But the mystery of the banker who died from poisoned alcohol is also intriguing. It also allows showing life as it was for the working class in 1920s Chicago.

This is one thing I really appreciate about Miley’s characters: they are real people. They are the common people who struggled to make ends meet and did the best they could with the little they had. I prefer this kind of historical novel to the ones stuffed with big names.

It’s a good novel, very easy to read. Miley’s style is so smooth and friendly. A nice cosy mystery with a bit of spicy danger.

It was fun.

While I thoroughly enjoyed the first book, The Mystic’s Apprentice, and recommend you get hold of it if you enjoy historical murder mysteries set in the 1920s – it’s not vital to have read it before plunging into this offering. Though do be aware that at one point the first book was released under the pen name, Mary Miley Theobold. That now has been changed, but I mention it in case you come across a copy with the previous name across the cover.

It was a real joy to once again read a story featuring Maddie’s gutsy first-person narrative. She has had a terrible year, going from being a happily married young woman expecting her first child, to being suddenly widowed and out on the streets and penniless in 1920s Chicago. Thanks to the kindness of strangers and her own courage, she has now managed to rebuild her life. Miley portrays this without any sentimentality, which I appreciated. As you’d expect in this genre, it isn’t too long before Maddie’s job collecting information on the clients of her employer and landlady, the medium Madam Carlotta, brings her up against another suspicious death. And while this is a major narrative engine to the plot, I also enjoyed the fact that it isn’t Maddie’s major priority, because her main concern is looking after Baby Tommy. Knowing that so many working mothers have to perform similar daily juggling acts – it was enjoyable to read a book that reflects that reality.

She is also trying to keep him safe from the attentions of the mob. However, given how much the criminal gangs are raking in from Prohibition and how much they have pervaded all levels of Chicago society, that task is harder than it might seem. At the back of the book, Miley explains just how money the likes of Al Capone were making – and the amounts are truly eye-watering. The pages more or less turned themselves, as the vivid characters, complete with seances, mob members and Maddie, along with her friends, leap to life with Miley’s easy prose style. There is plenty of tension and danger, but we also have interludes where Maddie has a brainwave about a present for Freddie, the young orphan that Madam Carlotta has taken under her wing, as they get ready to celebrate Christmas.

All in all, it was a thoroughly satisfying read that completely immersed me from the first page to the last – and I’m looking forward to more books in this entertaining series. Highly recommended for fans of historical whodunits, particularly 1920s America. While I obtained an arc of Spirits and Smoke from Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
9/10

A fast paced and entertaining historical mystery, the second installment in this excellent series.
It's riveting, entertaining and gripping.
The author did an excellent job in mixing historical characters like Al Capone with fiction and the historical background is vivid and well researched.
Maddie is a character I love: a woman who's fighting to give the best to her child and I love her and the cast of fleshed out characters.
The mystery is solid and full of twists, it kept me guessing and I loved the solution.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Spirits and smoke by Mary Miley.
Maddie Pastore mystery #2.
December, 1924. Young widow Maddie Pastore feels fortunate to be employed by the well-meaning but fraudulent medium Carlotta Romany. Investigating Carlotta's clients isn't work she's proud of, but she's proud of how well she does it.
A very good read with good characters. Maddie was my favourite character. Very well written. I hope there is more to come. 4*.

I requested this one on Netgalley because it seemed like a very “me” book. With aspects like spiritualism, the 1920s, a main character with the same as my own, and of course, a murder mystery, I was instantly intrigued. I’m happy to confirm after finishing that I was right about this one. This was such an engaging story with fascinating characters and historical figures. I didn’t expect Al Capone and other mob bosses to show up, but it made for such an exciting read. I loved the fast pace and short chapters. Should this series continue past this book, I’d definitely read more (and I’ll have to go back and read book 1 now).

There's more to Maddie than meets the eye initially in this crime novel set in 1924 Chicago. A widow with a young son (her husband who worked for Capone was shot), she's now supporting them by dong background investigations for Carlotta, who poses as a psychicwho can contact the dead using the info Maddie collects. Then something odd happens- Herman Quillan's sister doesn't believe what she's been told about his death; she claims he was a teetotaler and that the whole scenario didn't make sense. It doesn't to Maddie either and she sets off, perhaps unwisely, to find the truth. Luckily, she does have an ally in Officer O'Rourke. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. There's a lot packed into this relatively slim novel but it's a fast paced and atmospheric read with a different sort of heroine.

The delicious second installment to Mary Miley's riveting Mystic Accomplice Mystery Series set in the Windy City during the Roaring Twenties where once again we follow the sleuthing adventures of Maddie Pastore as she tries to untangle a rather complex murder mystery steeped in greed, corruption and awashed with plenty of toxic alcohol, all of this against a backdrop of fraudulent spiritualism, trigger happy mobsters, dizzy dames and omnipresent speakeasies that take the reader into a dazzling tour of Chicago at the height of the Prohibition Era.
Cleverly plotted with enough twists and turns to keep you on the edge of your seat and a cast of charming and often dangerous characters, this latest accomplishment should definitely captivate anyone interested by the razzle dazzle prevalent in America before the Great Depression. A gritty tale written with lots of sparkling dialogues that deserves to be enjoyed without any moderation whatsoever and maybe a good cocktail at the end😉👍

Many thanks to Netgalley and Canongate/Severn House for this terrific ARC

A mystery set in Chicago in the 1920s, complete with the mob, a narrator with a Chicago accent and some rough manners, her mostly-fake medium of a landlady, the Chicago river, heists, and did I mention Capone? Not a terrible plot, but so very very many cliches and a lot of deus ex machina keeping the characters alive. The narrator isn't particularly compelling, but some of the accurate historical details--the author is a historian by trade--are nice.

I didnt realise that this was a sequel and I dont know whether i missed some of the storyline in this book because of that but I still really enjoyed it. I have not read many books set in the 1920's or specifically the jazz era so I really enjoyed this and I loved that i recognised historical events and figures within the storyline. I enjoyed reading this book.

I was so impressed with Mary Miley’s first historical mystery set in 19201s Chicago, The Mystic’s Accomplice. I seldom say the second in the series is even better, but Spirits and Smoke is rich in historical detail. What can be more fascinating as a timeframe than Chicago with gangsters and Prohibition? Add a medium with the popularity of spiritualism at that time, and Miley has a perfect background for her fast-paced series with an intriguing young sleuth.

Maddie Pastore is a young widow whose husband worked for Al Capone’s gang until he was shot by rival bootleggers. After struggling to find a place to live with her baby, Tommy, Maddie has finally moved in with her employer. Madame Carlotta Romany is a medium who works with Maddie and a sixteen-year-old orphan, Freddy. Maddie is her investigator and shill, while Freddy is her “invisible” assistant.

When Carlotta has a new client, Maddie heads out to read obituaries and wills, where she can uncover information about the deceased that the client wants to contact. Samuel Quillen says he wants to reach his brother Herman. But, Maddie’s research only turns up two sisters. She even tracks down one of the sisters, another widow, who truly mourns her brother who helped her with money for her eight children. But, Herman didn’t have a brother. During a session, Madame Carlotta accuses Herman’s “brother” of being a fake. It’s only afterwards that Maddie discovers he’s Louis Roth, part of the North Side Gang. What does a gangster want with a deceased bank teller?

Gangsters and Prohibition. Herman Quillen died of “wood smoke”, drinking poisoned liquor. Maddie suspects he was murdered. And, her job as a mystic’s accomplice makes her a target for Roth who claims Herman took money belonging to the gang, and Roth wants it back. He even threatens Maddie and her baby, Tommy.

Maddie Pastore is streetwise and shrewd. Although she’s terrified of Chicago’s gangs, she’s still determined to find answers for Herman’s sister. Relying on her own wits and allies such as Officer Kevin O’Rouke, Freddy, and a new reporter friend, Maddie sets out on her own journey to truth in 1924 Chicago.

Mary Miley’s Spirits and Smoke is a fast-paced mystery with an engaging amateur sleuth. It’s rich in details that will appeal to fans of historical mysteries. It deserves a wider audience who will appreciate the intriguing possibilities of Chicago in this time period.

Thank you for approving my request! I rarely read fiction set in the 20s as there doesn't seem to be too much of it on the market, so this was refreshing. I really enjoyed how the plot features real-life events and people. My only criticism would be that I felt like the ending was a little predictable and obvious who did it - would still recommend to my friends regardless!

“Spirits and Smoke “ uses 1920’s Chicago as its backdrop, and paints vividly, the corruption, the gangsters, speakeasies and gin joints, and literally “all that jazz”

Amateur sleuth, Maddie Pastore is widowed with a young baby, Tommy, so she counts herself lucky to have employment. She works as a mystic’s assistant to the fraudulent spiritual medium Carlotta Romany, investigating clients before their appointment with Carlotta. The medium claims to connect people to the spirit of their loved ones, and she’s under the illusion that she actually does that! Or maybe she’s in denial and just wants to believe all her own hype.

When Maddie meets Chicago Police Officer O’Rourke, he tells Maddie that he wants Carlotta’s help with a case, he doesn’t believe in spiritualism himself, but he’s willing to try whatever it takes, but before long, Maddie has a case of her own to bring to his attention. A man turned up at one of the seances claiming to be the brother of Herman Quillen who died of alcohol poisoning, wanting to find out where Herman’s money was hidden. Maddie had done her investigations and discovered that Herman didn’t have a brother, and she also found it strange that he’d died of alcohol poisoning, when everyone who knew him said he was teetotal. Understandably she’s suspicious, and asks O’Rourke for help.

However, Maddie gets in too deep and ends up getting on the wrong side of one of Chicago’s most vicious gangs!

Great setting, wonderfully atmospheric, blending as it does, a combination of history, real historical figures, and historical accuracy, together with a riveting whodunnit. Maddie makes for a a terrific protagonist, gutsy and intelligent, someone who wants to provide for her baby, and whatever the difficulties, has the determination to do so. Very enjoyable!

One Very Reluctant Sleuth…
The second in the Mystic’s Apprentice Mystery series and our very reluctant sleuth Maddie Pastore finds herself amidst another strange case in a 1920’s Chicago. Maddie is all to keen to get to the truth but is soon mixed up with a violent gang. Engaging and fast moving romp featuring an intrepid and gutsy heroine in Maddie and laced with delightful historical detail. Most enjoyable.

A great story of the Roaring Twenties, featuring Maddie as the main character, and Carlotta and Freddy as close seconds, and finally O'Rourke, as the policeman. Gangsters such as Al Caponr, feature as well as this is a story about a murder, and is basically a whodunit. Well I am not going to tell the reader that, nor the rest of the plot, in case I spoil it. A highly readable tale, and highly recommended.

"Too much of anything is bad. But too much good whiskey is barely enough." (Mark Twain)

Spirits and Smoke swirls around the streets of Chicago in a blustery winter of 1924. Mary Miley has nudged into being crime bosses, Prohibition, illegal speakeasies, and a vast array of hustlers and con-men of every persuasion. And into this mix are those who are just trying to survive on what little they have.

Maddie Pastore is a survivor. Her husband Tommy had been a driver for the infamous Al Capone when a stray bullet found its mark and took him out. Along with her five month old son, Tommy Jr., she's taken up residence in the household of Madame Carlotta Romany, a mystic and spiritual medium. Desperate times bring desperate measures. For a roof over her head, Maddie does research on Carlotta's customers and acts as a sometimes customer herself. She's not quite sure of Carlotta's supposed talents, but a growling stomach and the freezing winds of Chicago say otherwise.

But the sister of one of those "dearly departed" is convinced that her brother was murdered. He was found dead in an alley after ingesting "smoke" alcohol. Devious individuals lined their booze with wood alcohol in a denaturing fashion during Prohibition. The more that Maddie uncovers about Herman Quillen, the more she is convinced that Quillen may have been involved in some shady business with the Chicago Outfit. It's like the famous line: "A man walks into a bar......" Only this guy didn't make it farther than the alley.

Mary Miley's lead female character, Maddie Pastore, reflects the dynamics of the times. She keeps re-inventing herself for the sake of her son and for simple survival. Spirits and Smoke is the second book in this series, but it can be readily enjoyed as a standalone. We readers get a panoramic view of Chicago dotted with the underbelly of crime figures like Al Capone, Hymie Weiss, and politicians who were as crooked as the crooks.

Spirits and Smoke is an escape read which we all need about now. Real life keeps getting more intense by the day. Somehow Chicago in 1924 with the shifty gangsters and a smart woman shifting through clues is the way to go. Can't wait to see which high rises and low rises we'll find Maddie in next.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Severn House and to Mary Miley for the opportunity.