Between the World Wars, London came alive with a public starved of fun seeking out distraction at pubs, nightclubs and dance halls. Several of these are run by the notorious Nellie Coker and her offspring, and are the haunts of gangs and criminals as well as nobility. The police are after her, but corruption in the ranks ensures her survival. When two young girls seek fame and fortune as dancers in the city, they are pursued by undercover librarian(!) Gwendolen, but meanwhile a murderer is on the loose. I am a big fan of Atkinson’s, particularly the Jackson Brodie books and Behind the Scenes at the Museum, but this is not one of my favourites. As always, she captures a strong sense of period and atmosphere, but I found it too sleazy and exploitative, with little sense of optimism or basic decency. There were too many leading characters and switching stories, and I felt there were gaps in the narrative that were never explained or were concluded too randomly. I think my main issue was that I don’t like gangster style stories or hard-as-nail characters, so could not engage with this one. I have seen rapturous reviews elsewhere, but this wasn’t my glass of gin.

A gorgeous multilayered historical fiction that will delight Atkinson fans and newcomers alike.

Shrines of Gaiety is a historical multiple narrative telling five different stories: Nellie, a club owner recently released from prison, Gwendoline, a Yorkshire librarian, Frobisher, a policeman with a grudge, Freda, a wannabe stage star, and a mysterious antagonist.

The multiple narratives are impeccable balanced and paced, and the connections between Atkinson’s sparkling cast of characters are satisfying and illuminating. The characters are well rounded and fully realised, with moments of exasperation that had me almost shouting at the pages - a thrilling and frustrating moment that was testament to how much I was rooting for them.

The writing here shimmers, iridescent with charm, poetry and insight. Atkinson is always a pleasure to read, and she outdoes herself here in this masterclass of storytelling.

An enjoyable read about the underbelly of London life in the 1920’s. Perhaps it’s my age but all I could think was “how like a Catherine Cookson or Barbara Bradford Taylor”. Written in a more modern idiom than those books the story lines are very similar. An intricate, well plotted novel that is a good read.

I was so excited to be granted this novel by Netgalley because I know that a Kate Atkinson novel is sure to be a delight. I love her writing and this book is super, the characters are well-drawn, engaging and real.

We are in 1920s London when society is recovering from WW! And the pursuit of pleasure in all its forms is the priority. Nellie Coker is a matriarch who has a string of glamorous nightclubs, that – with the aid of a 'friendly officer of the law' generally avoids police raids for illicit alcohol. She has six children and these clubs will be her legacy to them. She is a fierce – and likeable – character who keeps one step ahead. Into this world comes Gwendolen Kelling, a librarian from York who has travelled to London to look for her best friend's daughter, Freda, who has run away with her friend Florence to become stars of the stage. And we also have Police Inspector Frobisher who is determined to bring Nellie Croker's empire down as well as try to find the truth behind the young girls whose bodies keep fished out of the Thames. These are just a few of the characters we meet and it is hard to say who the main character is. Is it Nellie or Gwendolen? Is it Frobisher or Freda or Florence? And what about Nellie's children? Should they take a leading role? In the end, it doesn't matter. We follow all the characters and watch as they bump up against one another. In a world of romance and corruption, a world of addiction and murder.

What I loved was the unpredictability of the novel, we never quite knew what was going to happen next, and the way that every now and again the author's voice will drop in with 'and there they must reamin' or 'yes, the same boy that we met …' She also ties everything off perfectly and an extended epilogue stops you from wondering what they all did next.

So, so happy that I was given the chance to read this.

Shrines of Gaiety is a mesmerising book set amongst the clubs and gangsters of London after the First World War. Nellie Coker is a force of nature. Owner of several successful clubs and mother to six children who work with her. The novel has several strands that all link together beautifully, from runaway girls leaving York to find fame in London, to corrupt police and the underworld.
Kate Atkinson produces well researched novels with captivating storylines and dark humour that keep you enthralled. I also live near York and love hearing familiar place names and locations mentioned in her books. This book won’t disappoint, but may make it hard to find a novel to read afterwards that can compare.

Where to start! I have loved every single one of KA's books to date. I will add Shrines of Gaiety to one of my favorite reads to far this year, I was very much looking forward to it and it did not disappoint. As usual, the characters, setting and pace were brilliant, but of course, the highlight is the language, the references, the depth and the wit - Shrine of Gaiety has it all.

You know you’re in for a treat when Kate Atkinson releases a new novel and Shrines of Gaiety doesn’t disappoint. Told from the viewpoint of several connected characters living in London in 1926, it follows the fortunes of Nellie Coker – a nightclub owner – and her children. There’s also Freda, who’s come to London in the hopes of becoming a star. And Detective Chief Inspector Frobisher, who’s on a mission to bring down Mrs Coker’s infamous clubs, which he believes are behind a spate of missing girls. Gripping

Kate Atkinson at her best. Set in London in 1926, this book has a wonderful cast of characters and an entertaining twisty plot. Kate Atkinson has a great talent for creating interesting personalities, no matter how minor the character. The story is told with her usual slightly sardonic humour. Highly recommended.

Why has a crowd of well dressed toffs and some early shift workers gathered outside Holloway Prison so early one morning in 1926? It’s for ‘her’ - the her in question being Ma (Nellie/Ellen) Coker, the Queen of Clubs, the shrines of post war gaiety as she’s released from a six month stint inside. Watching Ma leave and the crowd disperse is DCI John Frobisher and he has a plan and Gwendolen Kelling, a librarian from York finds herself in the midst of it all.

Kate Atkinson is a magical writer and has been a firm favourite of mine since Behind the scenes at the Museum and this latest novel is a great addition to her many bestsellers. The writing is lively, colourful and evocative of the times capturing the post Great War world in multiple ways. The setting in York and London spring to life before your eyes and the clubs where the whole range of society rub shoulders together are especially vivid and here some very creative and dramatic scenes take place! It’s almost like watching a tv dramatisation it’s so well described.

The characterisation is exceptional. There are a lot of characters but in this author’s capable hands it matters not a jot as with a few deft strokes they are visible. I love Gwendolen, she’s one smart cookie as is Ma as you find you have no choice but to admire her guile and manifold abilities. You have to get up very early in the morning to catch her out and even then she’s probably two jumps ahead of you!! What a woman!!!

The dialogue is clever and smart ranging from ironic to witty to downright funny with more than a smidgeon or two of mockery! It’s the tone I love the most as it pulls you in from the start. The language of the times is spot on and highly entertaining.

This is a character driven, leisurely and delightful stroll like a walk along the Thames which is important in the storyline. The plot is clever, capturing the underbelly of the gangs who marvel in names like the Hackney Huns and the corruption of individuals who want turf control and that of the clubs. I like the way the plot almost comes full circle at the end.

It must be obvious by now that I love this book and I’m so glued to its pages I’m oblivious to what’s going on around me! For me, it’s a triumph.

With thanks to NetGalley and most especially to Random House U.K./ Transworld for the privilege of the arc in return for an honest review

Kate Atkinson has transported us back to the roaring 1920s for her latest novel. Centred around Nellie Coker's nightclub business - we join just as Nellie has been released from prison, with her children running all the different clubs, with the support of police on her payroll to turn a blind eye to all the illegal activity.
Meanwhile Florence and Freda have run away from home in Yorkshire to make their fame and fortune in London's West End, just as young girls appear to be going missing. Gwendolyn is enlisted by the young girls family to find them, and she then finds herself caught up in the murky world of police and the Coker family.

Definitely recommend reading big chunks at a time - as with a large cast it is hard to keep track if you only read a couple of chapters at a time. That way you will get fully invested in this novel. A lot to keep involved, in, and some great strong female characters. Gwendolyn is just fantastic! This would make a superb TV adaptation.

Another winner from this wonderful author. Her characters jump out from the page creating an atmospheric page turner. The sense of place and time is impeccable, pre-war seedy London life described vividly with an intriguing plot.
Loved it, thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read this

Shrines of Gaiety takes us to Soho in 1926 when it was home to nightclubs offering a whole host of delights, not all of them legal. Nellie Coker is the acknowledged queen of this particular realm, just out of prison and determined to reassert her authority.

Nellie’s capable daughter, Edith, has been holding the reins while her mother was inside. Now she’s out, Nellie’s keen to renew her working relationship with Maddox, the police chief in charge of Bow Street station, but has begun to wonder if Maddox’s agenda clashes with her own. Meanwhile D I Frobisher has been seconded to Bow Street, tasked with rooting out corruption. When Gwendolyn Kelling contacts him about two missing girls, they come to an unorthodox arrangement in which Gwendolyn will go undercover, attempting to infiltrate the Coker clan. As the plot thickens, which it pleasingly does, it seems that Nellie has more than one reason to be concerned. Meanwhile bodies keep washing up at Dead Man’s Hole, some of them girls.

Atkinson’s novel is wonderfully atmospheric, replete with a multitude of sharply drawn characters, rich in backstories, and an intricate plot into which revelations are casually dropped like cakecrumbs to be snapped up. There’s a great deal of sly humour to enjoy with the occasional downright comic moment but there’s a serious side: girls are being trafficked, just as they are today, and no one seems much to care. Nellie is a brilliantly imagined character – ruthless, shrewd and formidably Machiavellian. It’s a glorious slice of entertainment which paints a vivid picture of 1920s London over which the spectre of the First World War still hangs while the Bright Young Things party, oblivious to the poverty and exploitation rife in the city.

1926, and in a country still recovering from the Great War, London has become the focus for a delirious new nightlife. In the clubs of Soho, peers of the realm rub shoulders with starlets, foreign dignitaries with gangsters, and girls sell dances for a shilling a time.

The notorious queen of this glittering world is Nellie Coker, ruthless but also ambitious to advance her six children, including the enigmatic eldest, Niven whose character has been forged in the crucible of the Somme. But success breeds enemies, and Nellie's empire faces threats from without and within. For beneath the dazzle of Soho's gaiety, there is a dark underbelly, a world in which it is all too easy to become lost.

With her unique Dickensian flair, Kate Atkinson brings together a glittering cast of characters in a truly mesmeric novel that captures the uncertainty and mutability of life; of a world in which nothing is quite as it seems.

“Shrines of Gaiety” by Kate Atkinson was an impulse request for me; I’ve never read anything by this author before. However, sometimes impulse decisions pay off big time, as this book was a thoroughly enjoyable read. This is the first book I’ve read by Kate Atkinson and I’m delighted to discover she has a rather impressive back catalogue for me to work my way through. Set in 1926, it is a historical crime novel, which I absolutely adored. The time period of which the book is set in adds to the glitz and the glamour of the story; a tale of a seedy underworld ruled by the notorious Nellie Coker. A gritty crime novel set in history, it doesn’t get much better than that for me. The writing was impeccable and the story flowed for me. A fabulously atmospheric novel, I’d recommend this to anyone who enjoys crime fiction, historical fiction or just anyone who appreciates a good book.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange for an unbiased review.

What a triumph. Kate Atkinson has brought the demi monde of mid 1920s London vividly to life. I’ve raced through this stunning tale of seedy nightclubs, crime lords, disenchanted police officers, a Yorkshire librarian and a couple of runaways and my only disappointment was that it finished too soon.

This is a tale of life. There’s a large cast of characters with nightclub owner Nellie Coker and her children at the heart of the story. She’s larger than life, full of aphorisms and her pithy observations give her real substance. She owns a string of nightclubs and her success has caused jealousy in the underworld. Her children are a diverse bunch, some university educated, others struggling after surviving the Somme. Into this eclectic mix add a Yorkshire librarian who comes to London to look for two teenage girls who’ve run away from home to find success on the stage. It’s a complex multi layered saga, very difficult to define but it’s truly glorious. Captures the essence of the period to perfection and I was immersed in a different place.

There’s humour on every page; sharp observational writing and snappy dialogue make this an engaging story. Kate Atkinson is a remarkable and gifted storyteller and Shrines of Gaiety showcases her talent to perfection. I absolutely loved this and only wish I could give it more stars

Kate Atkinson's latest novel does not disappoint! We are given a glimpse into the lives of interweaving characters in 1920s London centred around the Amethyst nightclub. Her writing just has a way of drawing you in to the story - the pacing I would find too slow from other authors but with Atkinson it feels just right, like a modern day Dickens. Highly recommend!

‘Shrines of Gaiety’ by Kate Atkinson is set in 1920’s London. Many have lost loved ones in the recent war, and anxiety and loss has given way to hedonism. Nellie Coker and her children run a number of glamorous and dissolute nightclubs in the city. They are venerated by some, whilst also attracting attention from rivals and the police who are keen to shut them down. Young girls are running away from their homes in the shires to dance in the clubs and be part of the lifestyle, However an increasing number are found in mortuaries. Gwendolyn Kelling, an ex- librarian, comes to the capital in search of two (one the step sister of a friend) and ends up going undercover in the Cokers clubs in exchange for Inspector Frobisher trying to find out what has happened to the girls.

I am a huge fan of Kate Atkinson and regard her as one of my favourite authors. I really enjoy her wide vocabulary and way of drawing the reader into a different world. However, whilst this book is amazing I did find myself getting a bit bored with early chapters that focused on giving some of the characters backstories (that are important later on), and a little bit unsure of the benefits of ‘breaking the fourth wall’ and making it clear this is a work of fiction. I also found myself occasionally struggling to recall where characters linked together, which wasn’t helped by the fact the proof had some errors in it (supplied kindly by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review) and occasionally confused the missing two girls names. Nonetheless, I was particularly drawn to the strong women depicted in the story, particularly Gwendolyn Kelling and Nellie Coker, would recommend it the book to old and new fans of Kate Atkinson and feel this novel is ripe for adaption for Tv.

Set in port World War One London. The nightclubs are buzzing but then so is organised crime and other shifty business.

I enjoyed the setting, but was initially slightly overwhelmed by the cast of characters and how they slotted together. Like some other Kate Atkinson books there was a period of wondering where this was going and then it suddenly clicks, and all of the random meetings and chance conversations crystallise to produce a satisfying plot and conclusion.

Would say it is for fans of 'Life after life' rather than the Jackson Brodie books.

Another great read from Kate Atkinson. Perfect for fans of Peaky Blinders. Thanks to Net Galley for the advance copy.

Another wonderful story and another magnificent set of characters. Atkinson really is a queen at writing multi -faceted characters. There is quite a large cast of them in this book. All so well drawn and all memorable for various reasons.

The storylines of all the characters are masterfully woven together to create a rich tapestry of life in 1920s London. Atkinsons writing makes it so easy to become quickly absorbed into the story and it’s peppered with her trademark humour and brilliant observations.

First up we have Nellie Coker, doyenne of the Coker family. We meet Nellie on her release from prison. A formidable woman who runs her nightclubs and family with an iron fist. I wasn’t sure if I liked her at first but as her story moves on you quickly realise that though she is formidable she definitely has a softer side and is a woman fighting her own demons. Her various grown children are all interesting characters and have much to contribute to the story.

Alongside the Cokers we have Gwendolen Kelling, a librarian who nursed on the front during WW1. She is in London to find two missing girls and also for some adventure. She too is a great character constantly defying peoples expectations of her ( and even perhaps her expectations of herself). She gets herself involved with Chief Inspector John Frobisher and eventually the Cokers.

We also meet one of the missing girls in particular. Freda has come to London along with her friend Florence. She has had a less than traditional upbringing and is at the same time so street smart and so naive. She has come to the city looking for her big break on the stage but it is not as easy as she thinks.

Though all these women come from different backgrounds and different strata of society they share a real strength and feistiness which I really loved.

The structure of this book too worked really well for me- short chapters which switch between characters.

The story has evidently been well researched. Indeed it is loosely based on a real character - Kate Meyrick. The way the author brings 1920s London to life - the bright young things, the glitter and also its dark underworld of prostitution and drugs is just exceptional.

Loved the way the story was wrapped up for each of the characters at the end. Some in a way you could guess, some totally unexpected and some left wide open for you to wonder about!

And that cover is a work of art!.

Huge thanks to Net Galley and Random House for the opportunity to read an early copy.

The trouble with Kate Atkinson is that you expect superlative things from every book so it’s very hard to judge fairly. If this had been by anyone else I’d have loved it, but as it’s her … I confess I found myself slightly disappointed.

Setting up the start - with matriarch and nightclub boss Nellie Coker being released from a spell in prison - it felt a little different. I thought perhaps Atkinson was going to try a slightly different approach. But it soon settled more into her trademark (wonderful) style of writing where inner thoughts and dialogue often switch and merge.

As a sort of mystery story I don’t want to give any spoilers, but it felt to me that the ending was a little rushed. As I say, anyone else; great book. Judged by Atkinson standards? Not her finest.