The Mayor of Maxwell Street is a historical fiction novel taking place in 1920s Chicago and follows the story of Penelope “Nelly” Sawyer, the daughter of the “wealthiest Negro in America” and the sole heir to her family’s fortune after the untimely death of her older brother, Elder. Though not native to Chicago, her family remains there for the summer’s season, in which Nelly is one of the debutantes, though she is older and should have been a part of a cotillion before now. Though Nelly has all the money she could ever need, what she wants more than anything is to have her big break as an investigative journalist with a byline in her own name, so she gets entangled in a dangerous assignment searching for the ever elusive Mayor of Maxwell Street.

As a whole, I enjoyed this book and I was able to read it in its entirety, though I cannot say that I’d read it again. It shined in its ability to transport me to this time period and imagine the events as they unfolded. Though some events were rather far-fetched and some character actions made absolutely no sense, the best part of this for me was unraveling the mystery. Clues were sprinkled throughout and if you pay close attention, you quite easily can figure out who the Mayor of Maxwell Street is. Another thing I particularly enjoyed about the book is that nearly nothing that was brought up was left unused. If a character offered Nelly something, whether that was advice, help, or otherwise, it showed up again later in the story.

As a main character, Nelly is likable enough and I suppose her reasoning for some of her decisions make sense, but a lot of it seemed like girlish naivete to me. Her original reasons for looking for the Mayor of Maxwell Street did not seem convincing enough for the amount of danger and risk until far into the story when she learned one key bit of information. And once she found out that information, her renewed vigor for the search was short lived as we neared the ending which felt rushed.

There were also aspects of the book that left things to be desired for me. While I enjoyed reading the prologue, I wished it were not included as a prologue and rather sprinkled throughout the narrative. As a prologue, it served as just extra information I knew about Nelly’s love interest (though I find it hard to call him that) that she did not, but did nothing for the story as it began for me. In fact, I think I would have liked this piece of information about his backstory to be hidden from me as well because I’d be more invested in Nelly figuring out who exactly Jay Shorey was and where he came from. I wish I was given the opportunity to figure it out too.

The book was also rather long, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but I feel it was bogged down by scenes that could have been kept out. For instance, there was a long scene of conversation in Spanish, which if the intent was to mimic the alienation Nelly felt in the moment, it was more frustrating as a reader than it was enlightening in any way (fortunately, I speak Spanish so I understood, but if I did not I would have skipped that section all together). The scene would have been much more effective with 1-2 lines of narration on the exchange. Cunningham has a way with words that is so unbelievably beautiful and sensory, but sometimes it could be parsed down. The Mayor of Maxwell Street is classified as an epic love story and a historical drama, but I think calling it a love story does it a disservice. There are romantic elements in the story and the characters do mention things about love, but I would not say that any of them love each other, especially not Nelly’s suitors. There is intrigue and lust, but love just does not seem to be a part of the equation. Both love interests seem to cloud Nelly’s judgment and hold her back more than anything to me, and the ending is not a satisfying HEA or even HFN.

Though there are things I would change about the book, I still enjoyed reading it and I think it is a solid debut. Cunningham has a way with words that is satisfying to read and I would read another book by this author just to experience the beauty of her words again.

Enjoyed this historical fiction set in 1920s Chicago. The characters were interesting (a socialite working undercover to expose a crime lord and a white passing man working for the criminal underground) and the storyline was engaging.

The attention to detail for the specifics of the era is evident and greatly appreciated but there is often too much going on and it felt as if some of the secondary characters were. short changed. The pacing was a bit uneven and it felt a bit too long.

Thank you NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for the advanced copy

The Mayor of Maxwell Street takes readers into the intriguing world of 1921 Chicago, where vice and virtue clash against the backdrop of Prohibition. The novel follows Nelly, a wealthy Black woman, as she joins forces with a speakeasy owner to uncover the the truth of an underground crime ring.

Cunningham successfully takes readers to a time when America was ablaze with societal upheaval and criminal enterprises. The setting and historical period is meticulously crafted, offering a captivating glimpse into the complexities of a bygone era.

Unfortunately the narrative suffers from its length, with too many unnecessary details that slow this book wayyy down causing the plot to lose steam.

While the time period and setting are undoubtedly captivating, the overall execution of the novel falls short feeling both underdeveloped and over-explained. Despite of its shortcomings I did finish the book but wanted more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Publishers for this eARC.

This is a new take on The Great Gatsby. Jay is a white=passing biracial man in 1921 who fled Alabama and works in Chicago's underworld. He is drawn to Nelly Sawyer, a socialite who works as an undercover journalist for the Chicago Defender. As she investigates the "Mayor of Maxwell Street" and his hold on the underworld they work together.

I love the world building and its description. The 1920s is definitely one of my favorite time periods. I did feel that the descriptions made the book slow in places but I feel like this author is definitely going places.

Really wish I could give half stars because I would say this was a 3.5/5 for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this digital AR.C.

This book absolutely does not feel like it's over 500 pages long - the time spent reading it goes by so fast! The characters are strongly and quickly drawn, and it's full of fleeting little images and precise sensory details that really stick in the mind. An absolute whirl of speakeasies and parties and crime and hope and glamour and regret.

The Mayor of Maxwell Street is a stunning debut and a compelling historical story.
The characters are complex at best.
In my opinion the book was a little too long.

I enjoyed Nelly being focused on garnering the things she wanted, but at the same Nelly was not self assured. This frustrated me because her lacking so led to a very unhealthy relationship.

I felt this could have been shortened and focused more on Nellys investigative work in a healthier manner. I wanted to enjoy this one better, but it came up a little short for me personally. Still give this author a try!

Amazing read! Great storyline & was deeply into this book. Held my interest from the first chapter. Highly pleased with this book.

3 ⭐️
only because there wasn’t as much romance as I personally like in a book and it was slow-paced for the most part. However the prologue did reeled me in and Nelly kept me reading.

Overall I enjoy it but I wouldn’t reread it.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy!

I love this time period, there were so many great descriptions, and the story was intriguing. There was a bit too much going on at times, making it tricky to follow, but I enjoyed this novel!

Avery Cunningham’s debut novel is lengthy but not coherent. Set in Chicago during the 1920s, a rich Black debutant with the help of a speakeasy manager try to uncover the head of an underground crime syndicate. While the premise is enticing, the story fell flat. There are times in the novel that the descriptions are helpful and necessary while other times it is just a bit too much. I would not recommend this novel but will look for other works in the future by this author. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Hyperion Avenue for an advanced copy for a honest review.

This was a beautifully written story set in 1920's Chicago. This book was a coming of age, romance and tragedy about life's twists and turns. My goodness, I could not stop reading this book. The scenes in this book were beautifully written. I love that in a history based book.
Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read the book for my honest opinion.

This moved too slowly and seemed to have a lot of characters with too little involvement and too little development to make it worth trying to keep them straight. Almost gave up half way through, glad I didn't but felt the ending was too hasty and not exactly clear.

Short answer, too long, needed better editing and proofreading.

As many other reviewers mentioned, this is a twist on the Great Gatsby. I really enjoyed Avery Cunningham's description of Chicago in the 1920's. Some parts of the book felt a bit slow, but it was a very good read regardless. I would recommend this to people who enjoy books set during the roaring 20's, and those who enjoy books with POC main characters.

Richly textured and immaculately rendered, THE MAYOR OF MAXWELL STREET paints an incredibly vivid picture of Prohibition-era Chicago. What a great debut!

Incredible debut! We need more Avery Cunningham. I want to read her perspective on every historical era in the US.

This is a thrilling take on The Great Gatsby. Jay is a white=passing biracial man in 1921 who fled Alabama and works in Chicago's underworld. He is drawn to Nelly Sawyer, a socialite who works as an undercover journalist for the Chicago Defender. As she investigates the "Mayor of Maxwell Street" and his hold on the underworld they work together. The side characters, like Sequioa and Tomas, are fascinating. The action flags a little in the middle, but it's an enjoyable historical suspense novel.

Thank you to Hyperion Avenue for my ARC in exchange for an honest review. This was okay! Nothing bad but nothing I LOVED either.

I felt as if I jumped into the story in the middle and never really made my way around. The story of a well to do Black woman in the 1920s is always a good read. I just felt as if the saga started in the middle and I felt a bit lost for the remainder of the story.

I am giving this book a 3 star.

Cover:
I fell in love with the amazing artwork on the cover and this is what first drove me to read the book.

I found the book very long and even though it was long and will detailed in certain areas I didn't and couldn't get into the story.

I at times found some chapters needed more and alot of chapters needed less. This book should have been shorter in my view.

I could tell the author did a massive amount of research as they descriptions were all on point. This is one thing I liked about the book was the amount of research that went into the story and making sure it was historically correct. So there was no chance to second guess history.

For a debut book it's good however even though I love this genre this book wasn't for me unfortunately however I will continue to support the author.