Title: The Wicked City
Author: Beatriz Williams
Series: The Prohibition Series, #1
Published: January 2017, William Morrow
Format: ARC Paperback, 384 pages
Source: Publisher
New York Times bestselling author Beatriz Williams recreates the New York City of A Certain Age in this deliciously spicy adventure that mixes past and present and centers on a Jazz Age love triangle involving a rugged Prohibition agent, a saucy redheaded flapper, and a debonair Princetonian from a
wealthy family.When she discovers her husband cheating, Ella Hawthorne impulsively moves out of their SoHo loft and into a small apartment in an old Greenwich Village building. Her surprisingly attractive new neighbor, Hector, warns her to stay out of the basement at night. Tenants have reported strange noises after midnight—laughter, clinking glasses, jazz piano—even though the space has been empty for decades. Back in the Roaring Twenties, the place hid a speakeasy.
In 1924, Geneva “Gin” Kelly, a smart-mouthed flapper from the hills of western Maryland, is a regular at this Village hideaway known as the Christopher Club. Caught up in a raid, Gin becomes entangled with Prohibition enforcement agent Oliver Anson, who persuades her to help him catch her stepfather Duke Kelly, one of Appalachia’s most notorious bootleggers.
Headstrong and independent, Gin is no weak-kneed fool. So how can she be falling in love with the taciturn, straight-arrow Revenue agent when she’s got Princeton boy Billy Marshall, the dashing son of society doyenne Theresa Marshall, begging to make an honest woman of her? While anything goes in the Roaring Twenties, Gin’s adventures will shake proper Manhattan society to its foundations, exposing secrets that shock even this free-spirited redhead—secrets that will echo from Park Avenue to the hollers of her Southern hometown.
As Ella discovers more about the basement speakeasy, she becomes inspired by the spirit of her exuberant predecessor, and decides to live with abandon in the wicked city too. . . .
My thoughts: Oh how I love getting my hands on the newest Beatriz Williams book…and then to find out it’s part of a new series? It’s like hitting the jackpot!!! Every time I sit down with one of her books, I find myself completely immersed in her stories and this one was no exception!
Once again telling the story using the dual narrative, we flip back and forth between 1924 and 1998. Both stories are equally engaging with fun, flirty heroines that steal the show. I thoroughly enjoyed both timelines and was anxious to get back to each when the time came to switch back – it always seemed to happen just as we learned something important or were just about to!
Gin is from the Prohibition era and is feisty and smart and I just loved her story. Ella is from the present story and is part of the Schulyer family – I just love how Beatriz Williams manages to weave this family into all her books!!! Each of these characters is flawed yet intriguing and I was desperate to know as much as I could about them. I loved following along with them as they worked through their issues, go along with them on their many adventures and find themselves along the way.
I really enjoyed this book and cannot wait to see what’s next in this series. Beatriz Williams is one of my favorite authors and absolutely a must-buy for me.
Books in this series:
- The Wicked City
This looks incredible. I love it when stories are told from different time periods.
Alyssa @ Purple People Readers
I loved this book too!! Have you met Beatriz? She is so lovely, I enjoy her book events so much. She is so smart!!
I enjoyed this one as well though I think I actually wanted more modern story which is strange because I'm usually all about the 20s. It was an absolute delight and I'm really looking forward to reading more of the Schulyer sisters!
I have this on my 2017 Must Read shelf! Glad it's still getting great reviews.
I liked this one, and liked both women although I had a few disappointments with it, where I felt things were not quite rounded out. But I look forward to the next one.