Holly B / Dressedtoread

Velvet Was The Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia #BookReview #velvetwasthenight @silviamg @randomhouse

4.5 STARS

Noir Fiction + Historical Fiction + Suspense= MOOD

I went in blind and probably wouldn’t have picked it up if I had read the synopsis. I saw it sitting lonely on the library “new releases” shelf and it was just too gorgeous to leave behind. “I’ll take you home…….”

I was hooked from the first few chapters….. the mysterious/smoky tone, unusual characters (not your neighbor next door types) and the 1970’s Mexico City setting.

Maite is the nervous, lonely secretary who adores Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole. She spends her spare moments reading her Secret Romance comics. She is beside herself that a favorite character falls into a coma. It was funny how she would sneak moments of reading in at work. I’ve never heard of romance comics, but after googling them I was able to see many varieties. I loved her character and her chapters were my favorite. She was like a “Cinderella, dreaming”.

Maite’s neighbor Leonora disappears and leaves her keys and instructions to feed her cat. She nevers comes home, leaving Maite on a dangerous path.

Everyone is looking for Leonora, including a paramilitary group, and other unsavory thugs. Maite is caught up in the unfortunate events.

A slow burn, but for me the pace was just right. There is some action, violence with the thugs going at each other, a traitor, and a anti-hero that I was pulling for. I also learned some Mexican history during the Dirty War.

8 comments

    • I think I’m an outlier in my opinion, but I really enjoyed the character of Maite. It does take a few chapters to get a feel for it.

      Like

      Reply

  5. […] Books & Me! – A Single Rose & Braving the Wilderness & The Panda, The Cat and The Dreadful Teddy: A Parody Carla Loves To Read – From the Ashes: My Story of Being Métis, Homeless, and Finding My Way by Jesse Thistle  Bargain Sleuth Book Reviews – Poirot and Me 746 Books – Picnic at Hanging Rock  FromBelgiumWithBookLove – We Watch You  Jo’s Book Blog – Great Circle  All About Books – Never Saw Me Coming & American Dirt and How the Penguins Saved Veronica  OwlBeSatReading – The Key in the Lock  Budget Tales Book Blog – Dear Fatty  Jen Med’s Book Reviews – Girl on Fire  Don Jimmy Reviews – The Man Who Died Twice  Swirl and Thread – The Guinness Girls: A Hint of Scandal  Over The Rainbow Book Blog – Windswept  N S Ford – I Capture the Castle  Dressed To Read – Velvet Was The Night  […]

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment