Last Call at the Nightingale
A suspenseful, queer mystery set in New York’s Jazz Age, beckoning readers to enter a darkly glamorous speakeasy where music, liquor, and secrets flow...
“Vivian is a terrific character, plucky and resourceful, determined to choreograph a different life for herself.”
―New York Times Book Review
Vivian Kelly’s days are filled with drudgery, from the tenement lodging she shares with her sister to the dress shop where she sews for hours every day.
But at night, she escapes to The Nightingale, an underground dance hall where illegal liquor flows and the band plays the Charleston with reckless excitement. With a bartender willing to slip her a free glass of champagne and friends who know the owner, Vivian can lose herself in the music. No one asks where she came from or how much money she has. No one bats an eye if she flirts with men or women as long as she can keep up on the dance floor. At The Nightingale, Vivian forgets the dangers of Prohibition-era New York and finds a place that feels like home.
But then she discovers a body behind the club, and those dangers come knocking.
Caught in a police raid at the Nightingale, Vivian discovers that the dead man wasn’t the nameless bootlegger he first appeared. With too many people assuming she knows more about the crime than she does, Vivian finds herself caught between the dangers of New York’s underground and the world of the city’s wealthy and careless, where money can hide any sin and the lives of the poor are considered disposable…including Vivian’s own.
PRAISE FOR LAST CALL AT THE NIGHTINGALE
“This sharply paced, queer murder mystery, set in 1920s New York City, offers equal amounts of atmosphere, danger, and crime-solving. Schellman is at the top of her craft.” – Denny S. Bryce, bestselling author of Wild Women and the Blues
• A Library Journal “Best Crime Fiction of 2022”
• A Publishers Weekly Mystery/Thriller Summer Reads 2022 Pick
• One of Goodreads’ 2022 “Spring’s Most Anticipated New Mysteries”
• One of BookPage‘s “Four Best June Mysteries”
• A Bustle “Most Anticipated Book of June 2022”
• A Virginia Living “Notable Spring Book”
• A GO Magazine “Slide Into Spring and Summer with these Fabulously Gay Reads” pick
“Vivian proves to be a most imaginative sleuth. Readers will eagerly await her return.” – Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“The well-developed supporting cast is diverse in race gender, and sexuality, and the suspense will keep readers guessing until the end.” – BookPage (starred review)
“Readers will love Last Call at the Nightingale for its twisting plot, its flair for historical detail and its inclusive cast of appealing characters. Don’t look away, as the surprises keep coming until the final page.” – Shelf Awareness
“As with the Nightingale club, the mystery plot crosses lines of class, gender, and ethnicity. This novel plays with our expectations and keeps our attention on every fast-moving page. Highly recommended.” – Historical Novels Review
“Schellman has thoroughly researched the people and the mores of the period, and skillfully uses characters of different sexes and races that the reader slowly determines. Subtle, blatant, the book begs the question: ‘When’s the next one?'” – Lavender Magazine
“Brimming with Jazz Age atmosphere, suspense, and a cast of engaging characters. Vivian is smart and gutsy, a character you’ll root for.”- Ashley Weaver, author of the Amory Ames and Electra McDonnell series
“Original, bold, and sexy. This delicious mystery takes you to the Nightingale, a club where people can be who they really are, but everyone has secrets.”- Mariah Fredericks, author of the Jane Prescott series
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