Harlem After Midnight (Canary Club Mysteries Book Two) by Louise Hare

 

Harlem After Midnight by Louise Hare.

Published 14th September 2023 by HQ.

From the cover of the book:

1936, September 17th, 1am…

In the middle of Harlem, in the dead of night, a woman falls from a second storey window. In her hand, she holds a passport and the name written on it is Lena Aldridge…

Nine days earlier…

Lena arrived in Harlem less than two weeks ago, full of hope for her burgeoning romance with Will Goodman, the handsome musician she met on board the Queen Mary. Will has arranged for Lena to stay with friends of his, and this will give her the chance to find out if their relationship is going anywhere. But there is another reason she's in Harlem – to find out what happened in 1908 to make her father flee to London.

As Lena's investigations progress, not only does she realise her father lied to her, but the man she’s falling too fast and too hard for has secrets of his own. And those secrets have put Lena in terrible danger…

***********

September, 1936. Night club singer Lena Aldridge, fresh from her brush with murder during her London-New York passage on the glamorous Queen Mary, finds herself with time on her hands in the Big Apple. Staying in Harlem with friends of Will Goodman, the pianist who turned her head on the voyage, Lena is curious to see where their relationship will lead during her visit, and whether it will make her rethink her plans.

In many ways Harlem is very different from the world Lena has left behind, but under the surface there are similarities with the gritty Soho scene she knows so well... and it is the perfect location for her to try to discover more about her father Alfie, and what made him flee from his life here as a musician to London in 1908 - while trying to work out how this all fits with the shocking truth about the identity of her New York society mother. As Lena's investigation into Alfie's past unfurls she is unsettled to find that there are a lot more secrets he kept hidden from her than she thought. She also begins to realise that Will has secrets of his own - secrets that will lead her into danger.

The action picks up a few days after Lena's arrival in New York, with a young woman falling from the window of a third storey apartment in Harlem - the very one that Lena is currently staying in. The unidentified woman is clutching Lena's passport in her hand, and she does not look likely to survive. Hare then cleverly weaves a dual timeline story flipping between 1936 with the tale of Lena's dangerous New York adventure in the days leading up to the tragedy - cut with dramatic events of the aftermath - and 1908 when we finally learn the truth about what made Alfie leave his homeland and flee to London. Both timelines are full of intricately woven threads of mystery, with deliciously echoed themes of family secrets, betrayal and carefully plotted, cold-hearted revenge. Hare keeps you guessing about the how events will play out in the past and the present with well-conceived twists, turns, and well timed reveals, set against the heady tapestry of the city that never sleeps, until she floors you with a truth that you will not see coming.

You really do have to have read Hare's first Lena Aldridge mystery, Miss Aldridge Regrets, before coming to this book, as so much of what happens leads on from Lena's London life, the murderous events aboard the Queen Mary, and the knowledge that knocked her for six on the voyage. As Hare's first foray into the Golden Age crime genre, it is lots of fun too, full of atmospheric ocean liner glamour and intrigue. This second Lena Aldridge mystery has a different feel, with a greater injection of the noir vibes that I love, and it also brings with it more of the kind of weighty themes that Hare explored in her stunning debut This Lovely City, especially when it comes to class and the barriers thrown up against people of colour. 

Hare is very much warming to detective fiction in this book, balancing character development, slick plotting, and emotional power to perfection. First and foremost though, this is a story about family, friendship, love, and sacrifice.... with a big dose of jazz! I loved it!

Harlem After Midnight is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to HQ for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Louise Hare is a London-based writer and has an MA in Creative Writing from Birkbeck, University of London. Originally from Warrington, the capital is the inspiration for much of her work, including This Lovely City, which began life after a trip into the deep level shelter below Clapham Common. This Lovely City was featured on the inaugural BBC TWO TV book club show, Between the Covers, and has received multiple accolades, securing Louise's place as an author to watch.