Passing fancies : Julia Kydd novels #2 / Marlowe Benn.

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Title:

Passing fancies : Julia Kydd novels #2 / Marlowe Benn.

Author:

Benn, Marlowe

ISBN:

9781542007139

Publication Information:

Seattle, WA : Lake Union Publishing, 2020.

Physical Description:

316 p.

Series:

Julia Kydd Novels #2

Abstract:

When stylish young bibliophile Julia Kydd returns to 1920s New York, she's determined to launch her own private press. Julia's aspirations take her into the heart of the Harlem Renaissance, a literary movement unlike any she's known where notions of race, sexuality, and power are slippery, and identities can be deceptively fluid. At a risque soiree, Julia befriends singer Eva Pruitt, whose new book is rumored to reveal lurid details about the Harlem nightlife. But Leonard Timson, a local nightclub owner, is furious when he suspects he's the inspiration for a violent character in the book. By morning, Timson is dead, and both Eva and her manuscript are missing. Julia finds herself immersed in a case as troubling as Jazz Age race relations. More questions than answers surface about Eva's mysterious world, and powerful interests conspire to protect dangerous secrets. Still, no man can stand between Julia and the truth: appalled by violent injustice, she must use her wit and guile to find the killer.

Subject Term:

Kydd, Julia (Fictitious character) -- Fiction.

Missing persons -- Investigation -- Fiction.

Publishers and publishing -- Fiction.

Women singers -- Fiction.

Businessmen -- Fiction.

Nightclubs -- Ownership -- Fiction.

Books -- Fiction.

Harlem Renaissance -- Fiction.

Nineteen twenties -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

New York (N.Y.) -- Race relations -- 20th century -- Fiction.

Harlem (New York, N.Y.) -- Intellectual life -- 20th century -- Fiction.

Genre:

Detective and mystery stories.

Historical fiction.

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... Avon-Washington Township Public Library	Adult Fiction Book Paperback	120791002814136	F BEN	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

Julia Kydd returns in a new mystery set in the beguiling world of the Harlem Renaissance, where reckless revelry leads to devastating crimes.

At a risqué soiree, Julia befriends singer Eva Pruitt, whose new book is rumored to reveal lurid details about the Harlem nightlife. But Leonard Timson, a local nightclub owner, is furious when he suspects he's the inspiration for a violent character in the book. By morning, Timson is dead, and both Eva and her manuscript are missing.

Julia finds herself immersed in a case as troubling as Jazz Age race relations. More questions than answers surface about Eva's mysterious world, and powerful interests conspire to protect dangerous secrets. Still, no man can stand between Julia and the truth: appalled by violent injustice, she must use her wit and guile to find the killer.

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

The plot of Benn's overblown sequel to 2019's Relative Fortunes centers on the old chestnut of the missing manuscript of a scandalous memoir. Bibliophile Julia Kydd, who has moved from London to New York City, plans on reestablishing Capriole, her private press that specializes in limited editions of illustrated prose poems and the like. At a literary gathering, she's immediately drawn to beautiful Eva Pruitt, a nightclub performer whose lurid novel, a thinly veiled autobiography, is about to be published, even though no one has seen the entire text. Eva goes missing, as does the manuscript. The first murder arrives after a lot of minutiae about typefaces and precious books--that of Leonard Timson, the owner of the club where Eva works. When suspicion falls on Eva, Julia steps in to help her new friend. A second murder raises the ante. The large cast, whose introduction slows the opening, includes wealthy toffs, struggling writers, and greedy publishers. This sophomore effort falls short of the standard set by its predecessor. Agent: Amanda Jain, BookEnds. (June)

Library Journal Review

The Roaring Twenties are in full swing as socialite Julia Kydd parties with Fitzgerald and Dreiser. Here, Julia meets Eva Pruitt, a nightclub singer and a soon-to-be published author. The two women instantly strike up a friendship, and Julia soon learns that Eva is actually a light-skinned African American woman. Through her burgeoning friendship with Eva, Julia's eyes slowly open to her own privilege and the struggles that Eva and other black people face. Eva is hoping that the book money will allow her and her partner to escape to Paris. This plan is dashed when the owner of the nightclub is killed and Eva is the prime suspect. Using her societal connections, Julia vows to clear Eva's name and find the real killer VERDICT As in the first book in this series (Relative Fortunes), Benn has clearly done her research into the time period. Unfortunately, in both books, the research is clumsily inserted into the story, which slows down the narrative's pace. Still, readers who liked the first book and enjoy mysteries set in the 1920s will enjoy the return of the spirited and independent Julia and hope for her appearance in a third book.--Lynnanne Pearson, Skokie P.L., IL