Life is a blur for Ginny. Harlem speakeasies, Ample champagne and whiskey. Lovely bright dresses. Beautiful people. Late nights at clubs and parties. Starks’ Headache Powders early in the morning to ease hangovers and get her up to face the day at Photoplay where she works on her “advice” column. She prides herself on being on time to work every morning.
The Follies are the biggest show in the city. Young women from across America desperately want to be a Ziegfeld star.
We think life in the 21st Century is a rush. 1920’s New York City life rivals our time for filling days and nights with activity.
Ginny is determined to get a big story which will propel her into the lucrative ranks of famous journalists.
She will risk her life for a scoop. Her virtue is long gone. Her integrity is shaky.
She has her flaws. She betrays relationships with affairs that are lacking in love.
Watching a famed singer, Josephine, being dragged from a Harlem club gives her chance for a scoop. She swiftly learns the dangers of asking unwanted questions.
She learns the hard way that:
Things can go south real fast …
Lyuzna is quick with colourful phrases. Ginny survived “the old bullet shower” when she tried to stop Josephine’s abduction.
A determined but modestly successful private detective specializing in cheating husbands, Jack Crawford, wants to take over her case. His creased felt hat, drab suit and scuffed shoes define his status. He aspires to be a hard boiled detective.
Before there was fentanyl there was “pep powder”. An exhausted Ginny needing energy takes the “pep powder”. The drug gives her a jolt but it is extraordinarily dangerous. She knows no more about the drug than it is illegal and powerful. She has moved from alcohol and recreational marijuana to hard drugs.
Her addiction to taking risks is becoming reckless.
Ginny is fierce but physical confrontations with strong men go badly.
In a cynical city Ginny refuses to give up. She will find Josephine no matter the cost.
Yet how can she find the kingpin of the drug trade? Those who know refuse to tell her. She must know him. It has to be someone who is part of the music business.
Lyuzna keeps the story moving briskly. She is a talented writer who demonstrated her writing skills in the first 300 pages.
The climax was semi-Hollywood. I struggled with it. I expect a better finish to Lyuzna's next book.
Lyuzna created an incredible atmosphere in the book drawing the reader into the excitement and risks of 1920’s New York City. New York City glitters in the night but all that glitters is a facade.
I loved Ginny. She is a hard boiled dame without a gun.
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