Historical thriller brings jazz age Britain to life
London Calling
by Sara Sheridan
Kensington Books
Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 28 March 2017
Review
It’s 1952 and Mirabelle Bevan has made a career as a collection’s agent along with her best friend Vesta. It is a turbulent era, and although Britain is better than the US, life still isn’t easy for a person of color. When an 18 year old debutante disappears after visiting a jazz club, suspicion falls on one of Vesta’s cousins, a saxophone player. His color and his profession immediately make him guilty in the eyes of the police, and it doesn’t help that the witnesses are lying. Mirabelle starts looking into things when it becomes clear that Scotland Yard has no intention of looking further. As she digs into the smoky realm of underground jazz clubs, she discovers links to contacts she knew from the Secret Service. What was Rose Bellamy Gore and her cousin involved in? Why are the Secret Service involved? When Lindon Claremont dies in jail, Mirabelle knows that she must find the truth.
Sara Sheridan does an excellent job breathing life into her characters. Mirabelle is a strong, vibrant woman, confident in her abilities. Vesta is feisty, proud of her heritage and unwilling to accept the restrictions society places on women of color. The two make a great team.
I really enjoyed London Calling with its strong female leads and vibrant depiction of the Post WWII jazz scene.
5 / 5
I received a copy of London Calling from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.
-- Crittermom
Description
In the years following World War II, former Secret Service employee Mirabelle Bevan has found a refuge in the quiet coastal town of Brighton. But she can’t seem to resist an attraction to danger and a thirst for justice . . .
1952: Eighteen-year-old debutante Rose Bellamy Gore was last seen outside a Soho jazz club in the company of a saxophone player named Lindon Claremont. Now her mysterious disappearance is front-page news in the London tabloids.
When Lindon turns up the next day in Brighton, desperately seeking help, Mirabelle counsels him to cooperate with the authorities. After the local police take the musician into custody and ship him off to Scotland Yard, Mirabelle and her best friend, Vesta Churchill, hop a train to London in search of the truth.
As they scour smoky jazz clubs searching for clues to the deb’s disappearance, they descend into a sinister underworld where the price of admission can be one’s life. Mirabelle will need to draw on her espionage skills to improvise her way out of a disappearing act of her own . .
