THE LAST NOTE OF WARNING

A Jazz Age baby can’t quit her favorite speakeasy, even (or especially) when murder’s involved.

Irish immigrant Vivian Kelly is still drawn to the lively Nightingale club after having been entangled in murderous mayhem there in two previous mysteries. The speakeasy’s like a second home to her, especially since her sister Florence, a demure seamstress, married Danny Chin and they moved into their own place. Vivian’s daytime employment delivering dresses is a lot less fun than her time at the Nightingale. When Vivian visits the Fifth Avenue apartment of the wealthy Buchanans with several boxes, the Mrs. isn’t home, but Mr. Buchanan ingratiates himself with Vivian, offering her a drink. The next thing she knows, Vivian drowsily awakens to find Mr. Buchanan dead, a knife in his neck. With a murder charge pending against Vivian, her boyfriend, bootlegger Leo Green, comes to the rescue, getting top-notch lawyer Jacob Dubinski to defend her. Remembering her past successful sleuthing, the police commissioner offers her a week to clear her name. When it’s revealed that Honor “Hux” Huxley, the owner of the Nightingale, is Buchanan’s daughter and heir, Vivian’s path leads right back to her beloved night spot, where Danny works as head bartender and Vivian’s best friend, Beatrice Henry, entertains patrons with her vocal stylings. More intimidating are thuggish Bruiser George and icy matron Hattie Wilson. The plot of this buoyant mystery is a bit of a ramble, but Schellman provides a vivid portrait of Prohibition-era New York and keeps the colorful characters coming.

A juicy, jazzy period whodunit that charms and occasionally swings.