Harlem After Midnight (A Canary Club Mystery)

Harlem After Midnight holds plenty of surprises, as Lena Aldridge stays with friends of the man she met on her eventful Atlantic crossing in Miss Aldridge Regrets, band leader Will Goodman, as they temporarily extend their romance.

Lena uses her time in Harlem to look into her father’s past, with chapters interspersed that show the story of Alfie Aldridge’s life in 1908 New York City, while also learning more about the skeletons in Will’s closet. As the story that leads up to the opening scene unfolds, there are twists and turns in both 1908 and 1936.

Louise Hare’s Canary Club Mysteries continue to explore matters of race, class, morality and family, while delivering a riveting mystery. Along with the author’s flair for storytelling, the next book in this series cannot come quickly enough.

Recommended. Best read in publication order, and do keep an eye on the dates for each chapter in Harlem After Midnight to avoid any momentary confusion.

Harlem After Midnight is a general market mystery with mature content, including intimacy on the page. This review refers to a temporary digital galley that I voluntarily read via NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher. A positive review was not required and all opinions expressed are my own.

She is living with Will’s friends while waiting for her return sailing to London in two weeks. During this time she has decided to find out more about her father.

She discovers more about her father and his family, meets her mother without her half siblings around, and is involved in another death.

This book dragged a little in places but I enjoyed the dual time lines of Lena and her father.

Harlem After Midnight is a well written historical mystery and the second in a series by Louise Hare. Released 29th Aug 2023 by Penguin Random House on their Berkley imprint, it's 352 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links.

Told in first person PoV as well as through parallel chapters in 3rd person PoVs, this is a subtle and engaging mystery set in 1936. The author is adept at setting and description, and she does a great job of calling forth the spirit of the interwar years and the "golden age" of mystery. Readers of Marsh, Christie, Blake, and Crispin will find much to enjoy here. It's not those authors.. but you can see them in the writing.

The writing is more than competent and the mystery, clues, and plotting are well engineered and intricate. One codicil. This is absolutely not a standalone book and to understand context, characters, their interrelationships, and to get much out of the book, it should be read subsequent to the first book in the series.

Four stars. This is an engaging and beautifully written period mystery with an incredibly intricate denouement which would've done E.C.R. Lorac proud.

Lena grew up in London hearing of Broadway in New York – America. She dreams of making it to New York City with her father, but by the time she is able to go he has passed away. She meets a hansom musician during her crossing from England and luckily for her he offers her a place to stay in Harlem. She has nowhere else to go, and she wouldn’t mind getting to know him more. His friends welcome her with open arms, but she quickly learns that the man is harboring secrets of his own. Will the secrets he’s hiding put a target on her back?

This book drops you right into the story and I can appreciate that. I struggled with the rapid shifts in time with this one. I really had to pay close attention to know what was going on – more so than normal. It was a little tiring, and this book took me a few sittings to get through as a result. However, it was a very compelling and interesting story. The mystery that is interwoven within the book is engaging and thought provoking. I was trying to figure it out the whole time. I really became invested in the characters, especially Lena. I hope that the next book in the series focuses on her and her journey.

If you are looking for an interesting historical fiction with a mystery interwoven in its pages, then check this one out.

Before I write another word, I need to talk about this cover. It is amazing! Louise Hare, you were blessed by the cover gods. It's eyecatching and gorgeous. May all your book covers be this stunning.

As for the story... This is book two in a series. Normally reading out of order isn't an issue, but in this case, I should have started with book one. A lot of what happens in HARLEM AFTER MIDNIGHT stems from the murder mystery in Book 1, MISS ALDREDGE REGRETS. Lena spent a great of time stressing over her "secrets", and not knowing what those secrets were made it difficult for me to care.

The mystery itself is really two mysteries. The main mystery is Lena's search into her father's past. I liked that story a lot. There's a twist at the end that I didn't expect. All I can say is Go Alfie.

The other mystery is secondary and less satisfying. Some of the story threads were left unresolved. (For example Will's and Bel's conversation about Lena's "Secrets".) I'm assuming that these gaps are to create tension in book three, but I would have rather learned them now. While we're at it, if we're going to keep dragging out the reveal,, then Lena's secrets better be damn explosive. I felt like much of the conflict and angst could have been cleared up with a few heartfelt conversations.

All of this said, it was refreshing to read a story featuring a black cast that wasn't solely about the trauma of racism. That is, while race relations were discussed, the characters weren't defined by their race. They were, first and foremost, people with full, complex lives. I hope publishing takes note and publishes more books like this.

I also enjoyed the world Hare created. She made Harlem come to life.

The real litmus test of a series, of course, is whether it's worth continuing on to future books. In this case, I say yes. The characters were likeable, and Hare left me wanting to know more.

If you're going to read this series - and I recommend you do - start with book 1.

3.5 stars. (Largely because I missed book 1)

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for my complimentary eARC and to PRHAUDIO for my complimentary audiobook. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Harlem after Midnight is the second book in the Canary Club Mysteries. The story picks up just after the ending of book one. While it would be helpful to read the books in order, it’s not necessary. I had a feeling I had cracked the case and was pleasantly surprised to find out I was correct.

I enjoyed all the historical aspects of this cozy mystery. Our story is set in Harlem in the late 1930’s. I enjoyed how the different points of view helped set the scene for the murder.

I paired the audiobook and enjoyed the character voices. Leonie Elliott has a wonderful voice and it was easy to differentiate between characters.

I am looking forward to more books in this series.

The reason that I gave "Harlem After Midnight" only three stars is that the reader simply MUST read this volume WITH the first in series! This is more of a two-volume set than a book and a sequel. This book starts a few days after the end of events of "Miss Aldridge Regrets" and a large part of the story builds on that book -- without enough explanation or filling in. If you read it over a year ago, then you're probably in trouble!