Score: 4/5 Bookmarks

Thank you to Penguin Random House Audio and BookSparks for gifting me review copies of Velvet was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.

I loved the first book I read from this author, Mexican Gothic, so couldn’t wait to get my hands on this one. It’s a very different sort of book, being historical fiction with a side of mystery vs horror, but the author’s gritty darkness is definitely stamped onto this one.

The story will transport you to 1970s Mexico City where you'll follow the paths of a daydreaming secretary, Maite, and a lonesome enforcer, Elvis, as their stories begin to converge in their search for a missing girl and photos that everyone wants to get their hands on. Set during the start of the ‘Dirty War’ none of the characters really know who they can trust and are under attack from so many different avenues.

It was a bit of a slow start for me, but the build up really made me feel like I knew the characters by the time their stories started to come together and there was more action taking place. This author truly has an amazing ability to take you deep into another time and place in a visceral way. There are a few violent and fairly graphic parts, but I was really in the mood for something darker and it definitely satisfied that craving.

I read part of this book and listened to the rest on audio. I absolutely loved the narration by Gisela Chípe, it was so rich. The audio is just under 10 hours long, but once I started I really didn’t want to switch it off, so binged it over a weekend. Make sure you stick around for the author’s note at the end too.

You can grab the audiobook via the button below, or get a physical copy here.

Synopsis:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic comes a “delicious, twisted treat for lovers of noir” about a daydreaming secretary, a lonesome enforcer, and the mystery of a missing woman they’re both desperate to find.

1970s, Mexico City. Maite is a secretary who lives for one thing: the latest issue of Secret Romance. While student protests and political unrest consume the city, Maite escapes into stories of passion and danger.

Her next-door neighbor, Leonora, a beautiful art student, seems to live a life of intrigue and romance that Maite envies. When Leonora disappears under suspicious circumstances, Maite finds herself searching for the missing woman—and journeying deeper into Leonora’s secret life of student radicals and dissidents.

Meanwhile, someone else is also looking for Leonora at the behest of his boss, a shadowy figure who commands goon squads dedicated to squashing political activists. Elvis is an eccentric criminal who longs to escape his own life: He loathes violence and loves old movies and rock ’n’ roll. But as Elvis searches for the missing woman, he comes to observe Maite from a distance—and grows more and more obsessed with this woman who shares his love of music and the unspoken loneliness of his heart.

Now as Maite and Elvis come closer to discovering the truth behind Leonora’s disappearance, they can no longer escape the danger that threatens to consume their lives, with hitmen, government agents, and Russian spies all aiming to protect Leonora’s secrets—at gunpoint.

Velvet Was the Night is an edgy, simmering historical novel for lovers of smoky noirs and anti-heroes.