VELVET WAS THE NIGHT | Silvia Moreno-Garcia

I have decided that from here on out, I will just read everything Silvia Moreno-Garcia writes.

It doesn’t matter that I’m not a noir fan. It doesn’t matter that I’ve never read a crime thriller in my whole life. If Moreno-Garcia writes it, it is instantly a must-read for me.

Moreno-Garcia’s writing just really resonates with me. I love how richly she imagines her characters, and the way she weaves storylines together to create something that truly, utterly sucks you in. I first experienced it reading The Beautiful Ones, and she has done it again for me in Velvet Was the Night.

Velvet Was the Night is set in 1970s Mexico City, will all the political upheaval that entails. This is not a simple crime story with mob bosses. This story weaves in every element of peoples’ lives, and expertly shows how actions and consequences can come from and touch all aspects of a person. I also learned a lot about a place and time that I am woefully unfamiliar with.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that my favourite character is Maite. A woman who spends her time reading beautiful, sweeping romance stories and waiting for someone to come along and give her the fairytale she so desperately wants? Um, same, girl! Reading about Maite was like reading about myself when I was a little younger, and I was instantly endeared to her. She is interesting and complex and flawed and I am once again in awe of Moreno-Garcia’s ability to make her characters leap off the page, fully formed. The other main character, Elvis, is similarly richly imagined.

This book is not my usual fare, and it may not be yours either. If that’s the case, I urge you to try something new and give Velvet Was the Night a read. I can almost guarantee that it will captivate you the same way it has captivated me.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Quercus Books for providing me with this ARC.