The Paragon Hotel

By: Lyndsay Faye

Narrated by: January LaVoy

A gun moll with a knack for disappearing flees from Prohibition-era Harlem to Portland's Paragon Hotel.

The year is 1921, and "Nobody" Alice James has just arrived in Oregon with a bullet wound, a lifetime's experience battling the New York Mafia, and fifty thousand dollars in illicit cash. She befriends Max, a black Pullman porter who reminds her achingly of home and who saves Alice by leading her to the Paragon Hotel. But her unlikely sanctuary turns out to be an all-black hotel in a Jim Crow city, and its lodgers seem unduly terrified of a white woman on the premises.

As she meets the churlish Dr. Pendleton, the stately Mavereen, and the club chanteuse Blossom Fontaine, she understands their dread. The Ku Klux Klan has arrived in Portland in fearful numbers--burning crosses, electing officials, infiltrating newspapers, and brutalizing blacks. And only Alice and her new Paragon "family" are searching for a missing mulatto child who has mysteriously vanished into the woods. To untangle the web of lies and misdeeds around her, Alice will have to answer for her own past, too.

A richly imagined novel starring two indomitable heroines, The Paragon Hotel at once plumbs the darkest parts of America's past and the most redemptive facets of humanity. From international-bestselling, multi-award-nominated writer Lyndsay Faye, it's a masterwork of historical suspense.

Audio makes this story come alive

I started reading the paper book first and had a hard time getting into it, so I went for the audio to listen to while I painted my kitchen. The story was much more engaging hearing the voice inflections and character shifts. I learned a lot about history and appreciate the author’s ability to address a sad reality for people of color STILL happening today. Thank you for this story!

Excellent Writing, Well Read, but..

January LaVoy did an awesome job reading the various voices of the characters. Lyndsay Faye is a talented writer and the story is hard to stop listening to. Loved the historical information she conveys through the setting, time period and characters. I just didn’t like the occasional extra-strong language, nor did I like the feminist slant to the story or the inclusion of the transsexual thread. The LGBTQ theme that seems to be included in every single thing these days is just not welcome. Disappointed that Faye follows this broken record in her otherwise fascinating stories.

Strong Women

Nobody Alice James is a very strong Italian/Welsh woman from Harlem. Set in the 1920 this book follows Nobody from Harlem to Portland.
When arriving in Portland Nobody is taken to the Paragon Hotel by Pullman porter Max due to an injury she revived in Harlem.

While there she meets Blossom Fountaine who is a beautiful African Americans singer. Who is also a strong female character.

I enjoy the story of these two main characters and the supporting characters are well writing too!!

Out of the pot, and into the frying pan

Last night I was listening to two experienced twitch RP'ers giving thier lengthy backstories to each other, and it was about as interesting as this book. This book is really two stories linked together in a tale about one victim's migration from East Coast organized crime to organized stupidity of racism on the West Coast. The mafia part of the story was excellent. The African American part was ok, but weaker, since the central character was a snoopy white woman who stretched the limits of reality, and who used the term "admire-to" a bit too much, in the way 60s Dr. Who or Benny Hill might bastardize the conversational language of the Old American West. Narration was flawless. The author has done better.

I loved from beginning to end!

I loved every part of this book. I loved the suspense of the story, I loved the racial history of Oregon, I loved the unexpected twists and turns of the plot. a great, informative read.