The Wicked City

A Novel

By: Beatriz Williams

Narrated by: Julie McKay, Dara Rosenberg

New York Times bestselling author Beatriz Williams recreates the New York City of A Certain Age in this deliciously spicy adventure that mixes past and present and centers on a Jazz Age love triangle involving a rugged Prohibition agent, a saucy redheaded flapper, and a debonair Princetonian from a wealthy family.

When she discovers her husband cheating, Ella Hawthorne impulsively moves out of their SoHo loft and into a small apartment in an old Greenwich Village building. Her surprisingly attractive new neighbor, Hector, warns her to stay out of the basement at night. Tenants have reported strange noises after midnight—laughter, clinking glasses, jazz piano—even though the space has been empty for decades. Back in the Roaring Twenties, the place hid a speakeasy.

In 1924, Geneva ""Gin"" Kelly, a smart-mouthed flapper from the hills of western Maryland, is a regular at this Village hideaway known as the Christopher Club. Caught up in a raid, Gin becomes entangled with Prohibition enforcement agent Oliver Anson, who persuades her to help him catch her stepfather Duke Kelly, one of Appalachia’s most notorious bootleggers.

Headstrong and independent, Gin is no weak-kneed fool. So how can she be falling in love with the taciturn, straight-arrow Revenue agent when she’s got Princeton boy Billy Marshall, the dashing son of society doyenne Theresa Marshall, begging to make an honest woman of her? While anything goes in the Roaring Twenties, Gin’s adventures will shake proper Manhattan society to its foundations, exposing secrets that shock even this free-spirited redhead—secrets that will echo from Park Avenue to the hollers of her Southern hometown.

As Ella discovers more about the basement speakeasy, she becomes inspired by the spirit of her exuberant predecessor, and decides to live with abandon in the wicked city too. . . .

Too many things unfinished

There were too many unanswered questions left from the book. The ending was weak and I actually went back and listened to the last chapter because I thought I must have missed something. I did live the narration-great performance.

Not her best

I have always loved this author, but this was my least favorite of her books so far.

THE WICKED CITY

Saw this novel, realized it was written by one of my favorite authors, and I IMMEDIATELY DOWNLOADED IT! WOW WAS I DISAPPOINTED! The story dragged, and most important of all was the narrators! They were terrible! I think this is the first time I ever criticized a narrator, however, these two were horrible. One whined and the second, drowned on and on. SAVE YOUR CREDIT!

One of my favs from this author

Great detail and story, but ends with a bit of a rushed cliffhanger. It turns out, however, that there will be a sequel released in December. I cannot wait!

That was it?

I was loving the story all of the way through until the very end. I felt like the story didn’t tie together well and was lacking a strong conclusion.