A razzle-dazzle of beguiling events compel the action in this atmospheric noir-ish historical mystery set in 1920s Chicago. A mishap during an amorous moment has African-American pianist and budding composer Eve Riser fleeing to Chicago with money and a note for a white man named Rudy Hardy. While at the meeting spot Eve is approached by two men claiming to be Rudy Hardy, one of which is Rudy’s sister Lena disguised in an army uniform, as shots from a truck fires shots at the three. Recovering from wounds, Eve finds out that Rudy is dead, Lena is nurse, her pregnant sister, Chickie, has disappeared and the money and note are missing. As Eve and Lena seeks answers a complex maze of deceits, ambitions, and secrets may be more than they bargained for.

The well-researched historical details of the vicious battles of the Prohibition gangs, the addictive draw of jazz, and the blatant racism adds an elevated edge to the mystery and nicely balances the storyline. I enjoyed the strong no-nonsense characters, Eve and Lena as they tried to remain true to their nature in a time where gender and race predetermined your place in society. The supporting cast was very full, and it does take a while to sort out who’s who.

Overall this is an entertaining smooth-paced gritty read for fans of historical mysteries.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Sugarland is the third novel and second mystery by award-winning author Martha Conway. Set in the Jazz Age, Sugarland is rich with period detail and a deep appreciation for jazz. Eva Riser, the focus of the story is a jazz pianist on tour with a band when she witnesses a shooting. When a black man shoots a white man, there is no pleading self defense. Not in those days and no black woman witness will be held harmless either.

Gavin, her on-the-road beau sends her back to Chicago to keep her out of trouble. But the letter and money he asks her to deliver gets her into deep trouble when the man she who she is supposed to give it is shot dead right in front of her and worse, she is injured, grazed by a bullet. When she regains consciousness days later, the letter and money are missing and she is being nursed by the dead man’s sister.

She connected with her sister Chickie when she arrived in Chicago, getting a job playing piano in the same speakeasy where her sister sings. There she meets Henry, the band leader as well as Nathan Cobb, the club owner who aspires to be more, much more.

While she is more interested in extricating Chickie and herself from the danger they may be in because of the lost money, the lost letter and whatever tangential connection they may have to whatever the murder was about, Lena is determined to find out who killed her brother. The women are smart, resourceful and effective at maneuvering through the barriers of sexism, racism, de facto if not de jure segregation as well as ins and outs of the Chicago underworld.

I enjoyed Sugarland very much. It is a fair-play mystery. There are no secrets from the reader to prevent them from solving the mystery. We learn the facts as the characters learn them and when one character holds something back from another, it is held back from us. The mystery is satisfying, it hangs together and makes sense, but it is not what makes Sugarland stand out. That was in the way Conway wrote about race, about female friendship, and about music.

The writer dealt well with race and racism. There was no pretense that Chicago was a racial utopia. While segregation was not the law and lynching was not frequent, this story takes place just four years after the East St. Louis Massacre when angry white men marched into East St. Louis, Illinois and rioted. They burned the homes of black people, leaving 6000 homeless and lynched somewhere between between 100 and 200 people, though the true number will never be known. I appreciate the effort made to be true to the open acceptable white supremacy operating in Jazz Age Chicago.

I very much enjoyed the friendship that developed among the women. More importantly, so often when a white character helps a black character, they become the “white savior” in the story and take agency away from the black women. That does not happen in the relationship with Eva and Lena. They help each other and in one way, in encouraging Lena to be true to herself, Eva saves Lena in the most profound sense of the word. Neither woman loses agency to the other, they are both active participants in finding solutions.

What I liked best, though, was how Conway wrote about jazz and expressed the power and passion of the music. Her descriptions of Eva composing feel so real and that gives the story so much more raw honesty and power than anything else.

I received an electronic galley of Sugarland from the publisher through NetGalley

https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2016/05/20/sugarland-by-martha-conwa... ( )

Eve Riser is a pianist on the jazz circuit in prohibition-era Illinois. She is caught up in a violent crime while on the circuit. Fearing that she would be connected to the crime, Eva is sent to Chicago to work and stay with her step-sister, Chickie. When she arrives Eva quickly finds herself in the middle of a drive by shooting of a bootlegger in which she is also shot. Lena, the deceased bootlegger’s sister helps Eva recovery. However, while she is recovering Chickie disappears and Eva discovers that the money she has been sent to Chicago with is missing. Lena and Eva go on a hunt of Chicago’s jazz clubs and speakeasies to try and find answers behind Lena’s brother’s death and try and find Chickie.
This is a historical mystery that throws you right into the action. Within the first few pages a man is dead and Eva is sent on the run. The danger quickly escalates as Eva, an African-American woman, navigates Chicago with a large amount of money. Since there is so much action in the beginning, I didn’t really get to know Eva’s character all that well other than that she is a brilliant musician and pianist who cares deeply for he sister. What I did get a wonderful sense of was the time period and music scene. The rise of jazz, the overall feeling that the music gives you, the story it tells and the way it brings people together was really the forefront of the novel for me. I loved the scenes in the jazz clubs where Eva or Lena was describing the music and the process of playing and writing. I did feel like I could hear some of the songs myself. Another aspect that was done well was the different racial relations of 1920’s Chicago. Many of the jazz musicians are African American and rule the jazz club scene, but segregation is still very much a part of their world. The friendship between Eva and Lena, a white nurse grows throughout the story as they navigate treacherous territory within the bootlegging world. However, Eva’s race sometimes hinders their mission. The mystery part of the novel, took a bit of a back seat for me, I did want to know why Lena’s brother was shot and how it connected to the death in the very beginning, but the setting and music stole the scene for me.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. ( )

An atmospheric novel set in Chicago in the so called Roaring Twenties.
A story of murder, conspiracy and music.
I interesting read.
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Noontime Books via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review. ( )