Velvet Was the Night

Product Description
GOOD MORNING AMERICA
BUZZ PICK •
From the
bestselling author of Mexican Gothic comes a
riveting noir
about a daydreaming secretary, a lonesome enforcer, and the mystery of a missing woman they’re both desperate to find.\nNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • NPR • The Washington Post • New York Public Library • BookPage • “An adrenalized, darkly romantic journey.”—The Washington Post\n1970s, 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.\nHer 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.\nMeanwhile, 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 watches Maite from a distance—and comes to regard her as a kindred spirit who shares his love of music and the unspoken loneliness of his heart.\nNow 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.\nVelvet Was the Night is an edgy, simmering historical novel for lovers of smoky noirs and anti-heroes.
Review
“[
Velvet Was the Night] is a noir with a heart of gold, and it’s a narrative in which the empathy we feel for its characters ultimately reveals an important truth: That Moreno-Garcia is not only a talented storyteller but also an incredibly versatile one.”
—NPR\n“An absolute flex . . . [
Velvet Was the Night] left me marveling at what kind of sorceress Moreno-Garcia must be as she reworks genre after genre, weaving in Mexican history and culture, satisfying familiar cravings without resorting to mere pastiche. The most tantalizing suspense of all comes with wondering what she’ll do next.”
—Slate\n“Moreno-Garcia proves her prowess as a historical fiction powerhouse again.”
—BuzzFeed\n“Immensely satisfying, refreshingly new and gloriously written . . . Moreno-Garcia mashes up Anglocentric genres with midcentury Mexican history, resulting in a brew flavored with love, heartbreak, violence, music and unsettling dread. . . . The gift of this book, and Moreno-Garcia’s storytelling, is how it imbues this well-worn genre with added strength, grace and even musicality.”
—The New York Times Book Review
“An enthralling tale that’s as fun as it is mysterious . . . The characters are fascinating, the tone lush and romantic, and it’s all wrapped up in a mystery with twists and turns one likely won’t see coming. . . . [Moreno-Garcia is] the sort of author whose works automatically end up on your ‘must-read’ list.”
—USA Today\n“The author’s previous novel,
Mexican Gothic, turned the screw on the traditional ghost story; here she gleefully pries hard-boiled noir from the cold, white hands of Chandler and Hammett.”
—Oprah Daily\n“A delicious, twisted treat for lovers of noir. Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a masterful writer who pulls you into her dark world and never lets you go. From the suspenseful, slow-burn plot to the crisp, desperate characters, you will be obsessed.”
—Simone St. James, New York Times bestselling author of The Sun Down Motel\n“A lush, magnificent trip into a world of danger and discovery. Not to be missed!”
—S.A. Cosby, author of Blacktop Wasteland and Razorblade Tears\n“A rich novel with an engro