Wild Women and the Blues

January 15, 2021
The lives of an ambitious chorus girl in 1925 and a grieving film student in 2015 intersect in this debut novel. It's 2015, and Sawyer Hayes is desperate to finish his doctoral thesis on the legendary filmmaker Oscar Micheaux. Sawyer lost over a year to prescription drug abuse after the traumatic death of his sister, Azizi, and he's convinced that jump-starting his professional life will put the pieces back together--and maybe help him stop seeing Azizi's ghost. But he needs Honoree Dalcour, a 110-year-old woman who spent time with Micheaux back in the 1920s, to fill in the blanks of his research. With Miss Honoree ailing and ornery, though, it's going to take a lot more work than Sawyer anticipated to unveil her story. Back in 1925, Honoree is a vibrant young woman determined to dance onstage at Chicago's famed Dreamland Cafe. But Archie Graves, her abusive boss, keeps her on a short leash, and she's not sure she'll ever escape the confines of his club, Miss Hattie's. With the arrival of 16-year-old new chorus girl Bessie Palmer and the sudden reappearance of Honoree's childhood love, Ezekiel Bailey--now involved in the dangerous dealings of the city's notorious gangsters--the course of her life will change forever. As Sawyer gets to know Honoree, their stories intertwine, revealing decades-old secrets. The author deftly weaves fiction with reality--figures like filmmaker Oscar Micheaux, musician Louis Armstrong, and actor Charlie Chaplin all appear--and paints a vibrant picture of the sparkling yet seedy era, but the two timelines are uneven. Though the characters in 1925 are multilayered, those in 2015 feel underdeveloped. And while the modern-day timeline adds some mystery to the plot, it's mostly unnecessary to the overall story arc. Perfect for fans of light historical fiction led by a complex heroine.

COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

February 15, 2021
In 1925 Chicago, Honoree Dalcour is hoping her audition at the Dreamland Caf� will be her ticket out of being just a chorus girl at Miss Hattie's. Dreamland Caf� is where Louis Armstrong sometimes plays and all the Black elite gather. On the night of the audition, Honoree is reunited with a past love and is witness to a horrible crime, two events that change the course of Honoree's life. In 2015, after a personal tragedy, graduate student Sawyer Hayes needs to finish his thesis. Intrigued by a box of old photos he found in his grandmother's attic, Sawyer searches for one of the women named on the back of a photo. His search takes him to a retirement home and to 110-year-old Honoree. The book slowly reveals the truth by switching perspectives between Honoree in 1925 and Sawyer in 2015. All the glitz and glamour of Jazz Age Chicago, along with all the mob violence, is artfully described by Bryce in this richly told, historical-fiction debut.

COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.