Description

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Named a Must Read by Ebony ∙ Boston Herald  ∙ Book Riot  ∙  Bookish  ∙ Minneapolis Star-Tribune and more!

A body falls from a town house window in Harlem, and it looks just like the newest singer at the Apollo...in this evocative, twisting new novel from the author of Miss Aldridge Regrets.

Harlem, 1936: Lena Aldridge grew up in a cramped corner of London, hearing stories of the bright lights of Broadway. She always imagined that when she finally went to New York City, she’d be there with her father. But now he’s dead, and she’s newly arrived and alone, chasing a dream that has quickly dried up. When Will Goodman—the handsome musician she met on the crossing from England—offers for her to stay with his friends in Harlem, she agrees. She has nowhere else to go, and this will give her a chance to get to know Will better and see if she can find any trace of the family she might have remaining.

Will’s friends welcome her with open arms, but just as Lena discovers the stories her father once told her were missing giant pieces of information, she also starts to realize the man she’s falling too fast and too hard for has secrets of his own. And they might just place a target on her back. Especially when she is drawn to the brightest stage in town.

About the Author

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Louise Hare is the London-based author of Miss Aldridge Regrets. Her debut novel, This Lovely City, was published in the UK to wide acclaim, and was a Between the Covers Book Club Pick on BBC Two. She has an MA in creative writing from the University of London.
 

Praise For…

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“This gem follows last year’s equally suspenseful Miss Aldridge Regrets, featuring Lena Aldridge, a mixed-race jazz singer. Strong enough to stand on its own, Harlem After Midnight begins just days after “Regrets” ends. … Hare brings the era into brilliant focus and intrigues us from Page 1 with a woman falling from a third-story window. She relentlessly tantalizes us by withholding the victim’s identity, keeping us enthralled until the very end.”
—The Washington Post

"I was glued to the pages of this sophisticated historical crime drama. It was wonderful to be plunged back into Lena’s complicated life and onto the streets of Harlem in this evocative Jazz age novel. Lena's developing relationship with the somewhat mysterious Will Goodman and his friends, weaved with the story of Lena unravelling her own enigmatic family history, was utterly compelling. Mystery, drama, murder, all wrapped up in a story sublimely told. I am desperate to know what will happen next!"
—Louise Fein, author of People Like Us
 
"An elegant, clever murder mystery. This is evocative historical crime fiction at its best with an intelligent, classy voice. Utterly fabulous!"
—Victoria Dowd, author of A Smart Woman’s Guide to Murder
 
"Danger and glamour in equal measure, Harlem After Midnight is a wonderful mystery packed with secrets and surprises. An absolute page turner, it’s hugely entertaining. I loved it!"
—Eleni Kyriacou, author of She Came To Stay
 
"Once again Louise Hare brilliantly evokes times past, in this case, the periods bookending Harlem's famous 'Jazz Age' Renaissance. Moving between New York at the turn of the 20th Century and the mid-1930s, she expertly crafts a gripping, character-led mystery. Ms Hare, like Miss Aldridge, is a keen observer of human nature, and brings a lost world to life, as well as one, highly suspicious, death. Superb."
—Tom Benjamin, author of A Quiet Death in Italy

“Hare conveys the glory of the Harlem Renaissance, shines a light on New York’s painful history of segregation and empha­sizes the value of learning about—and from—those who came before us. The res­onance of family history and the danger­ous potency of long-held secrets collide as Lena reckons with her past and strives to create a new path forward.”
—BookPage