The City of Flickering Light

by Juliette Fay
Oct 23-Nov10, 2019

In the span of just one year, two strippers burlesque dancers and one tagalong get everything they ever wanted. That shallow description pretty much sums up the effort given to forming the plot of this book. So many reviews that I read lauded the author for her extensive research (if I read one more review that says how well-researched this book is!), but none of that really matters when the final result is so poorly executed. The descriptions and dialogue are meant to suggest the essence of the roaring 20s, but instead it comes off sophomoric and quite corny.

"She nodded and looked away to hide the gratitude in her eyes."

Huh?

Pick a hot topic and you'll find it within the pages. Rape, murder, pregnancy and drug abuse are just the beginning of the list. The result is almost laughably predictable, and again, seemingly a tactic to imbue a sign of the times. It's as if the author didn't give the reader enough credit to understand what was happening without dumbing it down  – I'm looking at you, Author's Note. Thanks, but I think I got it.

"The silence from Irene’s side of the bed was loud."

Well OK, then.

Overall, a completely non-challenging, quick read of an implausible "isn't-Hollywood-grand" stereotype. 2-1/2 stars.

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