The dazzling narrator of The Wicked City brings her mesmerizing voice and indomitable spirit to another Jazz Age tale of rumrunners, double crosses, and true love, spanning the Eastern seaboard from Florida to Long Island to Halifax, Nova Scotia.1924. Ginger Kelly wakes up in tranquil Cocoa Beach, Florida, having fled south to safety in the company of disgraced Prohibition agent Oliver Anson … Prohibition agent Oliver Anson Marshall and her newly-orphaned young sister, Patsy. But paradise is short-lived. Marshall is reinstated to the agency with suspicious haste and put to work patrolling for rumrunners on the high seas, from which he promptly disappears. Gin hurries north to rescue him, only to be trapped in an agonizing moral quandary by Marshall’s desperate mother.
1998. Ella Dommerich has finally settled into her new life in Greenwich Village, inside the same apartment where a certain redheaded flapper lived long ago…and continues to make her presence known. Having quit her ethically problematic job at an accounting firm, cut ties with her unfaithful ex-husband, and begun an epic love affair with Hector, her musician neighbor, Ella’s eager to piece together the history of the mysterious Gin Kelly, whose only physical trace is a series of rare vintage photograph cards for which she modeled before she disappeared.
Two women, two generations, two urgent quests. But as Ginger and Ella track down their separate quarries with increasing desperation, the mysteries consuming them take on unsettling echoes of each other, and both women will require all their strength and ingenuity to outwit a conspiracy spanning decades.
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The Wicked Redhead is book 2 in Wicked City trilogy. I read it as a standalone but I think it would be better read in order to alleviate confusion over some of the characters.
This book is told in two timelines. Ella in 1998 has just lost her husband and quit her job. Her life is in disarray especially when she finds out some shocking news. As she struggles to get her life back on track, she is further upset by information from her father and grandmother. The only things that seem to help is her quest for information about a nude redheaded woman in a picture that her aunt has given her and a potential new love. What will she gain from finding out about the woman in the picture who she feels is trying to send her a message?
Gin in 1924 is a flapper hiding from her bootlegger stepfather in Florida with her love who is a government Prohibition agent. When she returns to New York and finds out that her boyfriend has disappeared, she starts searching for him knowing that he is the only person she can find happiness with. Will Gin find her happily ever after?
I have enjoyed all of Beatriz Williams previous books but I struggled with this one. I think it was my fault for reading it as a standalone instead of reading Wicked City first. I plan to read Wicked City as soon as I get a chance and then hopefully amend this review.
Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.
This is the sequel to “The wicked city”; it continues the story right where the first ended. The characters are interesting and the plot good and the story unfolds at a great pace. I struggled a bit trying to remember the details of the first book; however I highly recommend this novel as well as others written by this author.
The Wicked Redhead is the story of a beautiful red headed woman on a set of pictures that were taken in the 1920’s that are collected and valuable particularly since she mysteriously disappeared in 1930. The picture was found in the wall of the apartment of Ella, a woman who’s husband has cheated. Ella finds out that her great aunt knew the redhead and feels a connection. We get a treat to also follow the redhead through a very defining time of her life.
I won The Wicked Redhead from Bookbub and am grateful for the opportunity to read this book! All the comments above are my own.
/ 5
I WANT MORE GINGER!! I don’t know what it was about this one, but I loved The Wicked Redhead by Beatriz Williams way more than The Wicked City. Something about the ending maybe? Or maybe it’s just because the more I read about Ginger Kelly the more I feel like I know her and want to know what happened to her, Ella’s story be damned.
Okay that was probably a bit harsh, but my favorite storyline is definitely Gin’s and I just adore her wit and her spunk, and her love affair with Oliver Anson Marshall makes my heart swell. This book wasn’t as near as violent as The Wicked City was, but there are still a couple of scenes that will make your blood pump. I listened to The Wicked Redhead on audio like the first book, and once again I think that is the way to go although it is also nice to have a physical copy to look back at and for the content at the back of it.
I actually listened to the audio at 1.5 speed and I think that is the perfect pace for both narrator’s voices. I found that listening to their normal voices was a bit of drag but sped up they both sound perfect. Although, I will say that the narrator for Ginger has the perfect pitch to her voice and once again put me back in the 20s. I’m really enjoying the setting of this series, and the romance aspect combined with all the crap that Gin finds herself in (as well as Ella’s predicament) has kept me interested and I find myself never wanting it to end.
Final Thought: I absolutely loved The Wicked Redhead and it picked up exactly where The Wicked City left off so this is definitely a series you have to read in order. I thought it had a bit of a slow start but eventually things got really interesting and this book ended with a nice bang. I really can’t get enough of Gin Kelly so I hope Williams will continue this series for a long time to come. If you like historical fiction sent during the prohibition with some great romance that isn’t too descriptive then you definitely need to check out this series. The author’s writing style is very vivid and immersive, and I would read anything she writes.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy of this book, all opinions and thoughts are my own.
A beautiful story told in two timelines which picked up from the first book, The Wicked City. I feel that reading the first book first would thoroughly give the reader a better understanding of the amazing characters that Beatriz Williams have created.
Though I did not read the first book, I still thoroughly enjoyed this beautiful story told from 1924 during the Jazz Age and Prohibition Era, and how it connects to 1998 with Ella Dommerich in Greenwhich Village.
Ginger Kelly is an awesome character you will fall in love with for her strength, will and wit. The connection of these two characters I found amazing to read. I am a huge fan of Historical Fiction and witty characters and I certainly enjoyed this amazing book!
I highly enjoyed this entertaining read and look forward to the third book in this series.
The Wicked Redhead picks up right where The Wicked City left off. I believe you could read The Wicked Redhead without reading The Wicked City but I can see how the book would be more enjoyable if you knew the history of the characters and the reasons on why they were doing what they were. Although, Beatriz Williams does do a good job of filling in the holes as she tells the story.
I enjoyed catching up with characters that I already was familiar with. I got caught up quickly on what had happened in their lives and was excited to see where they were heading. I LOVE Ginger. She has a quick wit and a strong will that women of 1924 were not always able to let out. She stood her ground, thought through most of her decisions, and helped Oliver when it was needed. Ella was also a great example of a strong and willful woman. She didn’t let her cheating husband walk all over her, she made decisions for the good of her, and let her heart open for a healthier relationship.
Beatriz Williams is very talented in her writing. She takes two eras, has two stories, and then ties them together perfectly. The characters are enchanting and realistic, the settings are true to the time and marvelous, and the stories are so captivating that the reader can’t help but be pulled right in. She is a must-read author for anyone who loves historical fiction.
Ella has changed her world! She has quit her job, left her husband and has moved into a new apartment. She discovers some unique information about a previous tenant of her new space. This sends her on a quest to find out more.
This novel is broken down into two different time periods, 1924 and 1998. I actually enjoyed the more recent time period better than the past. This is usual for me. I think the mystery element, the apartment and the characters were much better during this part of the story. The rum runners and the prohibition area had a great many characters and seemed a little disjointed.
Beatriz Williams last couple of books have not hit their mark with me. They have just been ok. This one is actually pretty dogone good! It is still a little wordy but I really enjoyed it. Especially the mystery surrounding the apartment. Very unique!
Beatriz has created a fabulous universe with her characters. Every time I read a new book from her I find myself dipping back into earlier books to remind myself of some of the secondary characters’ back stories. And I’ll be doing it again after reading The Wicked Redhead. The characters, setting, and stories are so rich and intertwined. There is resolution of some story lines but not all of them. Which means I have to wait for the next book and hope these are addressed!
The Wicked Redhead picks right up where The Wicked City left us. I absolutely love Gin Kelly and can not wait for more of her story. I loved catching up with Ella and Hector and can’t wait to see what is next for them. I loved how so many of the past characters of Beatriz Williams’s books are making appearances. I loved The Wicked Redhead and can not wait for more of both Gin’s and Ella’s story. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.