In the first book of a breathtaking new trilogy by bestselling author Beatriz Williams, two generations of women are brought together inside a Greenwich Village apartment —a flapper hiding an extraordinary past, and a modern-day Manattanite forced to start her life anew.When she discovers her banker husband has been harboring a secret life, Ella Gilbert escapes her SoHo loft for a studio in … studio in Greenwich Village. Her charismatic musician neighbor, Hector, warns her to stay out of the basement after midnight, when a symphony of mysterious noise strikes up—laughter, clinking glasses, jazz piano, the occasional bloodcurdling scream—even though the space has been empty for decades. Back in the Roaring Twenties, the basement was home to one of the city’s most notorious speakeasies.
In 1924, Geneva “Gin” Kelly, a quick-witted flapper from the hills of western Maryland, is a regular at this Village hideaway. Caught up in a raid, Gin lands in the office of Prohibition enforcement agent Oliver Anson, who persuades her to help him catch her stepfather, Duke Kelly, one of the biggest bootleggers in Appalachia.
But Gin is nobody’s fool. She strikes a risky bargain with the taciturn, straight-arrow Revenue agent, and their alliance rattles Manhattan society to its foundations, exposing secrets that shock even this free-spirited redhead.
As Ella unravels the strange history of her new building—and the family thread that connects her to Geneva Kelly—she senses the Jazz Age spirit of her exuberant predecessor invading her own shy nature, in ways that will transform her existence in the wicked city.
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I have loved every book by Beatriz Williams! Great characters, witty dialogue, and the stories are all so original and unpredictable. Hate to see each one come to an end! I eagerly await the next release!
Meh. I really enjoy this writer and I enjoyed half the book. Beatrix writes from a historical perspective very well. Her writing from a present point of view lacks. The story goes between a woman during prohibition and a modern day woman. The prohibition story could have stood alone. The present day story lacked and there really was no connection between the two stories. Beatrix needs to stay with what she does best.
I loved it! The writing was fantastic, so compelling; I couldn’t put it down! I love how the author wove the two storylines together, even though they were separated by 70+ years! The way she switched back and forth between Ella and Ginger wasn’t confusing at all. In that regard it reminded me of The Dead Key by DM Pulley. And the bootlegging aspect reminded me of M Ruth Myers’ The Whiskey Tide.
4 stars
Beatriz has such a knack for distinctive voices in her characters. This time period – prohibition during the 20s – is not generally my go-to, but the closer I got to the end the faster the pages turned! I’m really starting to love her work.
THE WICKED CITY is another FUN and imaginative page turner from Beatriz Williams. This one weaves together two stories, from two women, both related to the same building at 11 Christopher St. in New York City. And there’s the same clever writing I’ve come to expect from Williams.
In the 1990s 30 year old Ella Gilbert, a successful forensic accountant, with a knack for sniffing out financial wrongdoing on Wall Street, has recently separated from her successful but cheating husband. To reassess her life and marriage, she moves into her own apartment. An apartment that happens to be in a building that housed a popular speakeasy downstairs during the Prohibition era and now houses a good-looking musician upstairs.
Back in the 1920s Geneva Kelley works in a typing pool by day but at night is drawn to that very same speakeasy — listening to hot jazz and looking for Mr. Right. Also, occasionally posing for risqué photographs to earn some extra cash.
How these two stories intersect is a slow reveal. But along the way, you meet a group of interesting characters including an abusive stepfather running a successful moonshine trade, a couple of privileged Princeton grads, and a quirky female FBI agent. There’s a chase, lots of suspense, and a few murders. Plus, along the way, you’ll learn about how the business of bootleg liquor operated during Prohibition. And of course, you will run into a few Schuylers — the family that ties all of Williams’ novels together.
/ 5
The Wicked City by Beatriz Williams is a great start to what I think is going to be a great series. Fully immersive, it takes you back to Prohibition through the eyes of a woman named Ginger, and it also ties together with the present and a woman named Ella.
The Wicked City was unexpectedly violent and disturbing, but amazing at the same time. I really liked both Ginger and Ella and listening to this on audio was quite the experience. I loved the narrator for Ginger, her accent was spot on and I felt like I was actually in the 20s. Ella’s narrator on the other hand was someone I liked less, but I did eventually get used to her odd speech patterns and she started to grow on me. I started out reading the book but quickly switched to audio and I think that is the way to go. I am definitely keeping my physical copy, but the audio just offered something more.
I really enjoyed how Williams weaved the two stories together, and it’s one of my favorite things when an author takes someone in the past and ties them to someone in the present. I thought Ginger’s storyline was more interesting and exciting, but I really enjoyed Ella’s as well. Both of these women have a lot of spunk and are dealing with their own issues. The dash of romance was fun as well, and nothing got too overly graphic which I appreciate. The Wicked City was a little racy at times, but it was a nice respite from the violence that is also in the book.
Final Thought: The Wicked City definitely left me wanting more of both Ginger and Ella so I’m excited to read The Wicked Redhead next. I hope this series continues past a sequel and if it does I will definitely listen to every book as well as collect them, so I have hard copies. I love the layered way that Williams writes, and the time periods really come to life in her novels. The Wicked City was no exception and the writing was very vivid. If you like a slow burn historical fiction novel and don’t mind some violence, this is one to go for.
Not my favorite Beatriz Williams but good none the less.
I love Beatriz Williams books. Love.Them. However, I couldn’t get into this and actually didn’t finish it. I started listening to the audio book but switched to the actual book in the hopes that I would like it better. Nope. Like most BW novels, the book is told from the perspective of two characters in two different time periods. Gin is in 1924 during Prohibition and Ella is in the present day. Gin’s dialogue is probably supposed to be snappy but it’s just annoying. Ella is bland. If you’ve run out of other Beatriz Williams books and feel the need to read them all, then read this one last. However, I think you can skip it all together.
There just wasn’t any flow to it and it didn’t catch my attention. I even tried to give it more chapters then I usually would because I wanted to like it but I just couldn’t.
The dual stories seemed like a great idea. Unfortunately, there was not enough cross-over to make the ending worth the read. The 1924 story would have been better as a single book.
A favorite author of mine and I’ve enjoyed all her books but found the story slow to unfold. I love the way she weaves her characters or their families from book to book.
Loved this book! Wonderful author who delivers!