The Last Drop of Hemlock is the continuation of the throw-back gum shoe murder mysteries where the city, New York in this case was ruled by paid off cops, mob type gangsters, prohibition speakeasys and jazz dance clubs. Women were seen and not heard and expected to make the men happy whatever it took.
But Vivian Kelly, our smart and feisty heroine is not having any of those. She along with her police buddy Leo Green have another nailbiter on their hands and will do everything in their power to help Vivian’s friend.
Bea, a singer at the dance club, the Nightingale where Vivian works is in extreme distress. Her uncle Pearlie, new to the town has died. It has been ruled a suicide, but Bea has her doubts. She comes to Vivian to ask her help to find out the truth.
So, Vivian with the help of Leo begin to look into what happened and something sure smells fishy. They find a bottle of brandy in the deceased’s apartment along with missing money. Vivian and Leo think that more than a suicide occurred here.
They decide to go to the coroner’s office with the brandy bottle and discover that it was laced with a megadose of poison. They begin to investigate and learn that many people in the neighborhood where Vivian and her sister Florence live have been receiving threatening letters if they did not sell certain items they have worth money and leave the money at a drop.
Vivian soon becomes deeply immersed in who would do such a thing to people who can barely afford to put food on their table. But all this changes when her own sister, Florence receives one of the letters. And with the help of Leo and the owner of the Nightingale, Honor, Vivian must become a burglar.
The clues just make no sense, but the more Vivian investigates the more she realizes Bea may not like what they believe could have happened. But her only goal is to keep her sister alive and stop the letters and threats to those who don’t have anything.
The Last Drop of Hemlock is an exciting good old-fashioned who done it. It has intrigue and mystery. The only difference is in this series women seem to be in charge and are the ultimate brave detectives with some help from a few men. Although this is the second book of the series, it certainly could be read as a stand-alone. I eagerly await the next installment.
Thank you #NetGalley #MinotaurBooks #TheLastDropofHemlock #KatherineSchellman for the advanced copy.
Lisa's Cubby 