Last Dance Before Dawn: A Mystery

Katharine Schellman

Book cover for Last Dance Before Dawn: A Mystery
Book cover for Last Dance Before Dawn: A Mystery

Last Dance Before Dawn: A Mystery

Last Dance Before Dawn: A Mystery

Katharine Schellman

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Description

Last Dance before Dawn is the final book in the luscious, mysterious, and queer Nightingale mystery series by Katharine Schellman, set in 1920s New York.

Vivian Kelly has finally created a home and a family at the glamorous speakeasy known as The Nightingale, where no one cares who you are in the daytime. After all, in the underground world of 1920s New York City, everyone has a secret to keep, and they're on the Nightingale's dance floor to leave those secrets behind. But sometimes it takes more than a dance to escape your past.

When a stranger from Chicago shows up at The Nightingale looking to settle old scores, Vivian and the Nightingale's owner, the mysterious and alluring Honor Huxley, send him packing. They soon discover, though, that the stranger was just a warning. Slowly, the people who have made The Nightingale their home realize that someone is following them. Hunting them. And that someone won't stop until they unravel a mystery that's been cold for years: a missing girl, a boy out for revenge, and a truck full of cash that disappeared in a job gone horribly wrong.

Vivian just wants to protect the people she loves, and she's willing to dig into the dirt of the past to make it happen. But some questions are safer left unanswered, and now that Vivian has built a family for herself, she has more to lose than ever before.

About the Author

KATHARINE SCHELLMAN (she/her) is a former actor, one-time political consultant, and current writer. Her debut novel, The Body in the Garden, was a Suspense Magazine Best Book of 2020 and led to her being named one of BookPage's 16 Women to Watch. A graduate of the College of William & Mary, Katharine currently lives and writes in the mountains of Virginia in the company of her husband, children, and the many houseplants she keeps accidentally murdering.

Critical Reviews

"A lively, sprawling crime story that captures the vibrancy of the Roaring '20s." --Kirkus Reviews

Praise for The Nightingale Mysteries:

"Buoyant... A juicy, jazzy period whodunit that charms." --Kirkus Reviews on The Last Note of Warning

"Clever... Will keep even the best armchair sleuths on their toes. This continues Schellman's winning streak."
--Publishers Weekly on The Last Note of Warning

"The characters and plot come alive in this atmospheric historical mystery." --Library Journal (starred review) on The Last Note of Warning

"Fizzy . . . Vivian is a terrific character, plucky and resourceful, determined to choreograph a different life for herself."--New York Times Book Review on Last Call at the Nightingale

"Excellent . . . Vivian proves to be a most imaginative sleuth. Readers will eagerly await her return."--Publishers Weekly (Starred) on Last Call at the Nightingale

A Library Journal "Best Crime Fiction of 2022"
A Publishers Weekly Mystery/Thriller Summer Reads 2022 Pick
One of Goodreads' 2022 "Spring's Most Anticipated New Mysteries"
One of BookPage's "Four Best June Mysteries"
A Bustle "Most Anticipated Book of June 2022"
A Virginia Living "Notable Spring Book"

Publishing Information

Publisher: Minotaur Books
Pub date: 2025-06-17
Length: 352 pages

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