Book Tour: The Yankee Club by Michael Murphy & Giveaway

In Michael Murphy’s action-packed Prohibition-era novel of suspense, a mystery writer returns to the bright lights and dark alleys of New York City—uncovering a criminal conspiracy of terrifying proportions.

In 1933, America is at a crossroads: Prohibition will soon be history, organized crime is rampant, and President Roosevelt promises to combat the Great Depression with a New Deal. In these uncertain times, former-Pinkerton-detective-turned-bestselling-author Jake Donovan is beckoned home to Manhattan. He has made good money as the creator of dashing gumshoe Blackie Doyle, but the price of success was Laura Wilson, the woman he left behind. Now a Broadway star, Laura is engaged to a millionaire banker—and waltzing into a dangerous trap.

Before Jake can win Laura back, he’s nearly killed—and his former partner is shot dead—after a visit to the Yankee Club, a speakeasy dive in their old Queens neighborhood. Suddenly Jake and Laura are plunged into a conspiracy that runs afoul of gangsters, sweeping from New York’s private clubs to the halls of corporate power and to the White House itself. Brushing shoulders with the likes of Dashiell Hammett, Cole Porter, and Babe Ruth, Jake struggles to expose an inconspicuous organization hidden in plain sight, one determined to undermine the president and change the country forever.

PUBLISHER: Alibi

PAGES: 280

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

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A huge thanks to both TLC Book Tours and Michael Murphy for giving me a copy of this book! All the opinions expressed below are mine and not influenced by my receiving a copy of this book.

I’ve never read a noir book before, so I didn’t have many expectations when I opened up this novel. Also, I’ve been reading a lot of YA recently. Needless to say, I readily welcomed a change in genres!

MORAL RATING:

PG-13: Some cussing, sexual innuendo, sketchy gangsters

THE GOOD:

It took me about a third of this book to really get into it. I feel like it was more a personal problem as it’s such a big change in genre from what I normally read. I loved reading about the 1930s and the way that Murphy incorporated classic characters from history like Babe Ruth and Cole Porter. The plot’s twists and turns surprised me and I cannot say that I expected any of them. I felt like I was on the same crazy ride as Jake Donovan as he tried to solve who is behind the murders of his friend, Mickey, and a man named Jimmy Vales. There was such a classic, vintage feel to this novel that I loved. Laura was a strong female character and I enjoyed reading about how involved she was in the case with Jake Donovan. I could see why Jake was hopelessly in love with her! It was also a treat to watch Jake Donovan return to his occupation as a detective. He’d been writing about the crimes for too long and now he had a chance to go back into the field! Who could resist that? Michael Murphy did a great job of incorporating phrases and slang from the early 1900s. I’ll probably be using my new-found language for the next month or so with my very 21st century group of friends and family. The last bit of this book I devoured. It wrapped up nicely, but left the reader ready for a sequel!

THE BAD:

I think my only complaint is that the plot seemed a bit stiff at times. I would’ve loved to see more description of the characters and the New York of the 1930s. Maybe that’s not characteristic of noir fiction. Like I said before, I had no clue what to expect when I started this one!

SOUNDTRACK:

This song just has to be the soundtrack for this novel. What a classic song!

MY VERDICT:

I enjoyed this book and it was a breath of fresh air to read something that was out of my normal comfort zone. I think I’ll be diving into more noir from now on whenever my reading schedule allows! I’d give The Yankee Club a 3.5/5 hearts! Apparently, there is another book in this series that is expected to be released in January 2015. I’ll be sure to check that one out when it arrives.

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GIVEAWAY 🙂

ENTER THE YANKEE CLUB RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY HERE!

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This book tour was hosted by TLC Book Tours

Don’t forget to check out the other stops on this tour 🙂