Velvet Was the Night

Velvet Was the Night is the latest mystery thriller by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and is just as atmospheric as her other books.

Maite is alone. She lives alone, dreams alone, and feels judged and ignored by her family. To distract herself from this reality, she reads romance comics and listens to records of American music. Her collection is large and gives her an escape and adds a flavor and drama to her life that she doesn’t get otherwise. Her job doesn’t pay well, her car is stuck in the shop because she doesn’t have enough money to pay for it, and she spends what little money she has on things that make her happy. Then one day her neighbor comes to her asking if she could watch and feed her cat for her for a couple days, and while Maite would rather not do that, she could use the money and also add to her collection of stolen goods.

Elvis is a member of the Hawks. A group that has a role in bringing a certain kind of violence to things. There are reporters to punch, cameras to break, and people to watch and intimidate. He works for El Mago, a man who has control and poise to a T. Elvis wants to impress him and be a favorite of his, His eagerness to prove himself lands him a leader role among his group. When tasked with staking out and watching a woman, he gathers himself and does his best to lead the team. But like most things, there’s more going on with this story and soon Elvis is digging deeper and deeper and finds himself in situations that could end with his demise.

This mystery thriller was interesting. I really enjoyed the setting, it’s in a town in Mexico that is on the poorer side, but is also bustling. I also enjoyed how much music played a role in this, I’m always a fan for music in books and this was no exception. On the whole though this didn’t do much for me. I found myself having a hard time getting through it and even picking it up. I had the time to read it, but not the motivation. Compared to the other novel by Silvia, I found this one to be a little lacking in the intensity. For a thriller to lack intensity is a miss for me.

I still have faith that I will find a book by this author that I really love so I will continue to pick up her books. Because there is something intriguing about her stories and I do want to keep reading them. Let me know what you thought of this book or if you have any recommendations for books by this author.