The Last Drop of Hemlock is the second historical mystery featuring the prohibition era jazz club The Nightingale written by Katharine Schellman. Released 6th June 2023 by Macmillan on their Minotaur imprint, it's 336 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats.

This is a well written historical cozy(ish) mystery with an ensemble returning cast of characters and based on a fictitious New York City speakeasy during prohibition. There are a number of gender-fluid, bi-, and otherwise non-traditional presenting characters which was nice to see. The cast is also racially diverse and the story is blissfully without "token" representations. It might not be, strictly speaking, historically accurate, but it was refreshing to read. Other than the kindly wishful anachronistic diverse cast, the book seems to do a good, relatively accurate job with the official/police and political corruption of the time.

The central murder mystery revolves around the poisoning death of the uncle of the club's chanteuse, Bea. A series of threatening letters and thefts in the neighborhood sees the Nightingale's employees turn amateur sleuth. There's a significant romance subplot, so readers who enjoy romance and mystery will find a lot to love here. There's also an ancillary overarching multi-book mystery concerning the parentage and family history of two of the main characters, sisters Viv and Flo.

Despite being the second book in the series, it works well enough as a standalone, and the main mystery is resolved in this volume. The language is mostly accurate to the period and adds a lot to the read.

The unabridged audiobook format has a run time of 10 hours, 12 minutes and is well narrated by series narrator Sara Young. She has a warm and rich clear alto voice and does a good job delineating the widely varied accents of a range of characters of all ages and both sexes including elderly and young voices. Sound and production quality are high throughout the recording.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I love this era and this book definitely takes me there. I love the New York vibe, the mob connections, solving a mystery, and keeping everything "underground". This book was enjoyable and I recommend it to anyone who loves historical fiction plus mystery. I could easily see the Nightingale becoming the locale for a movie.

One Sentence Summary: When Bea’s uncle is found dead of an apparent suicide, she and Vivian aren’t quite sure, and Vivian volunteers to find out what happened, even if it places her and her sister in danger.

The Last Drop of Hemlock is the second in the Nightingale Mysteries series. It follows Vivian, a young woman in NYC in the 1920s with a day job delivery packages for a dressmaker’s shop and a night job as a waitress in her favorite speakeasy, as she gets tangled up in mysterious deaths. Here, her best friend Bea’s uncle has been found dead of an apparent suicide, but Bea doesn’t believe it. Vivian happens to have some connections she’s willing to use to get some information, and so gets tangled in this case and a much broader one. People all over their poor section of the city have been receiving mysterious notes asking them to hand over precious items, otherwise face death. It’s on Vivian’s periphery, until someone close to her receives a letter.

I’ll admit I don’t actually remember a whole lot from the first book, but I like the occasional book set in the 1920s, and I liked Vivian and Bea enough to want to find out what else they get themselves tangled up in, so I was happy to jump into this book. It starts off some time after the end of the first book and sees Vivian settled into her new night job at the Nightingale. The first book left off with a great deal unresolved between her and the Nightingale’s owner Honor and her and Leo, who just so happens to be the nephew of the police commissioner and who is just shy of this side of the law. I hated the way the romantic story lines left off in the first book, so I was hoping for some progress in this one. I also hoped for more of a feeling of the 1920s, and for more of Florence. Despite struggling a bit to get into this one, I felt like it really delivered on everything I wanted, and I was pleased when I wanted even more of the story after I finished the book.

I really like Vivian. She’s young, but not naive. Despite being the younger sister, she’ll do anything to protect Florence, as this book so clearly showed. And, because she’s the younger sister, she’s a lot more daring. I loved the delicate balance of her, of her precarious position in the life of a poor orphaned woman living in 1920s NYC living on the edge. She walks a respectable line during the daylight, delivering packages to wealthy women who aren’t always quite on the up and up themselves, but she also lives a life of danger frequenting and working at a speakeasy. I always wonder what she’ll do if she’s ever caught. The Last Drop of Hemlock has her acting with desperation to protect the people she loves, and I really loved getting that side of her. Her relationships with her sister, coworkers, and friends are all lovely, and I like how she throws herself into everything.

I’m really glad there was more of Florence in this one, and I enjoyed the strides she took. As the very respectable and proper sister, she works tirelessly as a dressmaker, which gets her into trouble later in the story even though she doesn’t even realize it. Since I identify more with her than Florence, I found myself really paying attention to her, and really enjoyed her time with Danny, a Chinese man who works as Honor’s right hand man and one of the Nightingale’s bartenders. They were absolutely adorable together, but I found Vivian’s reactions to it just rubbed me the wrong way. It was very nice to see Florence let down her hair, so to speak, a little and find some time to enjoy life.

The Last Drop of Hemlock does not forget the rest of the cast, and indeed has some great material for them. Bea is fantastic, pushing through her grief and doing what she can to take care of her family and get to the bottom of her uncle’s death. She’s so sweet, and so strong, and I would love to hear her sing. Danny is, as always, fantastic, and I loved getting to know him better. His character and his family really helped build the world of NYC in the 1920s in terms of what the Chinese immigrants had to deal with. I loved getting that history and seeing it play out. Honor felt like she was walking a very thin line, but I like how she projects a very in control aura. I can completely understand how seduced Vivian must be by her, but Honor has reservations despite wanting so much. I liked that she’s always there for Vivian, but she really does walk a thin line. Then there’s Leo. He operates just this side of the law, and is mostly just there whenever his uncle needs him for something. But Leo doesn’t really seem to care, as long as he gets his money and can enjoy life. I really liked how protective he is of Vivian and the lengths he’ll go to for her. He’s such a constant in her life, and I absolutely adored him. He’s fun-loving, but there’s definitely some depth to him.

One of my complaints about the first book was that the language didn’t really lean into the slang of the 1920s, and I struggled a bit to really feel it was the 1920s. While The Last Drop of Hemlock didn’t just completely turn around on it, I loved getting more of the slang and speech patterns, so definitely a step in the right direction for me. It was easier for me to believe this was the 1920s, and I liked getting to explore a new area and discovering new information. There was some really good world building in this book, and I hope future books keep building on it. This one really made me feel like I was stepping back in time.

The mystery initially appeared quite straightforward: figure out who killed Bea’s uncle. But that was just the start of the rabbit hole. They make some interesting discoveries in his rented room, and the local doctor brings some new information to their attention. People from all over the area have been receiving demanding notes, threatening death if the addressee doesn’t deliver. When a second death occurs, Vivian is mired even more, and works to figure out how the two are connected. And matters are made worse when Florence receives a note, causing them to go into hiding and Vivian to do things she shouldn’t have had to. Even though this mystery felt more straightforward, I also felt like the story lingered too much on certain parts and the mystery was kind of shoved into the background. I did enjoy it, but it also felt a little on the simple side. The twist, though, was fun, even if I guessed at it early on. It was fun to pick out potential early clues and piece it together.

There’s another mystery, one that seems to span across the whole series. Vivian and Florence were orphaned years before when their mother died and no family came forward to claim them. Since then Vivian has been searching for clues to her family, especially after meeting an elderly man who appeared to recognize her as her mother in the first book. The Last Drop of Hemlock nicely moved that story forward and drew Florence into it. I can’t wait to see what their next clue will hold, but I love how this helps lock the sisters together, and hopefully they can start to look for answers together.

The Last Drop of Hemlock was a fun romp in the 1920s with mysteries that kept my attention. I liked how they were twisted together, but didn’t actually have any bearing on each other. I adore the sisterly relationship between Vivian and Florence, and the romantic subplots took some nice steps forward. I felt there was more progress on all fronts in this book, and it’s made me very excited to see what’s next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for a review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Fun, atmospheric read which transports the reader to NYC in the roaring 20s. Well written and plotted, reader easily loses themselves on the story.

The Last Drop of Hemlock is set in New York City in the 1920s. This is the second in the series and, while it does work as a stand-alone, I think you get a much better feeling for the characters if you read them in order. Vivian and her sister, Florence, are poor, but better off than they used to be. The setting, from their tenement building to the club where Viv works to the street’s cities, felt real. I loved the details – the smells, the sights, the people.

The mystery was well done. In a city where everyone works by their own moral standards, some of which are more gray than others, there are plenty of suspects in the murder. And Vivian’s reasons for looking into the death make sense- they can’t trust the cops. She has to call in a favor or two and puts herself in a couple of dangerous positions, but it all feels in character.

It’s not a quick moving book. It takes time to walk through the streets, to talk to everyone, to spend some time dancing. It’s not that Viv takes her time, it’s that she has the rest of her life to live in addition to catching the killer. She can’t afford to take off work, but she does have friends and family on her side.

I listened to the audio and the narrator did a fabulous job bringing Vivian and New York City to life. The characters were easily distinguishable and you can just hear their attitudes in her voices. I’m looking forward to the next in the series.

The Last Drop of Hemlock by Katharine Schellman
Posted on July 10, 2023 by Carol Early Cooney

Dear Fellow Readers,

It is finally raining here. We have been in near drought conditions. While I am an unknowledgeable gardener, I know that the ground has been way too dry. There is something about the dirt turning to more of a powder when you go to plant than feeling like dirt. Hopefully, this rain will mean that I don’t have to water for a few days.


The Last Drop of Hemlock is not exactly a cozy mystery. While it has elements of a cozy, I think there is more scene setting and character development than I usually see in your typical “cozy”. It is a mystery that has a few twists and turns that will keep you guessing. The book takes place in New York during the Prohibition Era. Vivian Kelly is the main character. She lives with her sister, Florence, in a poor neighborhood. Vivian and Florence were trained as seamstresses while they were in foster care. Florence still works as a seamstress but Vivian works doing deliveries for the tailor shop during the day and as a cocktail waitress at the Nightingale speakeasy at night.

Vivian’s good friend, Bea is the singer at the speakeasy. One night Bea is distraught because her uncle, Posey, was found dead and the police say that he killed himself. Bea is sure that this is wrong and wants Vivian to help her prove it.

This request sends Vivian into the path of gangs of poisoners and thieves. While she is smart and clever, she needs her mysterious boss, Honor, to help her along with a speakeasy customer Lou. Lou has connections and is street-smart. He helps untangle the mystery with Vivian and is there when it seems that despite knowing who was responsible for most of the troubles, she can do nothing.

There are several loose ends that leave us ripe for the next book in the series.

This book was the second in the series. The first was Last Call at the Nightingale. I have not read that book. If you have read this blog before, you know that is not my style. I always try and read books in the correct sequence. I didn’t know there was another book. When I have some time, I would go back to read the first book in the series. I liked the book and would recommend it to you.

I was given this book in exchange for my unbiased review.

Thanks for reading!

I absolutely love this series!! I am not sure if all the different characters would have meshed the way they do in real life, but I love it!! It makes me hopeful for tomorrow. The mysteries are great. I liked that Florence was fleshed out a bit more in this one.

Even though I didn't read the previous book I really enjoyed this mystery. The characters were all really engaging and I loved the 20s atmosphere, especially the descriptions of the club. I also really enjoyed that the club was run by a woman and also that there were women gangsters. Women really didn't have a lot of rights during this time period so it was great to see two women that did have some measure of power even if it was based in the seedy underbelly of world. I would continue reading this series and would recommend it to anyone that loves a good murder mystery,

Vivian and Beatrice work at the Nightingale club, a backdoor club in NYC during prohibition. When Bea's Uncle Pearlie, a bouncer at the club, meets an untimely end, his death is labelled as a suicide. Not convinced that this is true, Vivian and Bea engage with some friends to try to find out the truth. Doing so puts them in harm's way!

This novel had a lot of action and suspense, and kept me on the edge of my seat. Readers who like historical novels with lots of suspenseful mystery and twisty plots will want to grab this one.

I received this novel from the publisher and from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Back at the Nightingale for another murder mystery! Vivian and Florence are at it to figure out Bea's uncle's death, but run into a scheme of threatening letters and the mob.

I liked the mystery aspect of this one in trying to figure out who was sending the threatening letters, but I wished it had more one the time period feel like the first book. Maybe I just wanted more of it taking place in the Nightingale.

Some nice character background development happen as well with Vivian and Florence trying to find out more about their mother, but I dominated the story a bit and interfered with concentrating on the mystery.

I hope the next book brings back more of the speakeasy feel!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this ARC for my honest review.

Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Pub. Date: June 6, 2023

“The Last Drop of Hemlock” is a throw-back gum shoe murder mystery. We are in NYC during the 1920s Jazz Age, and prohibition was the law. Mob bosses ruled the city with paid-off cops. Here, most of the action occurs in the hopping speakeasy/ jazz club, “The Nightingale.” I didn’t know this novel was a part of the “Nightingale Mysteries Series.” Still, I had no trouble following along. I thought I would lose myself in this novel because I love noir stories in books and films. I fell in love with them the first time I watched the 1947 film, “Out of the Past.” However, Katharine Schellman is no Mickey Spillane. The novel reads more as a cozy mystery then a “Sam Spade” and “Philip Marlowe” sort of book.

The book’s mystery is who murdered the uncle of the nightclub’s singer? Our sleuth and protagonist is Vivian. She lives with her sister, Florence, in a tenement apartment. The author gives us good examples of the working poor. By day, Vivian works for a dressmaker. By night, she is a cocktail waitress at the speakeasy. The story follows a string of individuals in the neighborhood, including the murdered uncle, who receive threatening letters demanding their valuables. In exchange for a family heirloom, they get to live.
At first, Vivian gets involved because she is friends with the singer. Then when her sister receives a letter, she will stop at nothing to keep her safe and learn who the letter writer/murderer is. Often her efforts to achieve her goal read a bit corny and most certainly are unbelievable. But I don’t think the author was going for reality. She aims to hook her audience in for a fun historical murder mystery—Think of a murder mystery dinner game.

If you are looking for romance, Vivian is caught in a love triangle with her female boss, who runs the Nightingale with an iron hand, and her male lover, who is the nephew of the corrupt police chief. He is more colorful than scary, one example of how this reads as a cozy mystery. I wanted more gumshoe and less cozy. Where was Robert Mitchum? I applaud the author for creating a bisexual heroine. The fact that the female characters in the novel call the shots rather than the men was a pleasant surprise to me. Plus, the author gives us a good look into the mix of ethnicities and backgrounds among the characters. Vivian is Irish. Other characters include Blacks, Jews, and Asians. It feels crammed in, but this was the melting pot reality of the 1920s, NYC’s population.
However, even being transported back to the roaring twenties could not sway my opinion on this one. If I went in knowing that this would be a cozy kind of detective story, I might have enjoyed the book more. But I was looking for more gumshoe and less cozy. For me, the novel reads like a champagne cocktail without the fizz.

Vivian Kelly is a working-class girl in Prohibition-era New York. Her fellow employees at the Nightingale look out for each other. So when singer Bea's uncle Pearlie dies, Vivian is determined to find out what happened to him. Her search leads to a crime ring that includes blackmail and poison. Will Vivian's family be the next victims?
Vivian is a strong and smart woman. I liked the storyline of her search for her parents. But the mystery wasn't quite as engaging as I hoped. And there were a lot of characters to keep track of. I might have enjoyed this story more if I had read the first book in the series.

The Last Drop of Hemlock by Katharine Schellman

I loved the first book of the Nightingale Mystery series so I was excited for book number 2. Vivian and her sister Florence are in danger yet again and must find their way through with the help of their friends.

The mystery is yet again very intriguing and brings in some new characters. And it feels like each of the characters grows and moves forward which is nice in this story continuation. I particularly liked Florence’s storyline this time!

Thanks to @netgalley and @minotaur_books for this advanced reader!

#BookReview #Bookstagram #KatharineSchellman #TheLastDropOfHemlock #MinotaurBooks #NightingaleMysteries #BookishLife #Reading #Bibliophile #BookPhotography #BookRecommendations #InstaBooks #BookNerd #ThrillerBooks #HistoricalFiction

"Life as a working-class girl in Prohibition-era New York isn’t safe or easy. But Vivian Kelly has a new job at the Nightingale, an underground speakeasy where the jazz is hot and the employees look out for each other in a world that doesn’t care about them. Things are finally looking up for her and her sister Florence... until the night Vivian learns that her friend Bea's uncle, a bouncer at the Nightingale, has died." It was a bit of mystery and murder. They didn't get to say what had happened because the evidence disappeared I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion of this book which I read and reviewed voluntarily.

Bea's uncle Pearlie dies suddenly, but Bea is unwilling to believe that he committed suicide, as authorities say. She asks Vivian to check into things, leading Viv to a series of other poor people who had received threatening letters forcing them to hand over precious possessions, and a few who died also of suicide. Viv discovers that those who refused to comply to the letter writer's demands were killed.

Viv also discovers, as she looks into things, that there are dirty cops mixed up, somehow, with the thefts, and things only get more serious when Viv's older sister Florence receives a letter. (Though the two have had problems, they're working to repair their relationship.)

The letter sends Viv into overdrive, figuring out how to protect Flo while more determined than ever to find the culprit. Viv stashes Flo at Danny's (the Nightingale's bartender) parents' place, but feels some qualms as she notices that both Danny and Flo are captivated by the other. Viv also gets into multiple violent situations before finding a resolution that leaves her somewhat shaken, but on a better footing with her sister.

I enjoyed this book even more than book one, perhaps because I was already familiar with the cast at the Nightingale and the sisters' friends.

Katherine Schellman does a great job fleshing out the 1920s setting, giving us a sense of the poverty, but also of the search for diversion, such as drinking and/or dancing at speakeasies like the Nightingale. The prevalence of criminal activity and the shadiness of Honor and others Viv spends time with also further flesh out the setting.

I loved how much the Viv and the other staff at the Nightingale supported each other, and how varied and interesting they all are.

I am also intrigued by the small positive development there was in the sisters' own mystery of what happened to their mother, and whether they have any living family in New York City. I'm looking forward to whatever Viv gets up to next.

Thank you to Netgalley and to St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my review.

The Last Drop of Hemlock is the second book in a Prohibition-era murder mystery series. The main heroine, Vivian Kelly, is a young woman who works in a fashionable speakeasy, the Nightingale. One night, the news spread through the club that one of their co-workers, Pearlie, has died by suicide. Pearlie is Vivian's best friend's Bea uncle. Bea asks Vivian to investigate his death because she believes someone killed him. Once Viviam starts to investigate the murder, she learns about several other very suspicious deaths in her neighborhood. And some people don't want Vivian to poke around with her investigation.

The Last Drop of Hemlock is a very entertaining mystery with a fascinating setting, a plucky heroine, shady characters, and a touch of romance (there is a love triangle). And notably, it is the first historical mystery series I've read with a Queer main heroine. I enjoyed it and look forward to the next installment.

This is a sequel to Last Call at the Nightingale. The wonderful characters we discovered in that book are back for another mystery. Vivian, Honor, Leo, Bea and Florence return along with Danny and some other characters we met before. The same exciting pace flows through this book as Vivian once again sees an injustice and cannot stop herself from asking too many questions. Her friends gather around her as her nosiness results in a cadre of people being after her. I enjoyed this one as much as the first. I felt at home with the familiar characters but this could be a stand alone book with ease.


I received an ARC from St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books/Dreamscape Media through NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book. I am voluntarily submitting this review and am under no obligation to do so.

Thanks so much to the author and Minotaur Books (St. Martin's Press) for the gifted advanced copy of this book, as well as to Netgalley for the gifted e-copy, in exchange for my honest thoughts. All opinions are entirely my own. { partner } My reviews can also be found on Instagram @Tackling_TBR and on my blog at tacklingtbr.home.blog

TW: death/murder, some violence, robbery, blackmail/threatening letters

After loving Last Call at the Nightingale, the first in this Nightingale Mysteries series, so much and so recently, I had very high hopes for this book - and while I don't think I loved it quite as much as the first, I'm glad to say that I was not disappointed!

This book picks up a little while after the events of the first book, I believe only a few months or so afterwards, but I will say that I believe this book could likely be enjoyed as a standalone story as well. There is enough background on the characters and relationships from the first book present in this one that I think you'd pick up any information you need if you were to read them out of order.

So let's get into it - I LOVED the story and mystery in this book! In fact, I think that I might have preferred the mystery being solved in this book over the one in Last Call at the Nightingale. Part of that may be that I already loved the characters and settings so I felt more able to really lean into it in this book, or partially because those characters and settings are a bit more established and on display in this one. Either way, it really worked for me!

What didn't work for me quite as much in this one was the pacing. The first book was a bit of a slow-moving mystery as well, but this one felt a bit slow even in comparison. It took me a while to get through this book - not because I was bored or wasn't interested in what was happening, but just because I sometimes had a hard time turning to this one after a long day at work when my brain was already tired, if that makes sense. I don't mind a slower read if I'm enjoying it, so this didn't ruin the book or the experience for me by any means, but it did knock off a star for me.

Overall I would absolutely recommend this book (and series) to my friends and fellow readers. I think that the best way to read this book would be sitting somewhere with jazz playing softly in the background, and drinking a French 75 - and not just because it's my favorite cocktail, but it's a favorite of a few of our favorite Nightingale characters as well! It only feels right.

This was such an engaging historical fiction mystery book! I loved the writing in it and all the diverse characters that the authors incorporates.

The Last Drop of Hemlock opens with a rumor racing through the Nightingale, a Jazz-era club in New York. The news is confined to the staff-one of their own is dead. The victim is Pearlie Henry, uncle of the Nightingale’s popular singer Bea (Beatrice) Henry. His death is ruled a suicide by Dr. Harris, the physician dedicated to taking care of those living in the poorer sections of the city. But Bea is sure her uncle didn’t commit suicide. Her best friend, Vivian Kelly, a waitress at the club, vows to help her friend find the truth. As she investigates, she discovers a large sum of money is missing from Pearlie’s room. He also has clothing he couldn’t afford on what he made from the Nightingale. How was Pearly making his money and did it lead to his death? But in Prohibition New York, where trying to find the truth means running up against a corrupt justice system more interested in protecting its own illegal activities than justice, the truth may be impossible to find.
Schellman draws the reader deep into Prohibition New York with her use of historical detail and well-rounded characters who clearly belong in this world. I was fairly sure of the murderer’s identity partway through the book, but the how and the why kept me guessing until the end.
If you’re interested in the dark side of the Jazz Age in New York as well as a solid who-done-it, then I recommend The Last Drop of Hemlock.