Marion Brooks has always wanted to dance but even though she is obviously talented, her family discourages, pushing her toward a "normal" life as a homemaker and mother. When she is hired to be a Rockette, instead of being happy for her, her father threatens to disown her. Marion decides to follow her dream and loves being a Rockette, but a serial bomber attacks the theater with dire consequences for her family. The police discount Marion's information because she is a woman but she is determined to force them to listen to a psychologist who has a theory about the bomber.
Like the author's previous books, this is a well-researched story that centers on a famous building in New York. Lots of history about the famed Rockettes of Radio City, with information about their dance/precision style. Dual timelines follow the story in 1956 and 1992. Anyone who enjoys dance or crime fiction will enjoy this very readable historical novel.

I was swept away by this new release from author Fiona Davis.

The story takes place in New York City in the late 1950s, with the glamour and grit of the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall, the terror and trepidation of a city bomber, and the determination and devotion of a young woman finding her way.

The sparkling cover drew me in, and the strong story kept me reading and reading and reading. This book has a little bit of everything: drama, romance, humor, mystery.

I consider it a must-read for historical fiction fans!

The Spectacular by Fiona Davis is a poignant story of a woman in the 50’s who cannot yet be independent of her family. Her name is Marion. She has gotten fired from her job as a dance teacher for not being rigid enough and on a whim auditions for The Radio City Rockettes, and as luck would have it, is hired. Although likable and popular, she is not destined to be there as the goal of the Rockettes is conformity. Everyone must look the same. She always kicks a little higher or opens her hands a little wider. She is making inroads into a relationship with her estranged sister, who is as opposite her as possible, when the bomber that has been plaguing the city for 16 long years, detonates a bomb at a performance, and as luck would have it, is sitting next to her sister and she dies. This devastates Marion and makes her chances of reconciling with her father even more remote than they had been. Then, tragedy strikes at home, at the same time she is offered a job as a choreographer, which will turn into her life-long obsession. It is a moving story, full of the things that happen in families, and with those we love. Especially then.

The story is told in two timelines: the mid-fifties, and 1992, although the bulk of the story is 1956. Marion has made some good friends at Radio City and has fallen in love, although that didn’t work out. She didn’t understand why. Her friend, Peter Griggs, a young psychologist has opened a whole new profession as a profiler, something heretofore unknown but helped catch the bomber and then left to work for the FBI. There is plenty of angst in the story as well as some actual danger. The most important thing is the longing of a person to do what their heart tells them to do, in this case, dance. There is some backstory for both Marion and Peter that makes the whole story even sadder. It takes us back to a time when life was different. Maybe better? Maybe not.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of The Spectacular by Penguin Group Dutton, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #PenguinGroupDutton #FionaDavis #TheSpectacular

Marion has been fired from her dance teacher job. So, on a whim, she decides to try out for the Rockettes. And she makes it…but now she has to face her father. He is bound and determined that she marry and settle down and none of this “dance girl” mess.

As you can guess, Marion is a fabulous character. And KUDOS to her for following her dream. But, there is more to this tale than just dancing. There is a bomber on the loose. And it has connections to Marion’s father. Then disaster strikes! It changes everything!

Well, I will say, I rounded this up. This is more of a 4.5 star read. It is a bit predictable and in some places, unrealistic. BUT…the history in this tale is so dang good. I loved learning about the Rockettes! And the bomber! Yes, there actually was one in the 50s blowing up places in NYC.

No one incorporates history into fiction quite like Fiona Davis. Nor does any one do NYC quite like Fiona Davis and she definitely has me wanting to visit again soon.

Need a great story surrounding the Rockettes…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

Fiona Davis is quickly becoming a favorite author for me. The Spectacular had me hooked from the first page and I could not put it down.

I have always been fascinated by the Rockettes. The precision, the dances, the kicks, the costumes. I would love to see them live one day. This inside look at how it all comes together was fantastic and her research shines.

Marion Brooks making it to the Rockettes and her struggles to remain there against the wishes of her family was so well written. I felt for Marion.

As the attacks of the Big Apple Bomber hit closer and closer to home, Marion is faced with hard decisions and a need for answers. Peter’s work to help profile and catch the bomber was fascinating as well.

I enjoyed every part of this story. The family dynamics, the struggles of Marion, the struggles and ultimately the peace Marion has to make with events in the story deeply touched my heart. I didn’t want this book to end.

Thank you to Penguin Group Dutton for the copy of this book. All views are my honest opinion.

Marion Brooks dreams of a career in dance. But in her 1950s home her father’s word is law, and Simon Brooks believes that the only jobs suitable for women are nurse, teacher or secretary. Her older sister Judy has followed that path, joining him in the executive suite of Met Power as his dutiful assistant. Meanwhile, nineteen year-old Marion teaches ballet and thinks wistfully of her late mother Lucille, who encouraged her dreams in ways that Simon never would. Simon, as a matter of fact, would be happiest if she would forget about a career altogether and marry her high school sweetheart Nathaniel, who seems totally on board with Simon’s plans for Marion to spend all her energies on cultivating a tasteful home for her husband and eventual children.

After Marion discovers a cache of playbills in the attic that indicate that Lucille wasn’t just the perfectly happy housewife of Simon’s lectures, she engages in possibly her first ever act of rebellion, joining a frenemy from work at the open auditions for the world-famous Rockettes:

QUOTE
“What are you doing here?” Vanessa’s eyes were narrow, suspicious.

The answer couldn’t be easily explained. That this was Marion’s way of reclaiming what had been lost? Not only her mother, but the chance to become a professional dancer, the opportunity to pursue what she loved. Or was it a petty rebellion against her father for [treating her] like she was a child, and not telling her and Judy the truth about Lucille, and against Nathaniel for the cavalier way he assumed she would abandon dance once she was married?
END QUOTE

Marion figures that auditioning will be her final hurrah before accepting Nathaniel’s proposal and settling down back in Bronxville, so no one is more surprised than she is when she makes the cut. Joining the Rockettes is far more glamorous and grueling than Marion ever imagined, and she loves every minute of it. Unfortunately, if unsurprisingly, her father doesn’t see things in the same way, and practically throws her out. With the help of friends whom she quickly makes from within the ranks of her fellow Rockettes and associates, she begins to learn what it means to be independent, even as she does her best to make amends with her family.

But hovering over all their lives is the threat of a criminal who’s been terrorizing the city for well over a decade now:

QUOTE
For the past sixteen years, starting in 1940, someone had been planting pipe bombs around New York City, in subway stations, department stores, theaters, even Grand Central Terminal. The newspapers called the culprit the Big Apple Bomber and so far, a dozen people had been injured, some seriously. The very first bomb was planted in a toolbox at a Met Power compound on Sixty-Fourth Street, with a note reading, <i>Met Power crooks–this is for you</i>. That one hadn't gone off. But since then, the bomber had expanded his reach and his skill, setting off explosions in well-populated places like the Port Authority and Grand Central, something repeating the same target years later. And now he’d hit the library. Even worse, the madman’s pace was picking up.
END QUOTE

When the Big Apple Bomber strikes during a Rockettes performance at Radio City Music Hall, resulting in a terrible death, Marion is spurred to do whatever she can to put a stop to him. The police barely register an interest in her theories even though she was an eyewitness to the crime. With the help of a psychiatrist friend, she figures out a way to track down the killer, going to extraordinary lengths to capture him while juggling, not altogether successfully, her hectic schedule as a dancer. Sacrificing her career in the pursuit of justice is one thing. What else will our driven heroine be forced to give up to ensure that the Bomber never kills again?

This fictionalized account of real events is everything I’ve ever wanted from a historical mystery! Marion is a deeply sympathetic, multi-layered heroine, who reminds me of being nineteen myself and yearning for a bigger world than was on my own horizon. The anecdotes regarding the Rockettes were also incredibly entertaining. Just as gripping, but for different reasons, was the depiction of the Big Apple Bomber, modeled after the real life George Metesky, whose grudge against the Con Edison power company led to the terrorization of an entire city. The investigation into his bombings was one of the first that used psychological profiling to narrow down the suspect list. While Marion’s role in the apprehension of the version in this book is fictional, it does echo the self-effacing efforts of Alice Kelly, the Con Edison clerk who scoured personnel files till she uncovered Metesky’s identity.

Of course, Marion’s investigations involve a lot more drama than merely going through documents – though she definitely does some of that, too! The events of The Spectacular build from what really happened to tell a heartbreaking story of determination and discovery, with more than a dash of derring-do. With a swoon-worthy romance included, this tremendous novel has leapt on to my list of Best Books of 2023. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it made its way on to yours, too.

This story takes place in New York City in the 50s. Marion Brooks is 19 years old and her boyfriend is about to propose. She is a dancer who teaches dance when she gets fired. On a whim, she auditions for the NYC Rockettes and wins a coveted spot on the team. At the same time, NYC is dealing with a series of bombings by the "Big Apple Bomber." She meets up with Peter Griggs, a young doctor at a local mental hospital who has been trying to use psychological profiling. As the search for the bomber heats up, Marion and Peter are pulled into the search.

I really enjoyed this story! It pulled me in from the beginning with a mystery and the history of dancing as a Rockette and 50's NYC. Another gem of a story from Fiona Davis!

In 1956, women were expected to give up their careers to marry and raise children or work as secretaries or nurses if they remained single. In spite of extreme pressure from her father and boyfriend, Marion Brooks pursues her passion for dancing and becomes one of the famous Radio City Rockettes. Her sister Judy is more compliant and works as their father’s secretary. When Marion is forced to move out of her home for defying her father and continuing to dance, she attempts to reconcile with Judy. Unfortunately, Judy becomes a victim of the Big Apple Bomber when he strikes Radio City just as Judy has agreed to attend one of Marion’s performances. Believing that the police are mishandling their pursuit of the bomber, Marion teams up with Peter, a psychiatric resident who is developing his theories on criminal profiling and together, they begin their own dangerous investigation.
Fiona Davis once again gives us an interesting story based on true events around a NYC landmark. Her research is so thorough and I really enjoyed this story that otherwise seems lost in history. I appreciate that she portrayed the difficulties that women had during this time period in pursuing careers in entertainment. The book was fast paced and the mix of historical content around the Rockettes and criminal profiling came together very well. I did think that some of the story was somewhat over the top - Marion’s father was a bit too extreme in his beliefs around women and Marion’s theatrical capture of the bomber too unrealistic. But overall, the book was entertaining and informative.
#NetGalley #PenguinGroupDutton

I have only recently discovered books by Fiona Davis, so I was happy to get an advanced reader copy of The Spectacular from NetGalley. I loved the way the history of the Rockettes was woven throughout the story. Marion is such a strong character who is determined to reach her goals to be a dancer, despite family resistance and danger from a bomber. This is a great book, and I highly recommend it!

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒓
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲: historical fiction meets detective play, Radio City Rockettes
𝗣𝘂𝗯 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲: June 13 (this coming Tuesday!)

"𝗔 𝗥𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗱𝗼𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲? 𝗜 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝘂𝗼 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗳 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗜 𝘀𝗮𝘄 𝗼𝗻𝗲."

I’m not really a historical fiction reader. I tend to avoid the genre mostly because I feel like they’re mostly emotionally heavy books and my heart’s too weak for them but when I went to my first Fiona Davis event and hear her talk about Magnolia Palace - I’m telling you, I was immediately hooked!

I love how she picks famous NYC landmarks and uses them as the main background for her stories. For this book, she picked Radio City and our female lead is a Rockette! And wow I just love learning about the history of this iconic building - ghosts included! It took me so long to get through the first 100 pages because I kept looking up Rockettes’ routines whenever it gets mentioned in the book so I can visualize it clearly and it’s so interesting to read about how much work they put in for these performances! The Wooden Soldier performance is 🤯😍

And when the mystery part of the book got introduced, that was it. I couldn’t put the book down anymore! I love that this story was loosely inspired by the first criminal profiling case in history and it was so interesting to read about it all. I’m glad that there’s a great highlight of the importance of mental health as well.

There’s some hint of a romance storyline and it was honestly adorable. I feel like I’m listening to one of my elderly patient’s love story. 💗

Fiona Davis is definitely an autobuy author for me and I can’t wait to go see her at a book event this month and talk more about this book!!

Thank you so much @duttonbooks for sending me a copy!!

💭 What’s your favorite form of performance art?
☕️ I love Broadway and concerts 💗

💭If you feel like sharing how your grandparents met, please lmk in the comments! I’d love to hear it. :)

In 1950s Manhattan, Marion was selected to be one of the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall. She joins despite her father’s wishes for her to settle down and marry her boyfriend. As she’s living her dream, a terrible tragedy occurs when the Big Apple Bomber plants a bomb in Radio City Music Hall that goes off during one of Marion’s performances. Marion becomes involved in solving the case of who this person is that has been planting bombs around Manhattan for 16 years.

I love how Fiona Davis writes historical fiction novels about famous landmarks in New York and have adored her writing since I first read one of her books. This setting might be my favorite - I mean who doesn’t love the magic of the Rockettes? The element of mystery around the Big Apple Bomber made this book a bit different from Fiana’s previous works and I was here for it. There are also a few chapters that occur during the 90s that show us glimpses into Marion’s future that I enjoyed. This book is another great one from Fiona Davis!

Thanks to Dutton Books and NetGalley for the advance copy.

I loved the mystery aspect of this book intertwined with the story of a girl growing into herself and fighting to become independent. Fiona Davis did a great job of bringing the character of Marion to life and I loved the details of what it’s like to be a Rockette and the gruelling hours they work. A great story and a book I would definitely recommend.

I love the way Fiona Davis tells her stories about real times/places in New York via dual timelines, but this story about a former Rockette solving a murder didn't live up to my usual expectation. It felt a little flimsy on the present (1992 timeline) compared to the past (1956 timeline). This book was a slow build and I preferred the second half of the book where the focus was on the developing field of psychological profiling. The ending felt a bit rushed and kind of anticlimactic. Interesting but not a must read.

Marion has managed to pass the difficult auditions to become a Rockette. As she learns the choreography and gets to know her fellow dancers, she realizes she can make a career doing something she loves. However, her dad is strongly against Marion continuing with dancing and demands that she return home and marry her boyfriend. Her father is also an executive at the same company that a serial bomber has been mentioning in the notes they leave at each bombing. When a bombing impacts Marion, she teams up with a new acquaintance Peter, who is a doctor working on profiling. Together they profile and investigate the bomber's identity, all while dealing with her father's increasing insistence that she quit her job. Overall, an interesting mystery about a string of bombings set in 1950s New York. The background on the Rockettes was the strongest part of the book and the ending tied up the plotlines well.

adventurous dark informative mysterious medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

I love Fiona Davis’ historical novels and was excited to receive the ARC from #Netgalley for “The Spectacular.” It was fun reading about the origins of The Rockettes and Radio City Music Hall.

Marion’s excitement and the disciplined energy of following that kind of dream was impressive particularly when it is clear that she must also make emotional sacrifices.

The back story tackles the expectations of women and the traps that were set when they didn’t follow a path that benefitted a patriarchal system. I loved Marion’s strength and determination even as she struggled with losing the support of her father (who in my reading was an unsympathetic character). I also appreciated the love story angles and how they played out.

There were several less preferred elements in this particular novel. One of Davis’ skills is writing a duel timeline. In this case, it felt a little more forced . . . Like the 1992 section could have been an epilogue. And while I was fascinated about the Big Apple Bomber, the extent of Marion and Peter’s investigation felt far fetched - particularly because of their very demanding work schedules. Finally, the characters in 1992 were written in a way that made them feel so old. I was shocked to realize they were only in their mid-50s.

Overall, this was a worthwhile book though not my favorite by the author. I thoroughly enjoyed the final chapters and felt like it was a very satisfying (if bittersweet) ending. And of course the author’s note always adds a helpful fact vs fiction account.

Side note - As someone who lived in the NYC area during the 1993 World Trade Center Bombing and the 9/11 attacks, I was interested to learn through this book about the 16 year 32 bomb spree that happened in NYC.

I mean, this is @fionadavis so we all know that it’s going to be perfection. But I gotta say, I’m thinking this is her best one so far! Fans of Fiona Davis know that each of her books are set in an NYC landmark, and this time we get Radio City Music Hall…and the Rockettes!! We learn all about being a Rockette as we follow Marion audition for the dance troupe and (spoiler alert) make it in. Then she becomes an amateur sleuth while trying to solve the mystery of the Big Apple Bomber with her new friend and budding criminal profiler. As you may know, the author has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and it makes a surprising appearance in the book. This hit a little differently for me than it may for most readers as my mother in law died of Parkinson’s a few weeks before reading this story. Davis’s description of the disease, its progression, and what the doctor’s advice mirrored our own experience and made me set the book down and take a deep breath. This may not be a significant part of the book for most readers, but for those of us who have loved ones with the disease it may be pretty powerful. I will certainly be thinking of Fiona Davis and her family as they continue on their journey with this horrible, horrible disease.

The best part of the book was the historical setting, around a woman who was a Rockette in the 50’s at Radio City Music Hall. The plot was interesting and evolved into a fictional mystery about the true New York City bomber. Some real Nancy Drew vibes. The writing was a little flat at times, specifically with the dialogue. Overall though, I liked it and it was an easy read and I’d like to read more by this author.

If I'm going to read historical fiction, which is rare, I want Fiona Davis to write it. I loved The Lions of Fifth Avenue so I expected to enjoy The Spectacular as well, and I sure did! My mom and I are huge fans of the Rockettes, traveling to NYC to see them about a decade ago, and we always make sure to text each other when we see them on TV. This book follows an unexpected Rockette, Kitty, and her determination to find the Big Apple Bomber, inspired by true events. It's a glamorous book, a nostalgic book, and one that centers a young woman's tenacity, which is what I love about the author. I ended up preordering a copy to send to my mom!

Thank you to the publisher for a free netgalley!

As usual, Fiona Davis does not disappoint. I will say, I highly enjoyed the fact that this one stayed in the past for long periods. Sometimes the constant switching in dual timelines gets annoying.

However, Davis does the opposite here keeping us mostly in the past. And it was so well done. I enjoyed reading about the Rockettes and I enjoyed our main character a lot. Peter was a great character in the story and I kept picturing Q from the new Bond movies 🤣

Definitely recommend this one!

Most of the action here is set in 1950s NYC. 19yo Marion who wants to be a dancer, but whose father envisions a very different kind of life for her. When Marion is fired from her job teaching ballet, she spontaneously decides to audition to be a Rockette and lands a coveted spot. The best parts of this book are the insights into the life and training of a Rockette, but also woven in are snippets into NY history and criminal profiling.