This is book 2 in a series. I did not read book 1, and feel this works fine as a standalone.

We are dropped right into the Nightingale, a speakeasy in New York during Prohibition.

This book is filled with strong women - Vivian is a cocktail waitress at Nightingale, Bea is a singer at the club and Vivian's bestie, Honor owns the club and she was slightly scary!

Pearlie, Bea's uncle, worked at the club as a bouncer. When he is found dead, it is ruled suicide. Bea knows this can't be true and enlists the help of Vivian to help her investigate. Vivian turns to Leo, her firend who is the nephew of the police commissioner, to help.

They find some missing money and a mysterious bottle of alcohol in Pearlie's room. The coroner confirms that the alcohol they found contains a large amount of arsenic.

People are receiving letters demanding money and then some are turning up dead. Florence, Vivian's sister - who is a bit of an innocent - also receives a letter with instructions to steal a jewel covered dress from her place of employment.

Vivian continues to investigate and takes us along for the ride.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Dreamscape Media for an ARC and an ALC in exchange for my honest review!

I was so excited to get back to the Nightingale, as I absolutely adored my first trip there. This trip was enjoyable, but not to the same level.

The difference this time is mainly how I didn’t feel as in depth into the story as I did in book one. I felt like I was there and part of it whereas this time it felt like I was an outsider looking in. While this is still an enjoyable way to read a book, I definitely didn’t get sucked in like I had expected to - and maybe that’s why as well, I expected it.

I try not to go into books with expectations but I definitely did this time. I still enjoy it and still recommend.

3.5⭐️ thanks NetGalley for the audiobook!

Having read the beginning of Last Call at the Nightingale in an earlier Minotaur sampler and subsequently picking up a copy of that book after publication, I was looking forward to reading more about Vivian's adventures in murder at the club. I both read and listened to The Last Drop of Hemlock and found that I preferred the print version since I definitely had my own idea from the first book about the feel of the club and what Vivian and the others were like. I enjoyed the interaction with Vivian and her bestie, Bea and I love that Honor is a strong female character who owns the bar during that period. The murder mystery was good and I'm already looking forward to the next story. Thank you to Minotaur, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for the early access in exchange for my honest opinion.

I enjoyed the story and the mystery. The roaring twenties were such an interesting time! I did think the narrator’s voice was a bit soft both for the listener and the character but otherwise I enjoyed the audiobook!

Vivian Kelly, a barmaid at the local speakeasy, The Nightingale, is entangled in another mystery. In the first of the Nightingale Mysteries, Vivian frequents The Nightingale to escape the drudgery of her seamstress life and finds the dead body behind the club. Vivian is in quite a bit of danger from the underworld and the city's wealthy in the first mystery. In The Last Drop of Hemlock, Vivian's friend's, Bea, uncle was poisoned. Was this accidental or suicide or something more sinister? Bea doesn't believe her uncle would commit suicide and believes that some nefarious is afoot. Vivian begins to investigate and learns that many poor tenants in her neighborhood are being blackmailed for their few valuable possessions. This mystery will keep the reader asking questions until the end, it's well paced and I enjoyed the characters and the setting of Prohibition era NYC. I do recommend reading the first book before reading the 2nd for character development.
I enjoyed the narration, the narrator was well spoken.
I picked up this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest interview.

The Last Drop of Hemlock
by Katharine Schellman
Narrator, Sara Young
Thanks to NetGalley
Sorry to say I did not love this book and will not be going back to listen to the first book in the series. I have really enjoyed the Lily Adler series by this author and will continue with it.
I did like some of the characters but not enough to make up for the lackluster storyline. It just didn’t work for me.
Plus, the worst thing was the narrator. If I had realized this was someone I had listened to before and did not like then I would never have requested this audiobook. She has a problem with pronunciation sometimes and I prefer characters to have different voices and accents where appropriate. In this book she pronounced the name Bea to rhyme with Leah. That sounded ridiculous to me. I will look out for and avoid her work in future.

I listened to this book before reading the first one, Last Call at the Nightingale. I enjoyed it thoroughly even though I didn’t have much of the background. I loved the setting of New York in the 1920s. Loved that Vivian was a "detective" on the case to find her best friend’s uncle’s poisoner. There were so many surprises. Can’t wait to read the first one and read more of Katharine Schellman.

Enjoyed the narration of this book!

Set in 1920's NewYork With Vivian and her friends trying to solve some theft and murder.
Drama, twists, suspense little history of the times and slight romance..
Voluntarily reviewed.
Good narrarion and narrator enjoyed listening.

A great and atmospheric historical mystery! Set in 1920s New York, it was really enjoyable to read about an array of characters - from those working in speakeasies, to the heads of criminal
enterprises, crooked cops, and everyday seamstresses.

I love that the characters are complex and that “good” and “bad” are somewhat subjective at times. I really enjoyed that Vivian’s sister Florence finally seems to loosen up and be able to enjoy life a bit (a tough task for a seamstress living in a tenement at the time).

The storyline felt slow to me at times, but it was a fun read, and the ending piqued my interest for what is to come in the next installment.

While this could be read alone, I suggest reading the books in order as you miss out on a lot of the explanation for how individuals are connected and what they have gone through together.

The audiobook narrator was great, and I’m glad they didn’t feel the need to include cheesy “New York” accents.

Thanks to #Netgalley and #dreamscapemedia for this ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

The Last Drop of Hemlock AUDIO by Katharine Schellman was an intriguing prohibition-era mystery centered around poor, working people in New York City. Vivian worked at two jobs: one as a delivery person for a dressmaker, and the second, as a cocktail waitress in a speakeasy. The owner of the place was a woman, Honor, with whom Vivian had an on-again, off-again relationship. She lived with her sister, Florence, in a tenement apartment. Her sister was much more conservative than Vivian and worked as a seamstress. Her best friend was Bea, a singer at the club. Bea’s uncle Pearlie was a bouncer at the same club and an all-around nice guy. All of a sudden he ended up dead. It seems he had a stash of money and he had gotten a threatening letter. The money was gone and he was dead. Then Vivian became aware of others who had gotten similar letters, threats if the only thing they had of value was not turned over. This was beyond what Vivian could put up with, especially when one arrived at her house, she assumed, for Florence.

These were interesting characters and this book opened a window into this era. The characters were an amalgam of ethnicities and backgrounds. Vivian was Irish. Some were Black, some Jewish, others Asian, some indeterminate. It opened up some insight into the beliefs and lives of these people than would be difficult to obtain in just one book. It truly was a melting pot. The plot was good. The murderer was someone no one would suspect but who was the logical answer. Vivian nearly got herself killed, but in the process challenged some of her own prejudices and expectations. It was well-written and a challenging listen.

Sara Young was the reader and very good but maybe not the ideal choice for this book. Her voice was too vanilla, ignoring the possibilities presented with the plethora of accents and ethnicities. She was clear and concise, however, and easy to listen to.

I was invited to listen to an e-AUDIO of The Last Drop of Hemlock by Dreamscape, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #Dreamscape #KatharineSchellman #SaraYoung #TheLastDropOfHemlock

This second in the series is another light mystery read. It’s entertaining enough and good for a background listen for or driving. If you miss a few minutes it’s pretty easy to pick right up where the narrator is rather than really needing to go back and listen to every detail. The characters are likable.

Oh boy, I have a lot of feelings about this one. Let’s start with the good things; firstly, this love triangle is one of the most true to life, human reflections of the messiness of romance i’ve read. It’s honestly and real and I appreciate that. I also loved the heists in this!! Florence getting a li’l bit of romance also made my heart sing :) The stakes were so high in this, and I was very surprised by the reveal of who the bad guy was.

The less good: I wish Schellman had allowed Bea to stand on her own two feet more. While I felt the fights between Vivian and Bea were well done, I wish Schellman had allowed Bea the freedom to resolve her own issues in her relationships, rather than having Vivian do the dirty work for her. It felt a little contrived.

Ultimately, I had a lot of fun reading this! Second books in a series are hard, especially when it comes to mystery series because you have to grapple with living up to the standard and expectations of the first book while still needing to surprise your readers in just the right ways. Excellent work.

Representation: Black woman side character, bisexual MC, lesbian love interest

spice level: none

tw: lots of murder, blackmail, robbery, loss of heirlooms, threats of gun violence, discussion of gambling addiction

Thank you to Katharine Schellman, Sara Young, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to a free eaudiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I got the first book, Last Call at the Nightingale, from the library and listened to it a few months ago, but it didn't make much of an impression considering I remember nothing about it. But I like Schellman's other series, the Lily Adler mysteries, so I decided to give this second installment a go despite the first book.

The verdict? It was okay. It held my attention and I liked most of the characters well enough, though I didn't care for the love triangle among Viv, Honor, and Leo, not because I'm against same-sexness, but because I really didn't like Honor. She's super wishy washy, I don't trust her. She also oozes self-preservation, and I'm convinced she would break Viv's heart. I'm not sure Leo's a truly safe bet, either, but at least Viv knows where she stands with him. He's not standoffish and wary.

The blossoming relationship between Flo and Daniel was adorable, I'm behind that 100%. And I found it really relatable that Viv was jealous; well, I'm not sure she was so much jealous as scared. If Flo and Daniel were to marry, it would mean a significant change to Viv's life.

The mystery was intriguing. I remained suspicious of Alma but didn't see the ultimate truth coming. The whole blackmailing-by-note premise actually reminded me of Sarah Eden's Dread Penny Society series. I think it was in the Merchant and the Rogue that people were being blackmailed and horrible things happening if they didn't do as they were told. In general it's hardly a new scheme, I suppose.

Unfortunately, I don't think roaring 20s/prohibition era New York is my cup of tea. Neither is the nightclub scene. So while the characters and the mystery appealed, the setting watered down my enjoyment. It's not a bad book, just not entirely to my taste.

Sara Young was an excellent narrator.

I do not care for Vivian and she's annoying enough that I don't care to finish. Love triangles are such a waste of paper

It's such an interesting story. I've never read the first book, and I definitely want to now. I loved the story and the plot. I thought I knew who did it only to have the twist throw me completely off. I didn't see the reveal coming. I loved the setting and all the characters. The characters were very interesting. The ending was also amazing. I just couldn't get over it. Can't wait to read the first book as well as the next one.

For some reason I really struggled to connect to this story and the characters, I just felt I didn't really feel the need to read on or had any interest in the story. However I know my opinion is very different to others and many people will love this.

What a wild ride through prohibition era New York City! I really enjoyed this follow-up to Last Call at the Nightingale.

I was a little confused by the title at first, since Pearlie died of arsenic poisoning. Don’t worry though, hemlock does eventually come into play.

It was interesting to see the ongoing tension between Vivian and her possible romantic interests Honor and Leo. I’m usually not a big fan of love triangles, but this one is fascinating. There are several nuances in play when you consider that Honor is an older woman and Leo is a man closer to Vivian’s age, especially since both Honor and Leo have criminal tendencies.

The audiobook is narrated by Sara Young. I enjoyed her performance and thought it was well-suited to Vivi and her story.

Oh my goodness this audiobook was so good it was hard to stop! It was completely enthralling, and I loved it!

Super cute cozy mystery! I love the 1920’s/Speakeasy vibes and how they even talked for that time.
I enjoyed the different relationships because all the characters from friendships to relationships. Loves of different characters at play but the author did a great job helping the reader navigate it.
Narrator seemed to struggle with doing all the different voices but aside from that she did a great job giving the character life.
I enjoyed Honor and Vivian’s relationship and wanted more for them but also understand the implications of the time.
Overall I really enjoyed this and would read more from this author!

Of course, I did it again. I saw a cover and title I fell for on NetGalley, skimmed the blurb and decided I needed to read it. Did I bother to see it was the second it a series and funnily enough, the first is on my TBR? Did I realize I might have been reading a book in a series when I was about halfway through and thought to look? Yup. So I haven't read the first and while I do feel I missed some backstory with the characters, it in no way stopped me from enjoying this book.

We have a murder mystery set in the 1920s. Prohibition and speakeasies are the backdrop. I keep saying I don't do historical novels well but I guess I do when there's murder and/or poison involved. I enjoyed the tone and felt immersed into the world. The descriptions and talk all seemed to fit for the most part.

I enjoyed the chemistry between all of the characters quite a bit. I felt the dialogue between them all was believable and so were their actions after information was shared each time. I didn't sit there shaking my head like what are you even doing the way I can with period pieces and independent women.

I will say I figured out the murderer early on but the rest of the twists I wasn't quite expecting. Overall a fun, good read and I look forward to finally getting to the first in this series and whenever the third comes out. Because there's no way this series is done