This one was bit sadder than the first book, and the goons are bit more menacing. The writing environment of the speakeasy and slums is very evocative and makes you fell like you are right there.

This is beautiful! It is diverse and interesting. We have people of every type in this story and these things are not their entire story. That takes real talent.
And the narration is amazing! I loved every minute.
They perfectly portrayed the time period as well.

This was a wonderful, atmospheric mystery set in prohibition era New York. Plenty of jazz era music and dancing, immigrants and their experiences with crooked cops and mobsters. The readers are believably dropped into a speakeasy.

The characters are well developed and draw the reader in quickly. You get an authentic look at the difficulties of the time without being overwhelmed by them.

The main mystery is a who done it involving a murder by poison plus a side mystery about blackmail. Both well done.

This is the second Nightingale Mystery but my first one read. I never felt like I was missing backstory but I am now curious and want to read the first one.

Narrated by Sara Young who did a great job. I appreciated the differentiation between characters without overdoing stereotypical accents. Her pacing added to the experience.

Audiobook recipes for free through NetGalley

I absolutely adored this story and wish it continued on (though an understandably good stopping place). Overall a great listen.

It's rare to read a book that conveys a time and setting as well as The Last Drop of Hemlock by Katharine Schellman. It was delightful to be taken to New York in 1924, where Vivian Kelly and her sister eke out a living in a tenement. Vivian lives a bit of a double live, spending her days delivering gowns for a dress shop that caters to wealthy women and her nights serving drinks at The Nightingale, a speakeasy.

In this story, Vivian is trying to solve the murder of The Nightingale's doorman, who is also her best friend's uncle. Vivian stumbles upon a blackmail operation that is targeting people in her neighborhood, where most are struggling to make ends meet, and is inspired to investigate with the help of her friends. In a delightful turn, we see Vivian's sister, who didn't approve of Vivian spending her nights at the speakeasy, joining in and possibly finding a little romance. The love triangle that was established for Vivian in the first book continues to develop in this one. The characters are so appealing that it's hard to root for one of the love interests over the other.

In addition to perfectly conveying the atmosphere in this series, Katharine Schellman creates a wonderful, diverse cast. We even saw a person with a disability in this story, as one of the victims of the blackmail scheme is deaf. There was some development in the mystery that will probably have a series-long arc, which is whether the sisters have living relatives.

Because I received the audiobook from NetGalley, I have to add that I was especially pleased that the narrator didn't try to use stereotypical New York accents for the dialogue in this book.

I stopped and DNF at 69%. This book was not for me. I found that I just did not care about the characters, the plot, and my mind kept wandering while listening to this audiobook.