A crackling noir from one of the most diverse voices in adult fiction. Whether she’s writing horror, reimagining classics, or cutting her teeth on crime fiction, it seems theirs nothing Silvia Moreno Garcia can’t do.

Characters and scenes pop off the pages thanks to vivid descriptions and sizzling dialogue. This is a book you won’t find yourself bored with. Highly recommended.

First, anything Silvia Moreno-Garcia releases I will gobble up, just shovel it into my mouth. hehe. Velvet Was the Night is an electric noir novel set in dangerous 1970s Mexico. When her activist neighbor Leonora goes missing, unlikely detective Maite dives into the radical underworld seeking answers. Parallel to Maite's story is Elvis, a rock-loving hired gun also tracking Leonora. As their paths intersect, secrets are revealed about Leonora's double life. Silvia brings 1970s Mexico City to vivid life through rich details and political intrigue. The unlikely duo of Maite and Elvis makes for an odd couple detective story full of suspense and humor.

I've come to expect Silvia Moreno-Garcia's books to take me out of Northeastern Oklahoma and transport me to Mexico. Her stories are dark enough to feel the grit and smell the heat as the characters come to life on the page. Whether they travel the same path or collide at the cross roads, their lives will change when they meet. Moreno-Garcia is a skillful writer, building the Mexican communities and developing those who populate their streets into characters that you'd swear you know.

A blazing 1970s noir, when a young secretary's next door neighbor disappears, she suddenly finds herself in the midst of a terrifyingly all-too-real mystery that seems to much more dangerous than she could have ever anticipated.

I have a great appreciation for the way Silvia Moreno-Garcia experiments and doesn't stick to one genre like many other authors. However, it also means that some books work better for me than others. Set against the backdrop of 1970s Mexico City, this book has an interesting sociopolitical setting. A time of such upheaval led to a setting rife with mistrust and violence. It was something I didn't know much about going into the book but I got immersed very quickly. My main issue was something I struggle with in many dual POV books, which is that I almost always end up with a large preference for one POV over the other. I found Maite to be a very vapid and infuriating person to follow. I have no issue with unlikeable main characters but including her perspective honestly didn't add anything useful to the story. I would have much rather followed Elvis around for the entirety of the book.

[Review will be published on January 13, 2024.]

Moral of the story: if your neighbor finally introduces herself after six months and immediately asks you to watch her cat for two days, it's probably best to decline lest you find yourself encountering hitmen and corrupt government officials while trying to solve her disappearance so you can get paid.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia again proves that she is a master with a pen and can weave compelling stories no matter the genre. Velvet Was The Night is a noir crime novel which means that it's a gritty detective story with flawed main characters who live rather bleak lives in a city/country rife with political corruption.

There are moments of the book where the third-person narration reads like a narrator in a gritty noir film, coming alive on the page in my mind. Moreno-Garcia's writing transports the reader to a different time and place with evocative writing that isn't cumbersome to read.

As with some of her other works of literary fiction, the pace is slow and takes some time for the plot to develop and make itself known to the reader. While I found my mind wandering during the first quarter of the book, the book was insidiously sinking its teeth into me and suddenly I couldn't put the book down. There's a lot of character information shared in the narrative, pages and pages of various tidbits that don't appear to have any meaning but readers who pay attention are rewarded when they begin to piece together the mystery.

With dual POVs and antiheroes conducting their own investigations in parallel, at times I struggled to keep track of which information was revealed by which character. That said, I really enjoyed the framing of the narrative with Elvis and Maite on "opposite" ends and coming to their own realizations about the world they live in. I hope they each find happiness because they deserve more than their sad existences.

Overall, Velvet Was The Night is a thought-provoking piece of noir fiction that explores political corruption through the mystery of a missing girl and the various groups who want to find her. Though the story is set in 1971 against the backdrop of real events of a student movement, it resonates today and (sadly) could happen today -- making it an even more powerful read.

eARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley for my consideration. This has not affected my opinions of the book nor the content of my review. I have since purchased a finished copy.

3.5 stars

This was fine, but a little too slow-paced for me. I feel like not a lot happened and it should have been a little more intriguing considering it was a mystery (and I think thriller is definitely a stretch).

I love that SMG writes so many different genres, but this is not one of my favorite books of hers.

I think this type of book really isn't for me. So knowing I'm not the intended audience, my review is not helpful. Plus at this point, the book has been out for more than 2 years. Sorry for such a delay but thank you to NetGalley, Del Rey, and Silvia Moreno-Garcia for the chance to read and review.

I rarely read a book in the course of a weekend, but I could not put this one down. Velvet Was the Night has the ambiance of a Jim Jarmusch film, longing and dread painting every page. Maite and Elvis are broken, captivating, and worth cheering for.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3922683350

I had tried reading this book a few different times. The first time trying to read it, It was a DNF at 15%. After reading the second time I eventually finished the audio version of Velvet Was The Night but only because I sped up the audiobook to get through it. I am a fan of Silvia's work and was looking forward to this book. I was quickly let down by the frequently language at the very being of the book. Now, I am not a prude but it was setting up the book for failure IMO.

I felt this type of story did not flow with SIliva's style of books from from her past writings I have read. Mind you, I have read every book but one, Siliva has written. This one- Velvet Was the Night just didn't feel like it was written by her. When I think of Siliva's Written, I think of gothic, unique, and spooky storylines. This just wasn't that type of book.

I'm once again astounded by Moreno-Garcia's versatility as a novelist. Sexy and engrossing; the noir vibes were exactly right.

I will read anything that SMG writes. Her writing is atmospheric and she always has such badass female characters. Mexico in the 1970s did not disappoint. I felt like I was there! Maite is so moody, I absolutely loved her. This has action and it's thrilling in parts, but this is mostly about politics, and a character finding themselves through all the turmoil.

A historical fiction noir, you say? By Silvia Moreno-Garcia, you say? Sign me up!
This book was moody, atmospheric, suspenseful... the title could not have been better chosen, because if a story could be called velvet, this one was it! And can we talk about the delicious cover?
SMG can do no wrong in my eyes, tho, if I had a tiny bit of criticism, it felt a tiny bit slow in parts. Not too long exactly, just a little sluggish in its pacing here and there, which is the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars!

3.5/5!

My journey to read all the Silvia Moreno-Garcia books this year has taught me one thing specifically: the genres are endless for her! I’m so impressed by how far her writing spans and was very excited to step into her take on crime fiction with Velvet Was the Night.

This story unfolds from the perspective of two very different main characters who find themselves tied together because of the actions of one woman, Leonora. I really enjoyed getting to know Maite and Elvis throughout this story and trying to grasp their motivations to keep moving forward with their individual investigations. The more I got to know them, the more I realized their personalities weren’t as different as I first thought. They’re both naive, alone, and unsure of their futures.

One of Moreno-Garcia’s biggest strengths as an author in my opinion is her atmospheric writing. No matter the setting, I always feel transported to the location and time that the book is taking place. Velvet simply oozes with qualities of the 1970s, from the music mentioned, to the values, to the way characters are dressed. I know very little about Mexican culture from this time period and I feel like my eyes were opened to the events of the Dirty War from reading this story. While fiction, the government and political landscape of this story is set in historical research.

I would categorize this book as historical fiction meets crime fiction. This is very much a crime-noir story and the pacing often reflects that with ebbs and flows in speed and plot revelations.

At the rate that Moreno-Garcia continues to release books and short stories, I’ll be reading her work for a long time and that’s something I’m very happy about!

"Velvet Was the Night" is a thrilling noir novel by Silvia Moreno-Garcia that effortlessly weaves together mystery, historical fiction, and political intrigue. Set in 1970s Mexico City during the turbulent times of government oppression, the story follows Maite, a secretary, and Elvis, a cunning freelance operator, as they get entangled in a web of secrets and lies. Moreno-Garcia's evocative prose brings the city to life, while the flawed and complex characters captivate readers with their intricate motivations. With its atmospheric backdrop, gripping plot twists, and thought-provoking themes, "Velvet Was the Night" is a must-read for fans of both crime fiction and historical novels.

I really liked this one! It was a compelling read and I didn't feel pulled out of the story. I wanted to keep reading.

I wasn't sure what to expect after reading and loving Mexican Gothic. The premise of Velvet Was the Night was so different but I had enjoyed Moreno-Garcia's writing and was glad to find that I enjoyed it still. In many ways this is not a novel I would normally pick up to read but I was drawn in by Moreno-Garcia's writing style and the hope that Elvis and Maite would eventually meet. I did not expect the twist that came at the end and brilliantly tied the storyline and characters together.

Not the book of the year for me but it was still entertaining and I loved the grittness of the decade mixed in with the book. I would love to read more from this author

I don't think this book was trying to be universally appealing and so I don't really fault the book for being unappealing to me.

A bit too gritty for me and too slow of a burn. Will probably be a better fit for more patient readers who love noir and gritty fiction. Sense of place was really well done.