3.5 ⭐rounded up to 4

Velvet Was the Night is the first noir (besides the Dresden Files which I didn't realize were noir) that I have read, so this was a new genre to me. I liked Mexican Gothic by SMG, so I was interested in this book and trying out the noir genre. I enjoyed the story overall, but it dragged at times and didn't hold my attention quite as much as I was expecting. I did love that it is based on real events and wish I had realized that before reading rather than after. The novel is set at the beginning of the Dirty War in Mexico.

Velvet Was the Night tells the story of a daydreaming secretary, a lonesome enforcer, and the missing woman they are both trying to find in 1970s Mexico. Maite is the secretary and she is looking for more out of life and escapes into the romance found in her comic books. She is neighbors to Leonora, who disappears. Maite begins looking into Leonora's life and finds herself in a world of student radicals and dissidents. Elvis is the rock n roll loving goon and he is brought into the search for Leonora. Maite and Elvis's shared mission has them paralleling each other into they ultimately collide.

The atmosphere was great in this book and I was very intrigued by 1970s Mexico. I really liked Elvis's point of view, but wasn't a big fan of Maite. Overall it was a different type of story and I'm glad I gave it a chance!

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is an auto-buy because I love her fantasy/horror novels. Unfortunately, Velvet was the Night was not a hit for me. I was intrigued by the main character, but I felt like the plot did not have the punch I was expecting. I had a hard time connecting to the world, making for a forgettable reading experience.

I have always loved how Silvia Moreno-Garcia intertwines Mexican history or culture in her novels. Perhaps I would have loved this novel more if there had been more Mexican history immersed in the plot.

Noir(ish) novel set in 1970’s Mexico during the country’s Dirty War told from the perspective of two nobodies. Elvis, part of a group known as the Hawks, with the job of roughing up students and activists. Maite, a spinster with a boring office job, who supplements her income by pet sitting for neighbors. Both yearn to be something more. Maite’s thrills come from her weekly romance comics and stealing from neighbors. Elvis, a young man from nowhere wishes to one day achieve status like his boss, El Mago.

Maite’s need for cash (her car is trapped in the repair shop) is why she agrees to cat-sit for her neighbor, Leonora. Leonara is a beautiful young woman who lives across the hall and entertains late into the night. When Leonora fails to return Maite sets out to find her and get paid. The search for Leonora sets Maite on a path that will eventually lead to entanglement with the Hawks, an artist/activist collective, the secret police, and the KGB. A slow-burn novel with two solid characters in Maite and Elvis, this is an excellent read for fans of novels by authors who put their own spin on a genre as Moreno-Garcia does here.

This was not at all what I expected and I ended up liking it. The characters were great and the story was engaging. Will definitely recommend.

Not really for me - slower than Moreno-Garcia’s other books and a bit more unevenly paced. Still, I enjoyed.

I read through it but not with the haste I was hoping would come from it. I loved other titles by this author but this one fell short and flat for me.

By now I should know how it goes with this genre and authors style of writing. I kept waiting though for the slow build up to something that never really took off. It was interesting but not enough to not keep putting the book down which then dragged out the reading process.

****Received an ARC through Netgalley for my honest review****
Silvia Moreno-Garcia is my new favorite author, having lapped every single book she has now written. In Velvet Was the Night Moreno-Garcia takes to 1970's Mexico during a time of political unrest and uncertainty. Maite a quiet secretary finds herself all of a sudden in the middle of a political plot that now brings her once dull life to a tilt full of danger and gangsters.

Maite's beautiful and mysterious neighbor suddenly disappears and bunch of new characters start to show up. A myriad of mysterious and dangerous men. Almost like the romantic novellas that Maite gets lost in to make the time go by in her dull life.

Also told through the eyes of Elvis, part of a group of men looking for Leonora. His life is violent but Elvis is lost and doesn't know who he is. He is only a part of this group because it's the closest thing he has to a family. He does not like the violence or things he has to do. Elvis rummages through Maite's apartment while trying to find information on Leonora, while she is out, and sees an interesting woman and thinks things maybe could be different for him.

While this is still Noir it is not like Moreno-Garcia's books. Still mysterious and interesting, there is no paranormal activity going on here. This one started a little slower for me but once it got going it got better. I enjoy that no one book of Moren0-Garcia's books are the same but they are still noir set in different times in Mexico. This is why I can't get enough of this author.

Coming to this having read Mexican Gothic, I did not know what to expect. This book is nothing like that one, but also a great read. A slow burn take on Noir, I enjoyed it quite a bit.

This was a slow burn for me. I thought the story was great! A bit slow is some spots but had to keep reading to see where it went. I love Mexican Gothic by this author and liked this one. Will definitely keep checking out what she writes!!

**3.5 STARS

Velvet Was the Night follows Maite, an unassuming secretary, who gets caught up in a mystery surrounding her neighbor Leonora. Maite is house sitting Leonora's cat, when Leonora goes missing. Maite goes down the rabbit hole searching for a neighbor she could barely call a friend. The book was a bit hard to get into at first. Maite isn't a very likable or pleasant character. I found it hard to relate to her. The action does ramp up towards the end of the book, which helps.

This was a really, really slow burn. But because Silvia Moreno-Garcia is incredible at writing compelling characters, I kept reading. I found Maite very interesting to read about, even though I didn't like her very much. I wish there had been more to the plot and that it had been a bit more exciting. Overall, I enjoyed it though.

I fell in love with Mexican Gothic, so I knew I needed to read this immediately. Velvet Was the Night didn't grab me as quickly, but the story was interesting. Set in Mexico in 1971, in the midst of violent student protests, this is a fun noir old between chapters narrated by Maite and Elvis. I found Maite to be unlikeable, so I think that's where this didn't click for me, but I enjoyed reading it.

Mexican Gothic made a loyalist of me and if Silvia Moreno-Garcia decided to rewrite my local phone book I’d read it, so it’s no surprise I enjoyed this too. Moreno-Garcia takes genres that are typically dominated by stories by and about white people and deftly reclaims those genres to tell stories that are uniquely Mexican in their historical and cultural references. It makes for books that avoid the old and tired tropes of their genres and her writing always feels so fresh. If you are reading this without knowledge of the cultural context, there will be things you have to look up—I don’t always understand the political environment discussed in this book but I think it is very much worth working for as a reader, and doing some research independently to learn about the context of the story.

I’ve seen Velvet Was the Night described as a ‘noir crime thriller’ and I think it’s very fitting.
We’re following Maite, set in 1970’s Mexico, as she tries to track down her missing neighbor Leonora. Things take some unexpected turns and we come across many shady characters.
I had a lot of fun seeing our main character navigate new experiences as the story progresses.
Silvia Moreno Garcia is becoming an author I’m keeping an eye out for, it seems she dabbles in many different genres I enjoy.

dark noir that's edgy but lacking..... couldn't finish it. See goodreads for full review. Making me have 100 characters in order to complete so......

Very enjoyable...historical fiction with a noir feel that keeps you guessing. Characters well-developed throughout and different plot lines come together nicely. Not many dull parts...each development in the story kept me highly interested in where it was going. 4 stars

Thank you to Net Galley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC.

Velvet was the Night is a story of Maite and Elvis during a period of time in Mexico City that I had never heard about. In the 1970s, Mexico was very concerned about communism and would use these young men to break up protests that were going on. Until they start to become violent and the government has to stop the practice. Elvis is one of these young men and as everything is coming to a head his boss asks him to find a young woman. Elvis and his team start to stake out her apartment and soon start following Maite, the girl's neighbor. Maite is a secretary who gets dragged into this world all because she agreed to watch a cat for a weekend.
The story was very enjoyable and I would highly recommend it.

Not a bad read! Lots of crime and intrigue. As with many of Moreno-Garcia's books, the ending is kind of bloody and dramatic, but the lead up is very atmospheric. Recommended to those who enjoy noir.

Well done historical fiction that starts with an actual telegram from the CIA. Well developed characters, and a mystery that keeps you guessing.