Almost thirty and unmarried, Maite, a legal secretary, is removed from the unrest of 1970s Mexico City, instead immersing herself in the serialized stories in the “Secret Romance” magazine.

When her glamorous and intriguing neighbor, art student Leonora asks Maite to cat sit, Maite agrees, but when Leonora fails to come home, she tries to track her movements, leading her to a cadre of student revolutionaries.

Elvis, rock n’ roll connoisseur and reluctant criminal, is also searching for Leonora under orders from El Mago, a secretive figure who leads a group of criminals in coordinated efforts to quash student protestors and dissidents. As he retraces Leonora’s recent activity, he keeps seeing Maite from afar and projects a narrative onto her that, like him, she loves music, and is a kindred spirit who would understand him.

Independently, Maite and Elvis get closer to untangling Leonora’s secrets, but their searches lead to entanglements with government agents, Russian spies, and mistrustful allies—all willing to kill to protect their interests.

Maite isn’t likable, but she’s very interesting, especially as she moves from an indifferent spectator of life to participating in a high adrenaline manhunt. Though some of his behavior was despicable, I found Elvis sympathetic and easy to root for.
Additionally, I really had no idea about this part of Mexican history, and found learning more about it valuable. I love Moreno-Garcia’s writing and enjoyed the very atmospheric, character-driven novel.

I like a good mystery but admittedly I don’t know much about noir or what was going on in Mexico in the 1970s to be fair I don’t know what was going on anywhere in the world in the 1970s so all the communist stuff is a bit lost on me all that said this was a rather interesting story...

Maite is a lonely secretary and dreamer who gets lost in her romantic comic books that she uses to escape reality... she a romantic living in her own little world of books and music. Sure her life is dull and boring and she wishes it was different but different and exciting things only seem to happen to other people... What she cannot imagine is that a simple favor from her seemingly interesting and fabulous neighbor will completely change her life... Leonora needs someone to look after her cat for a few days simple enough right? So how does that task end in Maite searching for her when she goes missing? Getting involved with dangerous people and being watched by even more dangerous people. Leonora’s secrets might just prove to be deadly for Maite....

Elvis is unhappy with his life... he’s essentially a thug who engages in criminal activity for the government. His current job is to find Leonora and that involves watching and following Maite. And things get a little crazy for him to and they do not go as he expects.

Maite is a little annoying and sooo naïve... she’s way too old to be so stuck in a fantasy world but I suppose it was a different time maybe women were more fanciful. And admittedly it was a crazy situation that she was drawn into. Though she’s also rather obsessive and a little crazy too. Somehow despite his line of work it was easy to like Elvis. I suppose it’s because though he did bad things he wasn’t really a bad guy just someone lost trying to survive.

Again I say I don’t know much about noir or the time period but I suppose that just makes me more like Maite who didn’t know much about what was going on around her. It was a good story and though she irritates me I did like Maite and I liked Elvis and I definitely figured out exactly who Elvis was working for early on that was not a surprise. I look forward to reading more from the author in the future, I’m working my way through all of her books.

Haunting, atmospheric, addictive - so good! Kept me entertained. Thank you for the opportunity to be an early reader!

Silvia Moreno- Garcia makes everything she writes this intensely creepy cinematic experience and I truly am shocked everytime I put the book down. That being said, the character development and story telling in this book were truly lacking. It felt all over the place,. and really missed the mark for me.

I absolutely loved this book - Silvia Moreno-Garcia has become an auto-purchase author for me. I love her writing style and how she effortlessly crosses between genres.

I’ve got to be completely honest in regards to this book. It just wasn’t for me. The story just never hooked me, so this story ended up being a DNF. That being said, Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a terrific writer, and this will not hamper my legitimate need to devour her other books. This would be an excellent book for some readers, but it just wasn’t so much for me.

I genuinely appreciate the ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

DNF. I thought this was about anything other than young mexican boys in a gang. There are plenty of other things I want to read about and I think this is too close to home for me. I don't want to read about something I can see on the news.

I love Sylvia's books, I truly do but when I say everything isn't for everybody. Yeah this applies.

This story didn't move me nor piqued my interest and because of my love for this author...yeah, disappointment to say the least.

Boring characters and story plot is not it for this reader and this story was that...boring. And that's sad, given this cover. What did I want in this story? for the author do blow me away and that didn't happen. Will this stop me from reading her future works. NO. But, no more of this. And honestly Elvis? nooo.

Velvet was the Night by Silivia Moreno-Garcia follows the events that take place in Mexico City in the 1970s after a huge student protest. Maite is the main character who leads a mundane life. She is a secretary, not very social and does not have a family even though she is considered to be an older women to her family. Even with this part lacking from her life, Maite has a fantastic album/book collection. She lives for finding American albums and the latest Romance novels.

When her next door neighbor Leonora is a beautiful art student who leaves Maite in charge of her cat and to look after her apartment when she goes away. This is the beginning of a life that is more interesting, a life that Maite can only read about in her novels.

We also meet Elvis who is a criminal and is part of the Hawk gang. He is on a mission to find Leonora and the film pictures she has taken. He shares Maite's interest in music and books despite his lack of experience in anything but the criminal life. Elvis and Maite are on parallel roads to find Leanora but will these paths every cross and in what capacity?

While this novel has the potential of being page turning, I felt that it was very slow going in many parts of the book. The ending wraps everything up neatly but for a fairly short novel, this one seemed to drag on.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Amazing book! I would highly recommend this book to my customers and patrons. I would recommend other books by the same author as well.

This book was a little slow/hard for me to get into at the beginning. The characters were not particularly likable and it was hard for me to figure out what was happening from chapter to chapter. The second half was much more enjoyable once I had a general idea of the plot line. I do wish I had some more background knowledge on the student protests and government response in Mexico in the 70s! It also makes me think about long term implications to today. I would recommend this book to other avid readers or individuals interested in the time period/history but not everyone is going to enjoy it.

Velvet Was the Night is Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s first endeavor into the world of noir and pulp fiction-esque stories. Velvet Was the Night tells the dueling timelines of Maite, a bored and lonely secretary, and Elvis, a member of a local street gang. Moreno-Garcia explores Maite and Elvis’s experiences as they learn about the disappearance of Leonora, an art student who may having damning evidence of corruption by the 70s Mexican government. In my opinion, the story was too slow to thoroughly grip me and keep me interested in the story which was quite a disappointment after my enjoyment of Mexican Gothic. I found myself not caring about the characters much making the stakes and drama uninteresting to me. I feel like this novel would have been stronger if Maite and Elvis met earlier in the story, and we had a longer amount of time do develop the relationship between the protagonists. Overall, I felt very underwhelmed by this novel, and the only redeeming quality seemed to be the twist at the ending. Rating - 2.5/5

I loved the setting of this book, in the 1970s in Mexico City. The vivid descriptions and explanations gripped me from the beginning. The main character, Maite, and her love for the magazine Secret Romance remind me of my love for reading. It is truly her escape from the danger all around.

When her next-door neighbor asks her to check in on her apartment, at first it seems like nothing is amiss until the young woman disappears, and the visitors start arriving. Matie gets sucked into looking for her neighbor, Lenora, and learning more and more about her life.

This book is filled with all the things- spies, violence, danger, intrigue, and it kept me guessing until the end. It was a good read!

I love Moreno-Garcia. Period. She has such great atmosphere and tone in all of her novels. It transports the reader in time and place. I also love that she is unwilling to be pigeon-holed into a specific type of genre, instead seeking to write something fresh and new with each new book. These are what keep me interested in what she will do next. This book is full of historical setting and the atmosphere you expect from a noir. She delivers on all accounts.
Definitely recommend.
#VelvetWastheNight #NetGalley #RandomHousePublishingGroup #Ballantine #DelRay

Thank you to @netgalley and @delrey for the advanced ebook of this!

If I had to use one word to describe this book it would be atmospheric. This book is DRIPPING with atmosphere. You can smell the smoke, feel the heat, hear the music. It is full of feeling and drama and not… particularly fast paced. So if you struggled with that in Mexican Gothic, I’m here to tell you this is not the book for you.

It’s the 1970s in Mexico City. Maite is a daydreaming secretary who hates her job, fights with her family, and just wants to read romance and listen to records. When her neighbor Leonora asks her to cat sit and then disappears, Maite’s life is shaken up as she finds herself suddenly contacting dissidents, receiving intimidating office visits from government officials, and becoming implicated in a political battle she knows nothing about.

A steady, if not too speedy, pace through the beginning and middle, the end is a whirlwind of wrap-up and unraveling the mysteries that plague Maite throughout the book.

It's 1970s Mexico City, and student protests and political unrest are taking over the city. While police, hitmen, and secret goon squads attack and sabotage the protesters, Maite watches from afar - keeping herself far away from the danger. Maite lives a fairly quiet life: she is single, lives alone, works as a secretary, and lives vicariously through her favorite comic books and rock 'n roll music. One night, Maite's neighbor, Leonora, comes to her and asks if she can watch her cat for a couple nights. Maite doesn't know Leonora very well, but she knows of Leonora, who is a beautiful art student living a life of intrigue and romance. Maite, who's always wanted to see Leonora's space, agrees to watch her cat and keep an eye on things. When Leonora disappears under mysterious circumstances, Maite finds herself searching for the missing girl, diving deep into Leonora's secret life as a radical and political dissenter. But Maite isn't the only one searching for Leonora - in fact, a lot of people need to find Leonora, and Maite's life is now front and center.


Velvet Was the Night is told between two perspectives: Maite's and goon squad member, Elvis'. As Maite and Elvis fervently search for Leonora, their paths intersect with not only each other, but other dangerous characters. I found the book to be quite a page-turner, and I really enjoyed Silvia Moreno-Garcia's writing style - it was vivid, emotional, and thrilling. Prior to reading this book, I didn't know much about 1970s Mexico and the influence of political oppression/fear of communism on the country's political landscape and citizens, so I was really pulled into the book's plot. While I found the book plot to be fascinating and enticing, I was less than enthralled with the characters. Maite is off-putting, to say the least: she is judgmental, vapid, and unkind. Elvis is a criminal whose persona revolves around beating people up, feeling cheated by the world, and listening to rock 'n roll. By the end of the book, I really didn't care what happened to Maite or Elvis because I couldn't form an emotional connection to either of them. However, I did thoroughly enjoy the book's plot, writing, and noir-style, so I would recommend reading Velvet Was the Night.

I love the way Silvia Moreno-Garcia writes, she really writes a beautiful story. This was a great mystery novel with interesting and real characters.

A compelling and fresh take on noir tropes and archetypes, steeped in the very real history of oppression by the Mexican government of its own people. Moreno-Garcia is one of the best writers out there right now, in any genre.

Members of the lonely hearts club cross paths in this pulpy-noir.

A lonely, pretty average secretary in search of excitement stumbles into a conspiracy involving the Mexican government and military, CIA-trained gangs, an artist collab and underground communists revolutionaries.

A hopeless romantic, obsessed with rock and roll, has found himself in a gang of enforcers, but doesn't seem so sure of what exactly he is enforcing.

Their stories entangle as events escalate in this delightful work.

I received an ARC from NetGalley.

Bumping this from my TBR list, hence the low rating. I heard this was very hard to get into and a super slow burn.
Just can't get excited about that.