Atmospheric crime noir set in 1970s Mexico City. Maite is a lonely secretary obsessed with romance novels and vinyl. She craves excitement and adventure. Maite is drawn into the murky underworld of gangsters and politics when her glamorous neighbour Leonora, disappears without a trace. Elvis is a gangland enforcer and paid agitator for a government trying to control dissident students and communists. He becomes increasingly obsessed with Maite as he tails her in her search for Leonora. This was fun read with lots of twists and turns as the real motives for Leonora’s disappearance becomes apparent. Call me sentimental, but I was hoping for a more romance between Maite and Elvis. But it was a moody tale and an interesting insight into the era.

Thank you to #netgalley for the ARC.

What worked for me:
- The writing flows really nicely. It's one of the things the author is good at. Very atmospheric too, it will bring you back to Mexico City in the 70s.
- The main female character was both unlikable yet relatable.
- The historical background - political activism! kidnappings! secret agents! exclamation marks!

What could be improved:
- The plot. It got boring in the second half when things are still moving too slowly and equally unexciting.
- Repetitive/overlengthy internal musing. The two main characters were interesting enough but spending too much time in their headspaces would make you skim the pages.

JUST ASTONISHING! I think this author always knocks it out of the park, and this book is no different. 10/10.

It's been too long since I read a book with a good, ready-made soundtrack and, if you like reading to music, Velvet Was the Night pretty much demands that you put on its 60s-rock soundtrack, and will even reward you with rare moments where the music lines up with one of the many songs referenced within the text itself (for me, this happened in the "White Room" scene, to great effect). Velvet Was the Night is a noir set in Mexico City in 1970, at the beginning of the "dirty war", where government sanctioned violence against communists and other dissidents led to widespread political repression. Into that scene steps Elvis, a mid-level thug who aspires to be more than a two-bit goon even as he idolises his commander and the work they do, and Maite, a woman who spends her life fantasising about romance and building an extensive record collection. When Maite reluctantly agrees to look after her neighbour Leonora's cat, only to have Leonora disappear, she's motivated to start an investigation that soon takes on a life of its own; Elvis is also sent to pursue Leonora, while learning more about how to command his squad and learning that all is not well in the political ecosystem that keeps him employed and useful.Velvet Was the Night is packed with atmosphere and intrigue, and while there's nothing particularly engaging about Leonora herself - she appears to be in possession of incriminating photos which have gone missing, and has left behind not one but two mooning exes, but her politics are done more interestingly by other characters - there's certainly a lot to enjoy about Maite and Elvis' respective investigations into her, and the way that their paths intertwine as they get closer to tracking down the truth. There's a frequent grimness to these happenings - as you'd expect from a noir centring the political underworld - and it's underscored by the small-mindedness of both leads: we might sympathise with Maite's singleness and how awful her family are about it, but her obsession with status and appearances and her callousness towards people she doesn't consider worth caring about (including the cat) are very unpleasant traits, and Elvis' contempt for his fellow enforcers and mooning over the cultist honeypot he fell in love with before joining the gang is equally eye-rolling. But that all adds to the atmosphere, and, again, it's that atmosphere - and the intricacy of politics behind it - that make Velvet Was the Night a fantastic noir read.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book, I’ve read a couple of other books by Silvia and could never get it to them.
Unfortunately it was the same for this book, I couldn’t connect with the characters and that’s what I look for in stories.

Silvia Moreno Garcia seems to be a master of switching genres. Whether it's horror, fantasy, or in this case, historical mystery noir, they have the ability to create wonderful worlds and fully immerse the reader into the story no matter what type of story they want to tell.

This story takes us to 1970s Mexico, a city rife with political tension and unease. Maite is a secretary, but also a secret romantic, living verociously through her copies of Secret Romance comic. Elvis is an eccentric thug, who is tasked with looking for a missing woman. A woman who just happens to be Maite's neighbour. When the two decide to search for the woman together, they set off on a mystery that will encompass more than just one lost girl. It's a story of crime, corruption and rock music in a city that reeks of guilt and backhanded deals. The streets are itching for a fight, and it's one that the pair will need to take on.

This was so atmospheric, and absolutely oozing in music, smoke and sex. You can almost smell the city streets. Honestly I've never really read a story quite like it in that sense. It reminded me heavily of the game Bioshock at times, with that undercurrent of corruption within a city that professes freedom and fun. I also really liked the relationship between our two main characters, and found that they bounced off each other well.

However I do think that the pacing is incredibly slow, and we don't really see much character progression, particularly with Maite. She's not the easiest if characters to get to know, and by the end of the novel I still felt the same. She spends a lot of time putting herself down, and after a while this did start to get on my nerves. I also found Elvis quite stereotypical in character, playing the muscle who wants to leave the life of crime. It's all a bit one dimensional.

Great atmosphere and world building, but the plot and characters just felt a bit limp.

I will start with my favourite part of the book which was the discussion on Mexican poiltics from the time which I found incredibly interesting to read and very well articulated, it sparked my interest into more reading on the subject, I also enjoyed the ending and was fairly surprised to say the least. However, I didn't love the characters and the story was a little drawn out for my particular tastes.

This book was absolutely incredible!! I read Gods Of Jade & Shadow when it came out and this still blew it out of the water, I loved every second of my time with this book!!

Ok Silvia Moreno Garcia is quickly becoming one of me new all time favourite authors!
This is not my typical genre and something I would never be usually drawn to! But I really enjoyed this gritty noir story.
The characters are very self-interested and not very likeable. But the book is so upfront with that they are not picture perfect characters and that made them feel more real!
The mystery wasn’t the most gripping thing for me, it was mostly the characters and how they interacted with each other.
The setting was just so atmospheric and addictive! I read this in one sitting.
Again because the plot wasn’t that complex I couldn’t give this 5 stars. There is no denying however that Silvia Moreno Garcia is such a skilled author with prose that just sucks you in and is just so beautiful to read!
Will now read anything by this author!

This was such a treat to read- I loved the authors writing style and this had me hooked from the beginning- I couldn’t put it down. Such a brilliant story.

What I like about reading Silvia Moreno-Garcia books is how you read a variety of genres, all linked with Mexican culture in some way. This is my 4th read from SM-G and I do see some criticism the books get are ‘I read this because I loved Mexican Gothic and it’s nothing like it’, so this above point isn’t for everyone, for me I like the variety, but yes, please don’t go into this expecting another haunted, eery read and I think it does the author a disservice sometimes to have this book mentioned in the synopsis.

Despite my above point, I will admit that I did much prefer Mexican Gothic, and the delicious read Certain Dark Things, I do much prefer that genre for the author, but I have also noticed that both Velvet Was The Night and The Beautiful Ones, 2 books set in reality, historical with no fantasy element, include more unlikeable characters and for me personally, while it doesn’t make a bad book, it’s not as enjoyable to spend an evening with terrible people, no matter the drama they attract.

Velvet Was The Night is set in Mexico City in the 1970s and centres around 2 characters, Maite and Elvis, both connected in the search for a missing woman, Leonora. The story is submerged in political corruption, mystery and hitmen, as both characters, along with help, try find this woman and the valuable information she was last seen with. As a mystery itself, it’s not too complex a read, a missing item, for example, is looked for extensively throughout the book but I guarantee you will instantly know where it is, and the final reveals are pretty glaring early on. That said, I don’t feel like the purpose of this book is to be a mystery book, it’s about 2 characters finding their purpose and goodness, the plot just creating a building block for this. Maite is an odd woman, her family are pretty horrible to her, as is her boss, she feels invisible, devalued, undesirable and spends her evenings reading and re-reading a romance comic she daydreams about during the day. When Leonora goes missing, Maite is left babysitting her cat and wants the money she charged for this service, for the start of this book this is the motivation behind her investigation and it makes her a pretty cold, unrelatable character to spend time with. Elvis, on the other hand, is part of a group called The Hawks, a group of men who intimidate, assault and possibly worse people for their politically protected boss. While again, Elvis is treated poorly, he is not necessarily a nice person, he orders people to be beaten on the page so it’s hard to root for him. That said, the longer you stick with the book, the more depth you see in each character, for Maite you see her confidence blossom and her she opens up, both to herself and others, for Elvis you see how he wants to be good and just got caught up. And it’s these emotional journeys that committed me to the book.

What i also enjoyed is the additional character in the book – the music. Both Maite and Elvis have a thing in common – they both love music and songs feature throughout the page to help describe moods and set the scenes. It even comes with a playlist at the back of the book. I really liked this touch.

Thank you NetGalley for the copy to review, i’m happy to continue exploring the worlds of Silvia Moreno-Garcia.

In Moreno-Garcia's latest, Velvet Was the Night, we meet Maite, a young secretary in a Mexico City legal firm. Maite is something of a daydreamer and even perhaps what would now be called a geek - happiest retreating in the evenings to be with her books, records and comics. At 30, the patriarchal society around her (Maite's mother and sister included) are inclined to judge her as virtually an old maid, and Maite has bought into this to a degree, but I sensed that she gets far more fun and commitment from her own interests - and especially her favourite comic, "Secret Romance" - than she's had from any actual partner.

Silvia Moreno Garcia has a special talent for writing female main characters that you instantly sympathize with. Quite early on in the novel, I felt Maite's deep sadness at the fact that her life had not turned out exactly how she had imagined it would be at this point in her life. Her every interaction is layered with a tone of melancholy that cannot be ignored.

Velvet Was the Night is refreshingly different from Mexican Gothic's fever dream-esque setting and, unlike Noemi who had an inkling of what she was walking into, Maite unwittingly gets dragged into a political espionage plot. Maitie had previously believed that she was simply trying to find her absconded neighbour to get the money she was owed, and so she never had all of the tools that one would need when trying to solve such a case. Her lack of forewarning is clear as we watch her fumble her way through tracking down time-sensitive, valuable information.

Plot wise, I did enjoy Maite's searching more than I enjoyed Elvis' sections simply because I really didn't care about his inner monologue in the least, even though it was an interesting and necessary addition. I only wish it had been delivered differently. (Plus, I did not buy into his infatuation with Maite at all but I do agree with his assessment of her nature.)

This book felt like both a literary novel filled with character introspection as well as a crime novel, done well, especially towards the end. I really wish that Maite got more out of it than she did. It felt like she risked so much for a woman she barely knew and ended up with not much to show for it.

I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of Garcia's special brand of slow burn and Mexican history

Silvia Moreno-Garcia can do no wrong in my eyes. And I'm so glad that her books are being published more widely. Every time I pick up one of her books, it's a different genre, a different style. But the essence of what makes her writing great is the relationships that characters have with each other - their growth, their relationship and the imaginative setting.

However, having said that I love her writing, this book was slightly less of an automatic "wow" for me. It may have been that this story is a more historical setting, rather than one with fantasy/magic/gothic subplots, which is really what works better for me. Instead we are in 1970s Mexico City, a time when communist sympathisers were being hunted down, when American rock and roll was the illicit king and a world of gangs and criminals can be found enforcing their law.

It certainly ticks the noir boxes - shadowy figures pulling strings, a secretary who just wants to read her romance comics swept up in a chase across the city, and something indelible drawing two people together from two very different walks of life.

Maite is a very unassuming, somewhat dowdy protagonist, who is drawn into a web of urban guerilla warfare, when all she wants to do is find her neighbour so she can stop looking after her cat. El Elvis has been caught up in anti-communist gangs for years, but they've moved on from antagonising students to full-blown shootings apparently endorsed by the government. He's not paid to question, but he knows what doesn't feel right.

The setting is well-researched, historically interesting and exciting. In particular what I loved was the music - the songs referred to throughout the story, and the role they played in pulling the characters together. And then there was a Spotify playlist right at the end of the book! I love having a playlist to listen to whilst I read, or digest the book, but can we please please start putting these at the beginning so I can listen AND read??

This book didn't grip me quite as well as her others, but I loved it all the same.

dnf on page 15

Normally I'd start with a short synopsis, but as you see, I didn't get far, and that is a shame.

While I loved the works by Silvia Moreno-Garcia I read before, namely Mexican Gothic and the Beautiful Ones, I could not get into this. At all.
The writing style is appropiate for noir, and just not my cup of tea.

Kudos to the author for being able to switch her style to fit different purposes, it's not something that is easy to do without losing oneself.
I'd urge you to go and read other reviews to get a sense of if you want to read it or not, and even if you decide to pass on this one, please make sure to look up the author's other works because as I said, liking or disliking one does not mean you are not interested in the other ones.

The arc was provided by the publisher.

While Silvia Moreno-Garcia is more known for her speculative fiction (Vampires! Death Gods! Telepathic Socialites!) her foray into historical noir thriller is really not a surprise. Most of her work has had a historical setting, and it has always had impeccable research. While reading Mexican Gothic, I was thrilled to discover that the anthropology student protagonist was reading the same actual books that I read for my own anthropology degree. Ever since then my expectations have been high, and Moreno-Garcia has yet to let me down.

Velvet was the night takes place in a 19770's Mexico, full of political upheaval, rebellion, and social change. The main characters Hawke and Maite are complex and well written. their individual growth is as important and well developed as their relationship. The setting and atmosphere are well crafted, and while the pacing is slow, it allows time for the socio-political commentary to unfold, and the niorish details to breathe.

While I feel that some readers will be disappointed that Moreno-Garcia isn't just remaking Mexican Gothic over and over, I think that this one will win her new fans. That move from the sci-fi/fantasy section into the regular fiction side of the bookstore will allow Moreno-Garcia's complex narratives, strong world-building and characterisation, and flair for noir to find a brand new audience.

I finally finished this book after almost two long months! TBH I've been planning to DNF it for a few weeks now 🥴

With a gorgeous cover and intriguing synopsis, I thought I was gonna love it. It has all the things I enjoy: noir fiction, atmospheric, mystery, beautiful prose.

First off, what I liked: has a great cover and concept, the political commentaries, and the tension.

Well, it did not work for me as you can see with my rating. It's slow-paced and I was bored the whole time I was reading it. The characters felt flat and bland especially Maite. She's unlikable and when I'm not liking her, I find her too dull. I enjoyed the build-up of tension but the payoff isn't worth it. It's being marketed as noir but I can't find what part that was. Noir is gritty with dark humor, irresistible femmes fatales, graphic violence and sex. Well, it did achieve the dark and corrupt city setting. To top it off, the plot was predictable.

Overall, Velvet Was the Night is well-written, it was just not for me.

Thanks so much, Quercus Books/Jo Fletcher Books for the galley. All thoughts and opinions are mine.

Set in the 1970s in the aftermath of the Corpus Christi massacre that took place in Mexico City, this noir novel is an incredibly compelling tale about identity, politics, music, love and betrayal. It’s a story that catches you off guard, takes you through the lives of two people who could not be more different, or more similar, as they begin unraveling a mystery from opposite ends, and end up clashing in the middle.

On the one hand, we have Elvis, one of the members of the Hawks, the organization responsible for the injuries and deaths of the students at Corpus Christi. Elvis, with his street name, and his English records, and his dictionary, and his dreams. Elvis who is involved in the underworld of dirty politics, because that’s really the only place he knows how to be.
Then there’s Maite, a little lost, a little man-crazy, a little bit of a woman with her head in the clouds, if you will. She reads episodic romances from magazines, and collects books and records, steals invaluable (and arguably, useless) trinkets from the people in her apartment building, and fibs about the men she wishes she had in her life. Maite lives her life in quiet loneliness, and doesn’t really have an opinion on anything that isn’t her not-so-secret obsession with her romance novels. She is dragged into this wild adventure when her neighbour, for whom she is pet sitting, goes missing and people come looking for her. The same woman Elvis is also tasked to find by his boss. And thus begins their story.

At the end of the day, this is a pulp fiction novel, and I fucking love it! I grew up watching these kinds of gritty, pulpy films, and this book took me right back to all of that. There was just something so incredibly captivating about the texture of this book that I truly cannot put into words. It’s engaging, and it’s out there, and it’s got gangs and murder and political intrigue, and it’s got these two fucked up individuals at the center of it all, and you just cannot put it down.

For all that this story is atmospheric, it’s not exactly the description or slow writing here. There’s just something in the choice of the scant words used that manages to set everything up for you. By its nature, this is a very fast paced book, and it takes you all over Mexico City and through all of its politically charged rooms as we unravel the mystery of Leonora’s disappearance. You get a glimpse into the way the street gangs who were organized by the government to quell the communist uprising operated. You get a glimpse into the lives of students who were on the frontlines of these protests. You get a glimpse into the government surveillance and god, it’s all so fucked up, but you can’t look away!

And weaving all of this stuff happening together in music. Music Maite collects and listens to and prides herself over owning. Music that is Elvis’ constant companion in a life that is anonymous and lonely. Music in cafes and music in cars. Music has always been a powerful tool used by the masses in a political struggle, and from what I’ve read, it wasn’t all that different in 1970s Mexico City. Singing cafes were closed, music that was flagged as containing values against the nation’s were banned. Apparently the rock scene all but died because of these restrictions. I’m not very familiar with Western Music, but there are soft ballads mentioned throughout this book. Someone who’s an aficionado could probably put another piece of the puzzle of this book together by taking a look at the playlist of this book (it’s printed at the end, too, so you can actually see!), but I just thought it was, like, really cool!

Themes and all that intellectual stuff aside, this is just a really engaging, fun book! It’s a mystery that unravels really slowly, and it’s a little all over the place, and the thing is, you kind of know where one of the biggest items these people are looking for is, and you can’t point them to it, and that’s something that makes it all so fun because it’s frustrating but also, like, in the BEST WAY! I genuinely just could not stop reading. One of the most engaging reads of this year for me, and I read Ace of Spades this year! And that’s saying something!

To date, I’ve read three of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s books. Mexican Gothic fucked with my head in the best way, Velvet was the Night caught me by surprise and kept me engaged and entertained throughout its length, and The Beautiful Ones - which I’m still reading - has me floating in another world entirely. All this to say, I am incredibly impressed by this author. I love her writing, I love how she manages to capture my attention every single time, and I love how her books span all genres. I cannot wait to see what she does next!!!

Velvet Was The Night was a really fun book, and if you’ve been something of a sucker for books with these kinds of stories - the whole politics getting dirty by involving all these street gangs and stuff - then you’ll definitely enjoy this, too! I would definitely recommend it, but I will also say that this book might not be for everyone! So, you know, don’t go in blind, is all!

Thank you to Netgalley and Quercus books for an early copy of this book.
Velvet Was The Night is a historical, romantic noir. Set in Mexico City, 1971, a fantastic and interesting backdrop to this noir set amid the political turmoil at the time. Written from the perspectives of El Elvis, an enforcer with an aversion to violence, and Maite, a legal secretary with a very ordinary life. A story with a complicated plot and complex characters with the beginning of Mexico’s Dirty War at the centre.
Maite, a legal secretary, living a quiet life in Mexico City, oblivious to the political mayhem on her doorstep but understanding no one can be trusted. Maite lives by herself, obsessed with the comics: Secret Romance, living her life vicariously through the heroine’s ‘life’ from edition to edition. When her neighbour Lenora asks her one morning to look after her cat whilst she leaves town for a few days Maite is hesitant; as a creature of habit she sees this request as an intrusion to her very ordered (and boring) life. Lenora is so desperate she offers Maite money to look after the cat, this changes her mind as her car is in the garage and she is behind on the payments and other bills. Maite reluctantly agrees, Lenora hands over her keys giving her minimal instructions and hurries off.
Across the city, El Elvis, a Hawk, part of a paramilitary group, used by the government to attack and ultimately kill protesters, is tasked to locate Lenora and a roll of film with some politically sensitive photographs. El Elvis, like Maite, is also a dreamer. As the mystery progresses Maite becomes more invested, as she feels she is on an adventure like one of the heroines from her comics. Many people are after Lenora and Maite gets into some dangerous situations. El Elvis is also in danger at every turn, he is however intrigued by the mysterious Maite, he doesn’t understand how she can be so embroiled in such a dangerous situation.

This has been a difficult book to review without giving away any spoilers. One of my favourite reads this year, the period in Mexico’s history was new to me and I found myself researching what went on in the 70’s and also the Tlatelolco massacre in 1968. Moreno-Garcia uses Maite’s ignorance of the intricacies of the political climate as a conduit, to the reader, to question Lenora’s friend as to what exactly is going on and why.
A fast paced noir which evokes a sensual atmosphere through music and intrigue. A solid 5* read for me.
Moreno-Garcia’s ability to shift between different genres seamlessly is amazing. Definitely a contemporary classic author.

After absolutely loving Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Mexican Gothic, Gods of Jade and Shadow and The Beautiful Ones, I was thrilled to receive a copy of Velvet Was the Night. And while Silvia Moreno-Garcia's writing is once again beautiful and captivating, Velvet Was the Night unfortunately wasn't my favorite story of hers.

In Velvet Was the Night we follow Maite and Elvis. Maite is working as a secretary at a law firm and in her free time likes to escape her reality by reading the Secret Romance comics. Elvis is a member of the Hawks, a gang trained by to CIA. His life is filled with violence but Elvis will do anything to earn the respect of his boss, El Mago. When Maite's neighbour Leonora goes missing, Maite is pulled into the mystery of Leonora's disappearance. But Maite is not the only one looking for Leonora. Elvis and his crew members are also looking for Leonora and they aren't alone. Between Maite, the Hawks and the government, who will find Leonora and uncover her secrets?

Velvet Was the Night is written from the perspective of Maite and Elvis, two very different characters which results in seeing the story in a different light. While I didn't really connect with both main characters, their journey intrigued me. The story is set in 1970s Mexico and the political unrest is a big part of this story.

While the premise is really interesting, I expected a lot more suspense and intrigue but the story felt a bit slow to me. I did enjoy how the mystery was resolved in the end. I give Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia 3 stars and will definitely be on the look out for her next story.