Just finished The Spectacular by Fiona Davis. It was a beautifully written novel. I enjoyed the rich details and the plot. I was more interested in the past pov, but I understand why they had the present too. I just thought the past was a bit more rich in plot. Overall, a good book and I would recommend for fans of historical fiction!

I loved this book! I will definitely recommend it. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

It’s spectacular! I really identified with this book as a blues musician who decided to have a family instead of pursue a career in music

Marion goes against her fathers wishes to become a Rockette. She is torn between her dream and her family. Marion becomes entangled in the mystery of The Big Apple Bomber. She enlists the help of a young psychologist to help solve the case.

This book has a bit of everything, family drama, love interests, mystery, history… I loved it!

Once again, Fiona Davis has created an exciting story, with NYC as it’s backdrop.

This story is told by 55 year old Marion Brooks. In 1956, at the age of 19, Marion was selected as a member of the Rockettes. She went against her father’s wishes and seized this opportunity.

This historical fiction novel is based on the story of the Big Apple Bomber, When Radio City is bombed, Marion takes it upon herself to find the perpetrator. Realizing the incompetence of the NYPD, she engages the assistance of an acquaintance who is a psychiatrist. He profiles the bomber, leading to his capture.

This story includes mystery, love and family betrayal. It illustrates the challenges women who wanted to follow non-traditional paths in the 1950s faced.

I cannot recommend this book enough! It captivated my attention from the first page.

Thank you to Net Galley for providing me with an advanced copy.

I wish I could give this one 10 stars! Fiona Davis is near the top of my MUST-READ list these days. I have loved every book she has written. If you are not familiar with Ms. Davis, you should be. Every book she writes is set in a NYC landmark and features some type of drama along with that landmark, which often becomes a character too. The Spectacular is set in Radio City Music Hall, where Marion has just landed a job as a Rockette. Marion's family doesn't agree with her decision to dance and there is a bomber loose in the city. The Big Apple bomber has been terrorizing New York for 16 years, and I will not spoil anything about what he does or if he is caught. What you need to know is that this book is just like the title states.....SPECTACULAR!!!

This will be my monthly book pick for June.

In Fiona Davis’ new novel, The Spectacular, we meet Marion who was a Rockette in the 1950s, much to her father’s chagrin. Marion’s mother gave up an acting career to settle down as a wife and mother, so Marion felt she owed it to her mother’s sacrifice to give it a go. Marion’s father wishes she was more like her sister, Judy, who works with him at Met Power or like her mother by settling down with her boyfriend, Nathaniel, and being a wife and mother.

After Marion leaves home to live in a boarding house for other dancers, singers, and actresses, she manages to start mending her relationship with her sister, which has been brittle for years. When tragedy strikes, Marion finds herself trying to find the culprit behind sixteen years of bombings, aimed at revenge on Met Power. With the help of psychiatry resident, Peter, Marion aims to help police use a new concept of profiling to capture the man that Marion saw before a bomb went off in Radio City.

Davis returns with another historical novel that blends romance, suspense, and the city that never sleeps. Fans of her other works or those who are ready to discover her for the first time will not be disappointed in The Spectacular. Pulling from New York City’s own “Mad Bomber” and highlighting the Rockettes, you will get lost in 1950s Big Apple. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton/Penguin Random House for the advanced copy. Opinions expressed are my own. This book is set for publication on June 12, 2023.

#netgalley #arc #fionadavis #thespectacular #penguinrandomhouse #dutton

I wish to thank NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton Publishers for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I am a huge fan of Fiona Davis as she is a master storyteller. I was so thrilled to be offered this book. I love the Rockettes and this story is all about a young woman of privilege who really wants a career in dancing. Her father wants her to marry well and raise children. One day she learns about tryouts for the Radio City Rockettes team and goes to audition never thinking she was good enough to make the cut. The reader learns all about the hard work that goes into putting on a show at Radio City Music Hall and the bonding between the girls. Just when you are totally absorbed with the story it changes and the reader finds herself in the midst of a murder in the theater. You follow the progression of the search for the criminal. What a great story this one is. If you are a fan of the Rockettes this one is for you. The story is in two time frames which are really fun as you look both forward and back to fully understand what is happening. This one will be a huge hit with book clubs everywhere.

The book is beautifully crafted, well researched and totally engaging. I loved it!!!! I think you will also.

Marion Brooks is a nineteen year old growing up in affluent Bronxville, NY with her sister Judy and her father Simon, an executive at Metropolitan Power. Her mother died in an accident when Marion was much younger. It seems that her father has her future mapped out. She will wed her longtime beau and move into her Bronxville home.
Marion has the courage to seek her own fortune and ventures to an audition with the very famous Radio City Rockettes. What a wondrous moment when she is actually gets the job!
Quickly she realizes that she is far too creative to adhere to the rigid restrictions that being a Rockette requires. Then a blind date with a psychiatry resident, Peter, puts her life into a completely unexpected trajectory as the two join forces in an attempt to identify the bomber who has attacked Radio City and who is terrorizing many New York City landmarks. Can she pursue her own goals and still live in peace with her very authoritarian father? How can she marry her sweetheart while dancing in four shows a day, attending grueling rehearsals and having only one week a month of free time?

Fiona Davis writes with emotion, detail and language that is descriptive and flowing. Usually I am attracted to character driven novels. In The Spectacular, Ms Davis, has managed to create characters who live inside of the reader while she creates a plot that is sublimely interesting.
New York City, specifically Radio City Music Hall in the grand era of the mid 1950’s , is the setting of this remarkable tale. Lots of research went into that period of history as well as historic Radio City Music Hall. I was a small child at that time and remember the splendor and excitement of a trip to see the renowned Rockettes. I knew there was a Mad Bomber terrorizing NYC, who simply was not being caught. It was exciting revisiting history that happened right before my eyes
I enjoyed reading this book from beginning to end and wish to thank #Netgalley and the #Penguingroup for providing me with an ARC in return for my honest review. Four well deserved stars for this engaging read.

Thank you to Fiona Davis and Netgallery for the advance copy of The Spectacular. Another good read about an iconic building in NYC. This time it was Radio City Music Hall.

It was very disheartening in the beginning reading about the controlling father that squashed your dreams if he didn't agree with them. The mystery and criminal profiling was interesting to read.

I kept wondering how a resident could have time to just drop everything and run after a suspected murderer. That didn't seem very realistic. I also don't think police would give so much information to victims' families.

I always enjoy reading a bit about lower Westchester being that I was born and raised in New Rochelle, which is very near Bronxville.

Stories like this that intertwine real life events with fictional characters and done well, Fiona Davis knows how to do that.

The Spectacular uncovers a serial bomber story and laces it with a bright spirited dancer wanting to make a break. The historical events were written so well with the dialogue it didn’t feel like a history narrative book. The mystery aspect kept me glued to the story wanting to know who this person was and why, As answers started surfacing I couldn’t but root for Marion as she fought for justice and herself.

Davis is an incredible story teller in historical fiction, The Spectacular was nothing short of being one of her best written yet.

This one is as good as all of the rest of Fiona Davis’s historical novels. I was excited to have the chance to read it early and I wasn’t disappointed. The characters are multi-faceted, the plot is engaging and the history and place come to life. And of course I was rooting for Marion the entire read. Can’t wait for her next one.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an early release in exchange for a fair and honest review.

"The Spectacular" is an apt title for this wonderful book - everything about it from the characters and descriptions, the writing and plot was 'spectacular'. I could not put it down and raced to the end, wanting to know what happened. I highly recommend this book and will be purchasing a paper copy for my own library that I may enjoy it again and again!

The behind-the-scenes world of the fabulous Rockettes provides an enticing background for a real-life mystery that perplexed police for years. In her latest historical offering, Davis wraps an intriguing fictional Radio City storyline around the Big Apple Bomber. Heroine Marion Brooks may seem an unlikely amateur sleuth, but she has a strong vested interest in finding the man who set off a bomb while she performed with the dance troupe. We applaud Marion’s growth from a protected girl to a strong, independent young woman, as she teams with a psychiatrist who opens the doors to criminal profiling. A great premise nestled in a really special setting.

Another fabulous, enjoyable page turner. Loved this story!!! I devoured it in 2 days, and enjoyed every page. I wish it would have been longer.

I was a little concerned at the beginning of the book as she was preparing to move to assisted living at 55 since I am 68 and haven't considered it. Things became clearer near the end. I was also a little concerned about some science referenced in the mid-50s but it does look possible. Other than that it is a compelling story - it kept me reading until I finished in about a day. I've never seen the Rockettes and still hope to sometime but the descriptions were excellent. I enjoyed the illumination of life in the mid-50w.

I think it is one of her stronger novels and feel fortunate to have received it to review.

Once again, Davis delivers a lovely piece of historical fiction. This story takes the reader back to the golden age of the Radio City Music Hall and the Rockettes. This is the story of Marion who wanted to dance and becomes a Rockette. Her home life was dismal with an overbearing father and a mother who was dead.

Marion’s story intersects with the time NYC was terrorized by the MAD BOMBER. Davis dubs him the Manhattan bomber and puts Marion in the crosshairs when she is at the site of his most memorable attack, at the Music Hall. It is there she meets the love of her life.

Told as a memoir by Marion, returning to the Music Hall for an anniversary gala. It is there that the author manages to pull all the ends together with a timely and satisfying closing.

Thank you Netgalley for another great book by Fiona Davis.

Fiona Davis is one of the few authors that makes me love the genre of historical fiction.

The Spectacular is narrated by Marion, who's life dream is to become a dancer. She spontaneously auditions for a spot in The Rockettes. Against her father's wishes, she ends up taking the role. There, she is able to connect with other like minded individuals and she starts to discover her true self. Along the way, she also discovers that her deceased mother was a dancer as well. As the story unfolds, she learns much about her father and mother's relationship. Her family members are not the lovely people that she used to think that they were.

In her time as a Rockette, Marion is also personally affected by The Big Apple Bomber. This person has been planting bombs through the city of New York for 16 years and has never been apprehended. One day, this bomber plants a bomb inside Radio City Music Hall, that ends up killing Marion's sister, Judy. Marion makes it her personal mission to identify the bomber and bring him to justice.

Marion and her friend, Peter, work together with the police to create a criminal profile for The Big Apple Bomber. Historically, this was when criminal profiling was just beginning to emerge. The police were skeptical and didn't believe that this could be accurate. After they learn more about the case, and find that Peter's predictions are true, the police begin to take his predictions seriously.

The Spectacular has many themes that I love and I think many people can relate to. While we love our family members, we must realize that they are also human and make mistakes. True life fulfillment comes from following dreams, even if family may not agree. It's hard to go against family wishes, but sometimes that will lead to ultimate happiness. In the 50's and 60's, a woman's role was in the home. Marion had no wishes to be a homemaker. Although she wanted a family, she never had one and didn't focus her youth on finding love. As she ages, she realizes that some opportunities passed her by, but that she made the best of use of her life as she knew how.

I absolutely loved this book and highly recommend it to other! I am in appreciation to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. Happy reading!

I really enjoyed this book. The story kept my interest the whole way through the book. It was neat to get a glimpse of the life of a rockette and the added mystery of who the bomber really kept me reading long past my bedtime!

Courtesy of Dutton/Plume Tiny Reparations Books and Netgalley, I received the ARC of The Spectacular by Fiona Davis. This well researched historical novel is set in 1950's NYC, focusing on the Rockettes and Radio City Music Hall, while introducing the true crime story of The Mad Bomber and the development of criminal profiling.. Woven together with relevant family dynamics, romance, secrets and lies, this book had me captivated from the introduction to the conclusion...highly recommend!

A Radio City Rockette by day, a super sleuth by night, Marion Brooks has no clue that following her dreams will help take down the infamous and elusive Big Apple Bomber! This book is an absolute delight that i’m so glad I had a front row seat for! With radio city music hall as its backdrop and characters that kick their way into your heart, be sure to save a space on your TBR shelf for the next big hit from Fiona Davis!!

Wow! It is so fitting that @fionadavisauthor’s next novel is called The Spectacular because it totally lives up to its title and then some! Now I have to admit, this is the first book I’ve read from Fiona but i knew that she picks famous buildings in NYC as backdrops to build a story around. While I’m excited to read about the others she’s chosen…you can’t get a bigger stage than Radio City Music Hall. You can feel the excitement within its halls, hear the orchestra warming up and envision the precision of the Rockettes as you turn each page! I also loved the little shout to Vera-Ellen!