Katharine Schellman has done it again with her speakeasy series. This was a fascinating mystery that revisited all our favorite charcters, while throwing some shade onto our main character. it followed the predictable formula, but sometimes it's nice to have those stories to fall back on.

I tend not to gravitate towards books with historical influence because they simply don’t interest me.

However, this book had enough mystery and tension to keep my eyes glued to the pages. Vivian was a stellar multifaceted character — a delivery person by day and a dancer and server by night at a speak easy.

The usefulness of those in the underworld becomes clear when she becomes wanted for murder — searching high and low on a time crunch of a mere week to prove her innocence of a crime she did not commit.

Overall, fabulous read. Enjoyed it from front to back, and would read this author again in a heartbeat.

Vivian Kelly is working hard during prohibition as a dress delivery person per day, and a dancer and drink server in a Speakeasy. She has underworld friends, however they aren't who get her wanted for murder. Its the dress delivery gig that does that. She has seven days to prove she is innocent. WIth the help of her friends she searches high and low to find the guilty party.


I love books set n the 1920's the Speakeasys and the hidtory surrounding them. With that said the book started off strong for me but it did have some slow parts. I would read more in this series as the carachters were written well.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for this Advanced Readers Copy of The Last Note of Warning by Katharine Schellman! I thoroughly enjoy The Nightingale Mysteries and can't wait for the next!

*I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur Books for my honest review.*

Vivian is the last known person to see a man who is discovered dead by her on the same floor in a house where she was delivering dresses. She has obviously been set up to take the charge of murder, but she fights as best she can with her BF Leo helping. Using her contacts from the speakeasy where she works, Viv and Leo hunt down the culprit the only way they know how.

I enjoyed this book much more than the second in the series which I had found to be a little disjointed. I enjoyed this novel and feeling like I knew where things were going or what was happening better. Well paced with good characters. I look forward to the next book in the series.

This series is perfect for readers who love mysteries and historical fiction, especially if the 1920s interest you. With The Last Note of Warning, we are back in New York City in the 1920s, which means Prohibition and speakeasies. It’s a time when women were venturing beyond their traditional roles and behaviors.

Our main character, Vivian Kelly, works two jobs to make ends meet: making deliveries for a high-end seamstress by day, and waitressing and dancing at the Nightingale club at night. On one of these deliveries, Vivian finds herself asked to wait, as the woman who ordered the dresses has not returned home yet. When she decides she has waited long enough, she goes in search of a pen and paper with which to write a note and discovers the man of the house dead. Vivian is charged with his murder! With her connections, she manages to be released but the real killer must be found in the next seven days or she will be taken back into custody!

The author depicts real life situations, from the working class apartments/tenements to the lavish mansions uptown, the freedom of the nightclubs/speakeasies where pretty much “anything goes”, as well as more traditional lives. The LGBTQ representation is terrific in these books, starting with Vivian being bi. Her relationships with Leo Green and Honor (the female nightclub owner) ebb and flow from book to book, and it seems that more changes are in store for future volumes. I particularly enjoyed learning more about Honor in this story.

I did eventually guess at least part of the mystery but that did not lessen my enjoyment at all.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Enjoyed this one very much, another great historical suspense thriller from author Katharine schellman. Never disappoints, highly recommend

This was a wild ride and a fabulous 3rd installment in this series. I love Vivian's spirit and take no shit attitude. She does what she needs to do make a life for herself and protect those she loves. I can't wait to see what happens next in the next book!

I just couldn’t get into this. I felt like this was the same ole same ole as the first 2 in the series. It was cheesy cute to begin with, but now it’s got repetitive and the queer love triangle was a no-go in this most recent installment. The whole wrong-place-wrong-time trope is a little much three times over and the way the crime was “solved” didn’t seem plausible at all. I don’t think I’ll follow this series anymore. After the first, it’s run its course for me.

In this latest addition to the Nightingale mystery series, dressmaker Vivian is accused of murder after she discovers the body of a man at the home of one of her clients. Through many twists and turns, the mystery of his killer is solved.

The intriguing part of this novel is its time and place. Much of the action takes place in a speakeasy in Manhattan, and the time is Prohibition. The scenes set in the Nightingale club are the best and most interesting in the story. Although this is the third one in the series, it can be read as a standalone.

I received this book from the publisher and from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

'The champagne was flowing in the Nightingale, poured out for the dancers who crowded around the bar.
Don’t tell, they agreed, toasting each other with sultry voices and bold laughter. Don’t tell. You never saw me here.'

The Last Note of Warning, and the Nightingale Mysteries series by extension, is more bent on creating the Jazz Age vibes, albeit with modern women than on the crafting a realistic book. I found I couldn't focus on the actual murder mystery as I was distracted by the cardboard cutout characters and the unrealistic circumstances and series of events - just to create a premise for the mystery. This coupled with the heavy handed writing intent on telling rather than showing jarred me out of enjoying the book. I would have appreciated the character development, especially the relationship between the two sisters, if it wasn't so contradictory to itself.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

🌟 1/4
[1/4 star for the premise and the whole book; 1/4 star for the characters; 1/4 star for the writing; 1/4 star for the story; 1/4 star for the world-building - 1 1/4 star in total, rounded down to 1 star].

I didn’t get to finish this book, I got a new Amazon prime account and my kindle deleted everything associated with my previous account including all of my downloads and I only just figured out why it wasn’t appearing whenI tried re-sending to my kindle multiple times. Now I’ve finally found the source of my problem and changed/updated the kindle email and can now download books again. It really messed up my reviews for all of the books I’d requested over the past few months, I apologize. I liked what I was able to read so that’s what I’m rating.

A captivating dive into Prohibition-era mysteries and a great start to a new series. The writing is atmospheric, capturing the essence of a time filled with both glamour and danger. Filled with suspense, there are many twists and turns throughout.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

It's an interesting slow burn of a mystery! I was hooked from page one!!

This is the third book in a series, but it works well as a standalone. I hadn’t read the first two books and still found it easy to connect with the characters.

Balancing her life between managing dress deliveries to the elite circles by day and losing herself in the shadowy world of Nightingale by night, Vivian is paying for her freedom with sheer determination. But trouble comes knocking back when a routine dress delivery leads her to the wrong doorstep. Suddenly, she becomes the prime suspect in a murder case, and she has just a week to find someone else to pin the blame on.

Set in the vibrant 1920s, the story unfolds against a backdrop of illegal nightclubs, glamorous parties, and all the chaos one might expect from the era. The plot moves quickly, with constant twists and discoveries that keep readers engaged from start to finish. I'm drawn to strong-willed women who refuse to give up, and I found both qualities well-developed in our protagonist.

Overall, this was a delight to read! I'm looking forward to reading more in this series and by this author!

Katherine Schellman in the Last Note of Warning has Vivian Kelly, dressmaker's assistant and speakeasy server of drinks, on the hook for a murder that she did not commit The police commissioner gives her one week to find another suspect or she will go down for the murder. Life is complicated as none of her usual helpers can assist her. How will she get out of this?

This was a fun mystery set in the liquor prohibition of the 1920's, the author did a great job of painting the picture of the time. I enjoyed this read and will recommend it to others.

I like this series! Vivian is a strong woman with multiple talents. She knows what - and who - she wants and is making a life she enjoys. That life begins at the Nightingale, an illegal 1902s New York nightclub.
But when she needs to deliver a dress for her day job, a man ends up dead. And Viv is the main suspect. She lives for a week with the shadow of arrest hanging over her head. Can she clear her name and find out who committed the crime before she loses everything?
I appreciate how Viv opens up to help in this novel. She turns to her sister, brother-in-law, friend Leo, and even strangers to help her gather evidence and cope with the weight of the false charges.
Viv also makes several decisions about her life and grows more into the woman she wants to be. I like that she doesn't waver when she knows the next step she wants to take. I do disagree with some of her decisions (entering further into crime, for example), but that layer of humanity makes Viv more relatable.
Some readers may not like the queer aspect, drinking or light sexual content. And the pace is a little slow.
The author's notes at the end about the historical aspects of the book gave me more information for research, which I love!

The truth will come out sooner or later and Vivian will find it. She was an awesome character and one I enjoyed in getting to know! Wow! I liked her because she wasn't afraid to go after what she wanted!
I loved the mystery part of it. It was what made me keep sitting on the edge and turning the pages.
I especially enjoyed the era this story took place in.
One of my favorite settings.
The way this author wrote made feel like I was a part of Vivian's life and I didn't want to leave.
Books like those definitely makes it hard to want to come back to the present. Why? Because they leave you thinking about the characters long afterwards!
This author did a wonderful job. However; I did t know that this was a series. But it was still a good book and an awesome cover too!
The cover and title is what made me want to read it
5 stars fir an engaging story. I highly recommend!
My thanks for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine

The Last Note of Warning by Katharine Schellman is a queer historical mystery and the third book in The Nightingale Mysteries series.

In this installment, our main character Vivian is in the wrong place at the wrong time and ends up the primary suspect in a murder investigation. She can't flee town without endangering the people she loves, but she strikes a deal with the police commissioner to give her a week of freedom to try to clear her name.

I've mostly been a fan of this series, but this one was harder for me to get into. After a slow start, I did get pretty into the story. I really loved the growth of the relationship between Vivian and her sister, Florence. I also will forever love Bea and her family.

I appreciate the Author's note where she explains some topics of historical significance to the novel. I love learning things like that!

I didn’t know that this book was the third book in a series. It read great as a standalone, but I’ll probably go back and read the other two after this!

I don’t normally reach for historical fiction type books. But the fact that this one had a mystery element to it intrigued me and made it more enjoyable!

Also Vivian was a great main character! Highly recommend picking up this book!