As this was the final book in a four part series, I appreciated that the author has brought closure to series, especially the focus on the growth and maturing of Vivian Kelly's character and her relationship with Honor Huxley, but not in the manner I had expected, Overall, I found the book less interesting that the earlier books in the series. Nevertheless I would recommend it to readers of the earlier book.

My thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s for an ARC of this novel to read and review.

When you find a book series you love, it’s very hard to come to terms with the fact that you are reading its final installment. You’re not prepared to concede that you’ll never again read about new developments in the lives and loves of your favourite characters. That’s especially true when the characters are so well-written, and their lives and loves so well-drawn. This is the case for Katherine Schellman’s cast at the Nightingale, a smoky, music-filled speakeasy in Jazz Age New York City.

In this final outing for Vivian Kelly, the female lead, much has changed, including Vivi herself. She is still tight with her older sister Florence, now happily married to bartender Danny, with a beautiful baby girl, and living above his family’s Chinese restaurant. For the orphaned Kelly girls, the warmhearted Chin family is as much of a family as they’ve ever had. Their mother had left their father abruptly when Florence was a toddler and Vivian not yet born. When she died shortly after giving birth, they were raised in the local Catholic orphanage, trained as seamstresses, and let into the world to fend for themselves as teenagers. No one knew what had become of their father.

That longing to know follows them through the previous three novels and they manage to get to the truth in this one. Their father, by a strange twist in circumstances, is not only closer than they thought, but also unwittingly involved in some of the same channels. The situation gets dangerously close to ‘be careful what you wish for.’

Getting into further detail regarding those circumstances would reveal too much of the main mystery, which, in the way of serials, never strays far from the Nightingale and its beautiful, and shrewd owner, Honor Huxley. A ruthless Chicago mobster will stop at nothing to find a mystery man known as Hugh Brown who once worked for him. He suspects Honor knows him, but she won’t cooperate. Her own faithful men and their families are threatened, including that of Bea, known as Bluebird, their enormously talented singer. Vivian is also threatened, and Danny and Florence fear for their lives and their baby’s.

The pressure on Honor intensifies as men disappear or are found brutally killed. Then they use someone especially important to her as leverage. Her relationship with Vivian has also evolved, pivoting from attraction through distrust and back, through the earlier books. It continues, frustratingly, much the same way here until Vivian makes a decision that precipitates both loss and gain, the closing of some opportunities and the stirrings of others.

Once again, the author does a lovely job with the historical setting, especially concerning the Nightingale, which is ‘home’ to so many of the city’s outsiders. Although the Nightingale was exactly the kind of place where ‘acting out’ and dropping masks could comfortably happen, in an atmosphere of illicit booze, tobacco smoke, the latest and most daring music and fashion, much of what went on there was confined to its crowded floors and tables. That included the love between women, and between couples of different cultures and races. The tensions are very real.

Of course, even a clever author can’t fix those tensions without denying history. Schellman doesn’t try to glide over the hatreds that keep them going, and how they constrain even attempts to bridge the gaps. What she does really well is to show that, for those who choose love over glory or even safety, there is hope. The ending was done in an intelligent and ultimately believable fashion, but many of us wish the Nightingale saga could just go on.

In 1920s New York City, Vivian Kelly finds family at a glamorous speakeasy. But a mysterious threat forces her to confront a decades-old unsolved case, risking everything she’s built. Set in the world of organized crime, this gritty thriller is fast-paced and full of twists.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I enjoyed the book. Vivian is a slightly confused and naive character at the beginning, but learns to grow up. The mystery was intriguing and no one is who the really seem. The twists in the story were well done. I read this book through NetGalley and wanted to review it. I will be looking for more books from Schellman.

United States Publication: June 17, 2025

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for this advanced reader's copy. In exchange, I am providing an honest review.

It's nearing the end of 1925, and Vivian is finally feeling safe after almost landing in prison for the rest of her life six months ago. Since discovering the real culprit and breaking things off with Leo, she's become an Aunt and continued to make plans for her future. She's unsure if her future will unfold as a delivery girl for the dressmakers, but she's certain to find a way to ensure her future includes the Nightingale. The club, both the physical building and its patrons and coworkers, is like family. When a thug dressed up as Fifth Avenue money comes into the Nightingale looking for Hugh Brown, Vivian and her co-workers can honestly say they have no idea who that is. But he doesn't believe them and decides the staff and owner of the Nightingale need the squeeze put on them in order to cough up what they know about Hugh Brown. Except nobody has ever heard of Hugh Brown. With a two-day deadline to hand over Hugh Brown to this thug, Vivian and Honor feel the pressure of finding this Brown character, getting his side of the story, and then deciding what to do. Meanwhile, Flo and Viv's efforts to locate anyone who knew their mother have finally yielded some results, and their meeting with their deceased father's sister, Ruth, is a peculiar and unsettling interaction that leads to a surprising revelation. The clock ticks down on the two-day deadline, and Flo and Viv grapple with the revelation of newly discovered family, the future becomes uncertain, and Vivian knows that unless someone does something drastic, the fight for a future will be for naught.

A great final book in an excellent series. Schellman wrapped up several proverbial loose threads with this title, giving Vivian and her sister a way to move forward regarding their past, present, and future, restoring happiness to Leo - who was nursing a twice-broken heart, allowing the Bluebird to glimpse a future where she coould spread her figurative wings through her singing, and giving Honor a partner in life and business. I devoured this final title, truly did not put it down until it was finished. I have zero complaints with it. I really enjoyed the arc Schellman took Vivian through in these four books. I loved how she tackled some taboo topics for the 1920s and brought historical accuracy to them, without allowing them to be hidden under the guise of political correctness. Historical fiction is historically (pun most definitely intended) hard for me to grasp and enjoy, but Schellman succeeded in capturing and maintaining my interest and attention for a series set in the mid-1920s. I loved it. It was clear that she had done her research and brought it to life to the best of her ability, and, in my opinion, she was incredibly successful. I highly recommend this series.

Vivian meets a new man from Chicago at the Nightingale. He is not very nice, and wants to know where Hugh Brown is. The next day Florence and Vivian get a letter from the woman who claimed their mother's body who wants to meet them. They soon find out that she is the brother of their father and she tells them that he is dead. However, Vivian later finds he's very much alive. She also finds out that Silence (the man on the door at the Nightingale has been killed. The man who was looking for Hugh Brown doesn't give up. He is still looking, and Vivian needs to be very careful where she goes and that she has someone with her. Then Vivian finds that her friend Leo went by the name Hugh Brown. The book gets very exciting near the end when Vivian arranges to get together with the Chicag0 man, Leo, Vivian, and a bunch of police get together.

This is a very exciting book! I thank Netgalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC so that I could read the book before publication.

I really enjoyed this book and devoured it in a day! It is the 4th (and final??) book in The Nightingale Mysteries and I couldn’t have been more excited to get this as an ARC! I had the opportunity to see the author speak at a panel last November and immediately bought and read the first 3 books while anxiously awaiting this one. I am so glad that we got to see more of Vivian’s relationships develop more, especially her relationship with Honor which has been the ultimate slow burn! Fantastic book and can’t wait to buy it when it comes out on June 17th!

This is the 4th and last book in a rich and captivating series set in Jazz Age NYC. The Nightingale is a popular speakeasy whose owner, Honor Huxley and staff have formed their own “found family”. The central character is Vivian…a young woman who loves to dance and the jazz music that allows her to escape the crime, poverty, racism and corruption that surrounds her everyday life. As orphans, Viv and her older sister Florence have long for information about their parents and are thrilled when they receive a letter from a woman who they learn is their Aunt. Through her, they finally meet their long lost father, Clyde Quinn who turns out to have unfatherly interest in Vivian and her friend Leo Green. A gangster, Quinn’s boss is the ruthless and murderous crime lord O’Keefe. The O’Keefe gang has returned to NYC from Chicago in search of revenge against a guy named Brown, who is secretly, Leo Green. Quinn uses his connection to the girls to appease his boss in finding Brown. A “rat” at the Nightingale has told O’Keefe that Brown has been seen there…thus setting up a murderous confrontation between O’Keefe and Quinn with Vivian and Honor. There are subplots about a number of other character and they all fit seamlessly together to bring emotional and satisfying endings to all their stories.

When I requested this on Netgalley, I missed that this was book 4 of 4 and I hadn't read the first three. So I'm a little sad that I read the last book in the series as my introduction to the series. The Nightengale is a NYC speakeasy where Vivian Kelly works as a waitress (and as a seamstress in the day) This is her place, her found family and now Danny, the bartender is family, her sister Florence's husband and father of their little girl, Mei.

Viv and Florence have tracked down their father's sister (the girls growing up in an orphanage) in their bid to find family and this becomes (no spoilers) a prominent thread throughout this book. As is Vivian's growing attraction to her boss and owner of the speakeasy, Honor. Naturally there is fear there not just because of their very unequal social status but, of course, how lesbian relationships were seen in the 1920s.

But there is no place Vivian is happier to be, no place and people she would protect more ferociously than those in the Nightengale. And into this comes a handsome redheaded mob boss, O'Keefe, who believes Honor and her people know who he is looking for, a man named Hugh Brown. People die just to get Honor's attention and more will die potentially, Vivian, her sister and family, her friend Bea and Honor herself unless they turn over Brown to him.

The problem is O'Keefe is mistaken. they have no idea who Brown is nor do they want to play ball even if they did. Still, Vivian has to discover who this name is and find a way to foil O'Keefe or she'll lose everything.

It's a good mystery, the slow reveals and the red herrings good. It's an ending that should satisfy the fans. Four books seems short for a series but in a way I appreciate that better than the thing limping along for 30 books that haven't been good since book 11. It's open enough that if she ever wants to revisit these characters down the road she can. As for me, even though I know how it ends I'm going to look for the first three books.

As the final book in a 4-book series, Last Dance Before Dawn may be difficult for newcomers to the series to understand. Many of the primary characters appeared in former books, so the series is best read in order to understand all of the background and relationships. Vivian, the heroine of the series, is a fascinating character: brave and loyal, but also reckless and foolhardy, she makes use of her network of contacts to figure out how to save The Nightingale, the club where she works, from a gangster who is convinced the club's employees are hiding someone. The author brings Jazz Age New York to life. Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the eARC.

I do enjoy this 1920s mystery series that centers around the characters working at a speakeasy, the Nightingale. Our intrepid heroine, Vivian, risks all sorts of danger as she tries to untangle a mystery that threatens the people at the Nightingale. It’s an interesting exposition of New York after dark in that era. It was pretty clear where the mystery was heading, but it was still fun following along.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

5/5 stars: This is the fourth entry in Schellman's Nightingale Mysteries series which is a 2SLGBTQIA+ Historical Mystery that takes place in New York 1925 and follows an underground speakeasy and dance hall waitress and dress shop assistant who turns sleuth after a stranger from Chicago shows up at the club looking to settle old scores. With more to lose than ever before, she'll find herself digging into the dirt of the past – a missing girl, a boy out for revenge and a truck full of cash that disappeared in a job gone horribly wrong – and she'll have to work fast to protect the people she loves. With plenty of twists and turns, Schellman has masterfully crafted a mystery that deftly balances the suspects, clues and red herrings and will leave you pondering the whodunit until the final reveal. Smart and witty, Schellman's writing and character work are stellar; the characters are well-rounded and complex while remaining incredibly likable. It's great to catch up with Vivian (Viv) and her friends and family. She's a tough and tenacious woman determined to live her life as she wants. And I have to say I appreciate Viv's struggle to choose between her romantic interests, Leo and Honor, and applaud her for following her heart. It's also evident Schellman pays attention to the historical details with plenty of research. I love the exploration of the 2SLGBTQIA+ lifestyle and the struggles minorities faced, including interracial marriage, (Viv's sister Florence is married to a Chinese man). With tact and sensitivity, Schellman touches on some tough topics; so take care and CWs. While you could read this as a stand-alone, you'll gain so much more by reading the series from the beginning; so be sure to pick up book one, Last Call at the Nightingale. This is a great finale to an awesome series; highly recommend!

I received this eARC thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books in exchange for an honest review. Publishing dates are subject to change.

A nice way to wrap up this series -I definitely think this is my favorite of the 4. Vivian is intimidated early on by a guy looking for someone no one’s ever heard of. As the plot thickens, it seems that everyone at the Nightingale is connected and everyone is just trying to stay alive. Some, however, aren’t successful. Who is buddy buddy with the crime boss and who isn’t is the question you have to ask yourself in this book! Will Viv and Florence get some closure on the family they so desperately seek, and if so, will it be worth the wait?

The plot twist of the series happened in the final chapters of this series and I loved it. Leo was always one of my favorite side characters!

The end of a series can be happy or sad…or both. I loved this conclusion and shed a few happy tears because of the beautiful way tye loose ends came together.

The series-long arc about Vivian and Florence’s father is dealt with. Interestingly and understandably, he ties into the main storyline.

The main story centers The Nightingale speakeasy as some gangsters are hunting a man named “Hugh Brown,” a bootlegger from Chicago. He’s a regular at the club, but none of the staff knows the name. Silence, the Bouncer, is murdered and the staff is on edge. Vivian works with all of her friends separately to figure out who Hugh Brown is…and the reveal is pretty stunning!

There are secondary storylines with Florence and Danny, Honor, Leo, and Bea. A whole lot is packed into a small package here and it’s a fun ride.

Vivian’s love life has been complicated from the beginning as she has drifted between Leo and Honor. I personally had a favorite by the end of the third book and I was excited to see my favorite making plans with Vivian for the future in this one.

I’m sad it’s over, but I know I’ll be rereading this series over and over in the future. Though I was given an ARC, I’ve already ordered my personal copy!

I liked this 4th and last book in the series a lot! Vivian really was centre stage in this one as a female main character and I liked that a lot for the last book. She outsmarts all other characters and I liked that. Even Honor was more participating this time and I was here for that! She is a great paring for Vivian as female leads and they benefited the story and the end a lot. Honor is a 1920s business woman par excellence - I love how she doesn’t allow to be messed with. Aside from them, Leo again acted a sidekick this time and I like that he was part of this story. He is smart and kind. I like Katherine’s writing and this book was just as good as the last. I like that loose ends get tied and no question is left, at least for me. All in all a very recommendable series if you like the 1920s and historical fiction mysteries.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, but it just didn’t click with me, and I couldn’t make it through to the end.
I received a complimentary copy of the book from St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

"Last Dance Before Dawn is the final book in the luscious, mysterious, and queer Nightingale mystery series by Katharine Schellman, set in 1920s New York.

Vivian Kelly has finally created a home and a family at the glamorous speakeasy known as The Nightingale, where no one cares who you are in the daytime. After all, in the underground world of 1920s New York City, everyone has a secret to keep, and they're on The Nightingale's dance floor to leave those secrets behind. But sometimes it takes more than a dance to escape your past.

When a stranger from Chicago shows up at The Nightingale looking to settle old scores, Vivian and The Nightingale's owner, the mysterious and alluring Honor Huxley, send him packing. They soon discover, though, that the stranger was just a warning. Slowly, the people who have made The Nightingale their home realize that someone is following them. Hunting them. And that someone won't stop until they unravel a mystery that's been cold for years: a missing girl, a boy out for revenge, and a truck full of cash that disappeared in a job gone horribly wrong.

Vivian just wants to protect the people she loves, and she's willing to dig into the dirt of the past to make it happen. But some questions are safer left unanswered, and now that Vivian has built a family for herself, she has more to lose than ever before."

If you've been waiting to start this series, wait no longer, because you can now read the whole thing!

Old mysteries and missing money.
Sorry as I am to know that this is the end of a wonderful series, I truly enjoyed this book. The characters have always been vibrant and engaging, the world building all too believable, the activities and attitudes reflective of the time. I loved each of the books, but this is the best and was built upon the others.
I requested and received a free temporary uncorrected digital galley from St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books via NetGalley. Thank you! Pub Date Jun 17, 2025
#LastDanceBeforeDawn by Katharine Schellman @katharinewrites #TheNightingaleMysteriesBk4
@stmartinspress @minotaur_books #HistoricalMysteries #CrimeFiction #QueerFiction #Pride
#prohibitionera #Bookstagram #historicalmystery #CrimeFiction #gangsters #sapphicromance #NYC #bootlegging #angst #thriller #suspense #dancehall #secrets #extortion #lostandfound

A wonderful read!
This novel drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters were vibrant and relatable, the writing was engaging, and the story had just the right balance of heart and humor. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

The Nightingale is open for business once again in the fourth novel of Schellman's Prohibition murder mystery series. Vivian, Bea, Honor and the rest of the well loved employees of the Nightingale are in trouble once again and are fighting time in order to determine which mobster or bootlegger is after the money this time. Part historical fiction, part romance, the characters are well established at this point but some of their "secrets" aren't exactly being hidden as well making the reader skeptical of the emotional depth of these people.

One of the major flaws I saw in the novel was Vivian's new found confidence. Her take charge behavior came off more reckless than necessary and made her "street smarts" seem like just plain luck. It was irksome in my opinion. While this last installment was more gangster driven than Schellman's last three novels, it's conclusion was satisfactory and gave justice to the employee's of the Nightingale.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read this novel.