Danger in Prohibition-era Los Angeles
Nadine Nettermann’s three wine themed mysteries that were released several years ago were great books. I was excited to see her come back with another book, this time a historical set in Los Angeles. The Bootlegger’s Daughter was an enjoyable standalone.
In 1927, Letty Hart is struggling to hang on to the family vineyard in the San Fernando Valley. Even though she and her mother have a legal contract to sell sacramental wine to the church, they are barely covering their bills. When that contract ends unexpectedly, she finds herself tempted by some illegal liquor her father left hidden. Should she sell it to help them pay their bills?
Meanwhile, Annabel Forman is one of the few female police officers on the LA force. When she is passed over for a promotion to detective, she is frustrated. But when she is assigned a test case – a missing necklace – as a joke, she begins to think it ties into something more. Where might it lead her?
Obviously, these characters are heading toward a confrontation, and I enjoyed watching their stories develop. It doesn’t happen in the way I would normally expect for one of the mysteries I read, but it was nice to have a break from the familiar formulas.
And there was plenty here to keep me engaged. Not only was I wondering exactly when and how the characters would connect, I was also wondering where the story would go. There were some nice surprises along the way to the suspenseful climax that had me turning pages as quickly as I could.
Having said that, I did feel like some of the events happened faster than they realistically would have. That’s probably me being nitpicky. Still, it did bump me out of the story a couple times.
The story is told from Letty’s first person point of view, Annabel’s third person point of view, and a third character’s third person point of view. These changes all take place when a chapter changes, and each chapter is clearly labeled, so it is easy to follow. What I found most interesting was that the entire book is written in present tense. I haven’t run across this in a historical novel before. As always, it took my brain a few pages to adjust, but once I did, I didn’t mind.
Because of how the book is written, we really get to know the three view point characters, especially Letty and Annabel. The rest of the characters don’t get enough page time to be fully developed, but they feel alive when they are on the page. And I really did enjoy watching Letty and Annabel deal with the obstacles they were facing.
I always enjoy seeing a book set in an area I’m familiar with, although this book felt a little foreign while still being set in Los Angeles. The biggest thing for me was that Letty’s vineyard is in the San Fernando Valley. Today, that’s almost nothing but cities with little to no agricultural area. How things have changed in the last hundred years.
The Bootlegger’s Daughter is a good crime story that will keep you turning pages. I hope that Nadine comes back with another book soon.
NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.
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