While I appreciate this book, I was not able to get into it. I love the concept but it wasn’t grabbing me.

Ever since reading Fitzgerald in high school, I have had a love for books set in the Jazz Age but have been highly critical of their writing since nothing seems to compare. Passing Fancies by Marlowe Benn, however, is a wonderful book set during the Harlem Renaissance that follows amateur sleuth Julia Kydd as she investigates a murder at a Harlem nightclub. The mystery itself was good, especially toward the end, but I also enjoyed and appreciated the commentary on racial bias and discrimination. I have not read the first book in the series yet, but now intend to do so.

New York Beckons....
The sequel to ‘Relative Fortunes’ and the second Julia Kydd novel. Julia is determined to launch her new press in New York, discovers a new literary movement and finds herself knee deep in murder. Enjoyable mystery although slower than the first and with perhaps less dry wit and less attention to some pertinent issues.

Passing Fancies
A Julia Kydd Novel
Marlowe Benn
Lake Union Pub, Jun 2020
327 pages
Historical Cozy
Provided by Author via NetGalley

⭐⭐⭐🌙 3.5 Stars

The cover coordinates with the previous one, which was black and gold and looked similar. I love the stylized flapper, so elegant for this series.

The story is historical, as in the 1920s during the Jazz renaissance and a period when it was rather scary to be a person of color in our country. Julia has a high class, totally white background, and is now exposed to not only the black jazz community but a black woman who can pass as white. This has a whole bundle of issues all its own aside from just being a woman of color, as we find out in Passing Fancies. It’s a brutal world that Julia gets a glimpse into. Sitting here reading this book at a time when we watch similar violence and brutality currently on the evening news makes this book span the century and become all that much more relevant.

The mystery doesn’t come in until much later in this book than in the first one, but that’s because we spend so much time following around Julia and her new friends to parties and clubs before we get too deeply into back rooms and dark alleys. This isn’t as strong a story as the first book was. It doesn’t seem to hold together quite as well at times. I’m interested in seeing where the author takes Julia from here. Recommended.

Passing Fancies is the second Julia Kydd mystery by Marlowe Benn. Released 2nd June 2020, it's 331 pages and available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book (and the first in the series) is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free.

This is a competently written period murder mystery set in NYC in 1925. The protagonist is a (recently) independently wealthy young woman who is a publisher of small run special edition art books. In her search for new authors to publish and promote, she moves in social circles with artists, writers, and musicians. The avant garde attend the same parties without regard to race or to the segregation laws of the time and she meets and befriends an author whom she is surprised to find out is of mixed race background. How their friendship develops is central to the plot. Much of it turns on themes of sexism, racism, rape, segregation, and rigid patriarchy in addition to the murder and subsequent investigation.

Although this is the second book in the series, it works well enough as a standalone. The necessary backstory is given in the narrative and I never felt lost or had trouble keeping the characters straight in my head as I was reading.

Although it seems to mostly be a light period mystery, there's a fair amount of graphic violence, racism, discussion of rape, etc etc. I found myself uncomfortable with some of the discussions as well as the relentless racism (especially in the context of "that's the way it is"). The author is unquestionably a competent writer and I love books with a bibliophile theme. I'm motivated to at least read the next book in the series. I also found the denouement rather tough going and the resolution left me somewhat dissatisfied.

Three and a half stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

The title of this sophisticated second entry in the Julia Kydd mystery series (after Relative Fortunes) is cleverly apropos. It’s set in Manhattan during the freewheeling Jazz Age, circa 1924, which conjures up images of frivolous, fun-loving pursuits, but here, “passing” also refers to racial identity and crossing the color line. Julia, a wealthy 25-year-old recently recovered from the near loss of her inherited fortune, is a bibliophile with ambition. She dreams of expanding her small private press, and for this, she needs authors. At a publishing soiree, she meets the tall, fair Eva Pruitt, an up-and-coming novelist, and they develop a close rapport. Later, Julia is startled to learn that Eva is Black; Eva’s debut, it’s implied, will be a roman à clef about her experiences as a Harlem nightclub performer. When Eva’s manuscript (she only had one copy; one can sense all authors cringing) goes missing, and her boss is found dead, Eva’s the most likely suspect, but Julia can’t believe she did it.

Set amid the Harlem Renaissance, the themes of this novel taking place nearly a century ago are also unerringly modern, including police brutality, African American writers’ difficulties with the publishing industry, and white blindness to racial inequities. Eva is a well-rounded character with a complicated past, though her friendship with Julia blossoms too swiftly. Those enamored of fine bindings and quality fonts can indulge in their passions along with Julia, and language aficionados will appreciate the cultured writing. As with the previous book, Julia’s one-time nemesis and half-brother, the urbane Philip, who helps to solve puzzlers for the police, is probably the most interesting character of all. He and Julia make a good investigating team, a revelation Julia slowly catches onto.

(from the Historical Novels Review, August 2020)

Really enjoyed this sequel title - good fun, good mystery with plenty of twists and turns. Looking forward to the next one!

A thrilling read, and a culturally relevant topic. Set in New York during the roaring twenties, aspiring book publisher Julia Kidd befriends "New Age Negro" writers, learning more about the movement, racism and exploitation disguised as modern thinking, and biases of the law. Something to note is that while the story is in large part about race, the main character, Julia, is a white woman, and thus we follow her story and what she learns through her friendships. That being said, it was an intriguing mystery combined with vivid characters to fully invest in. I couldn't put this book down.

This was a great mystery and once you start reading it is impossible to stop. Some of the issues parallel what we are experiencing today.
Many thanks to Lake Union Publishing and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I really liked this complex, well-written mystery. Although set in 1920's New York and focusing on the nightclub scene in 'Harlem, this book is a sustained mediatation on racism and the many ways blacks could be manipullated and taken advantage of by whites.

The mystery is complex and the murder is of a man who is not at all likable. It seems likely that one of two of his black employees will be charged. The protagonist, Julia Kydd, wants to help and to see justice done. Solving the case will require her finding the truth in a changing world.

Last year I read the first book in this series and I thought it was a promising start and was eager to see how this book would be. I remember that the first book was a little on the slower side but I loved Julia the heroine and that’s what made me want to read this one.

One of the things that always caught my attention was that one of the featured characters was a black singer, so right away I thought that this book would likely tackle some big issues like race.

At a time like this, I am looking to diversify my reading and while this book isn’t by a black author and isn’t meant to be a book about race, it did have racial issues and themes not to mention white privilege in the story, and I thought it was an interesting mystery.

Summary
Set in Manhattan’s fabled Jazz Age, Passing Fancies delves beneath the era’s glittering surface to reveal fissures and frictions still raw today.

In 1925, elegant young bibliophile Julia Kydd settles in New York City, eager to join its lively literary scene. Julia is befriended by Black singer Eva Pruitt, author of a manuscript rumored to reveal secrets of the glamorous Harlem nightclub where she works, which caters to fashionable white-only audiences. Publishers are competing for Eva’s novel, keen to exploit fascination with “New Negro” exoticism.

When the club’s owner is found shot to death and the police brutally question Eva, Julia realizes her friend has already been judged guilty. Shaken and ashamed at her own naïveté about American justice, Julia vows to find the murderer before the police can hunt down the fugitive Eva.

Julia’s search draws her into Eva’s world, where she must confront the privileges and blindspots of her race and social class even as she pursues a wily killer (summary from Goodreads)

Review
Right away I felt like this book was already better than the first one. It went a lot faster and the storyline was more developed than I remember the first book being. There is still a part in the middle that drug a bit but over all it read faster than the first book. I can tell that the author has grown since her last book and I loved reading this one.

In addition to race and white privilege, this book takes on more difficult topics including rape and gender issues. While it might appear to be on the lighter side, the content in this one makes it far from a fluffy read. I thought it was an intelligent mystery with lots of red herrings and twists to keep me wondering who the murderer was and what their motives were.

Julia is still a great character and I loved seeing how she evolved from the first book to this one. Personally I think this book could be read without having to read the first book in the series as the author does a great job orientating new readers in the story, but I think reading the first book makes readers appreciate Julia more and the author’s writing.

If you love historical mysteries this is an author and series you want on your radar!

Book Info and Rating
Kindle Edition
Published June 2nd 2020 by Lake Union Publishing
ASIN B07V6H96X3
Free review copy provided by publisher, Lake Union, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced.
Rating: 4 stars
Genre: historical mysteries

This is the 2nd book in the Julia Kydd series and it was a wonderful addition. Even though this was a mystery, it shed light on racial injustices, which is so relevant right now.

I finished this book a few days ago. It was such a lovely read. Yes, it is a mystery with enough red herrings to make it interesting. The prose is what really captured me. I loved the writing style. Julia Kydd is a intelligent, modern woman during an era when women just won the right to vote but men still controlled (or thought they controlled) the women. I read Ms., Benn's first book, Relative Fortunes, and enjoyed that as well. It is a good, quick summer read. As a note, it is not necessary to read these books in order.

Thank you NetGalley, Ms. Benn, and Lake Union Publishing for an advanced copy.

This book is definitively better than the first one and I found it engrossing and entertaining.
The cast of characters is well thought, the historical background is vivid and the solid mystery kept me guessing.
I can't wait to read the next installment.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Julia, a boutique publisher may be ahead of her time for young women during the Jazz age, but that doesn't mean the issues she faces aren't still plaguing us today. She's found Eva, a singer whose written a book which is allegedly going to tell all sorts of sordid secrets but then there's a murder and Eva disappears. This is a unique blend of historical mystery and sorta kinda cozy except nothing here is cozy, Julia's a great protagonist (I missed the first book but this is fine as a standalone) and the other characters ring off the page. This swings on issues of sex, race, prejudice, crime, and punishment. It's well done. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

This has to be one of my favourite books this year. It’s an absolute cracking read, it really is.

The scenes and atmosphere are set perfectly and I could imagine I was there.

Set in New York in 1925, Julia Kydd arrives to live with her brother temporarily whilst she gets settled and sets up her own printing press. Whilst partying around the literary scene she meets Eva Pruitt, the new big thing. Instantly they hit it off but then everything goes wrong after a murder, and Julia is determined to find out who the killer is.

This just gripped me, I could almost hear the jazz, smell the smoke, and be in the same room.

I just loved this book so much. My thanks to Netgalley and of course the publisher. I want more!!

I admired the research in this book but it was a bit slow going for me. I plan to give it another try.

Julia Kydd is back.  *Pause for riotous round of applause*

Marlowe Benn has again wove a fun and twisty who-done-it that I couldn't put down.  This time we find Julia has moved back to New York, and has started rubbing elbows with literary figures during the 1920s Harlem Renaissance.  When Julia's new friend, Eva, is set to publish a book that points to a violent event and the perpetrator of the event ends up dead, Eva and the manuscript disappear.  Not only does Julia need to find Eva, but because Eva is "passing" as white, Julia must prove Eva's innocence to the murder.

I loved reading about a female protagonist in the 1920s who doesn't let race or sexism slow her investigation down or prohibit her from achieving what she wants to do.  Many of this book's themes parallel today's world, which makes the characters very empathetic and relatable.  Ms. Benn is a master of story twists and I was delighted throughout this book.  It's hard to write a review of such a great mystery novel and not give too much away.  You must read it for yourself.

I loved, loved, loved this book! Marlowe Benn's second book featuring Julia Kydd, a 1920's "modern" woman, aspiring boutique publisher of books that are valued as much for their beauty as their content takes us into Harlem's emerging art scene. Julia meets Eva Pruitt, a beautiful chanteuse and first time novelist,
with whom she feels an immediate connection. Eva has written a novel which Julia would like to publish, but the relationship is so much more than that, and besides, a much larger publisher has already committed to Eva's book. As Julia watches the challenges that Eva must navigate both as a fair skinned Negro and as a woman, she begins to question her own role and beliefs about other relationships in her life, and whether her own actions stand up to her beliefs.

Julia Kydd is an amazing character: smart, funny, courageous, caring, empathetic....I could go on but I won't. It was hard to put this book down to go to bed! Marlowe Benn's writing is simply beautiful; I found myself reading sentences aloud to my husband because they were just so .... beautiful! If you liked Relative Fortunes you will love Passing Fancies. Its truly a great read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for giving me the chance to read an early review copy.

Enjoyable book that brings you adroitly into an era of music, with flash and style.
Good writing, good characters, This is reading time well spent.