I was blown away by this book, it held my attention all day. I am now starving and have to piddle, as I did not move the whole time I was reading it.

Velvet Was The Night is a captivating and gripping historical crime noir novel set in Mexico in the 70s at the beginning of the Dirty War featuring Hawks with complex characters and a richly-atmospheric narrative. When Maite was asked by her neighbor Leonara to watch her cat for her for a few days, little did she know she'll be involved into a huge conflict when Leonara disappeared. I had to admit the book is a slow burn at first but the pace caught up halfway through. It is well-written with a good balance of intrigue and and historical milieu. Music and romance comics are a highlight in this book as well, which has a great significance in the 1970s Mexico. I like how SMG made it an open-to-interpretation kind of ending. SMG really has a way to suck you into the story.

P.S. don't forget to check out the awesome playlist on Spotify featuring the songs and artists mentioned in this book!

Wow this took me days to gather my thoughts! The atmosphere was incredibly well done and I loved how the 70’s was captured in these pages. I also really enjoyed the fact that this was a mystery with two reluctant protagonists, getting pushed into this mystery about Lorena for one reason or another. I also really enjoyed the history intertwined with this mystery.

I’ll admit, I did feel that the “villain” was predictable and kind of assumed that’s where this plot was headed, mainly because El Elvis almost didn’t fit into the story well enough. Otherwise this was an amazing ride and I’ll forever love the atmosphere and tone Moreno Garcia continues to capture in her writing.

Thanks to NetGalley & Random House Publishing for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Velvet Was The Night is a mix of historical fiction and noir/mystery, following the POVs of two interesting individuals. One is a member of a gang and the other is an innocent bystander who becomes less and less innocent as the story progresses.

This story was hard to put down, it was fun to see all the twists and turns. I especially loved Elvis, his chapters were always fun to read. It's weird considering I don't usually read much mystery/noir stories but I always love Silvia Moreno-Garcia's writing style so I had to pick this up. It didn't disappoint at all.

I especially enjoyed reading the irony present in Maite's chapters, I wasn't sure I'd like her but the writing surrounding her made it especially hilarious to read about her. She's self aware but also...not, if that makes any sense. Self-centered with the writing poking fun at her obliviousness, I think is the best way to describe her chapters.

A thrilling noir story from beginning to end...Silvia Moreno-Garcia never disappoints.

This noir reeks of cigarettes and blood. The plot unfurls slowly at first, and then gains traction until it is hurtling toward its end in a storm of violence and government conspiracy.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a master of her craft, weaving the story, setting, and characters together in ways that feel too convincing to ever be fully fictional. Each time I finish one of her books I'm thankful to be witnessing her talent in real time. I can't wait for the next one.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic was one of my favorite books of 2020, so I was excited to review her latest novel, Velvet Was the Night. This classic noir narrative is a beautifully written snapshot of one of the darkest times in Mexican/American history.

1970s, Mexico City. Maite has a dead-end secretarial job and is barely making ends meet. Her car is in the shop and she is unsure how she can get the funds to repair it when a miracle occurs – her rich neighbor Leonora asks Maite to look after her cat for the weekend. The two women have barely said hello, so Maite will hardly do this from love or friendship – but for money? Maite agrees on the condition Leonora pays a rather exorbitant rate for the service. Leonora, a college student whose family funds her lifestyle, barely blinks at the extravagant sum before concurring and leaving for the weekend.

Feeling the first glimmers of hope she has experienced in months, Maite enters Leonora’s apartment to feet the cat and decides to celebrate her change in fortune by pilfering some small but personal item, something she’s done many times before. These tiny thefts give her a feeling of one upmanship, a chance to believe she has finally gotten the better of someone in a life where she rarely wins at anything. The plastic religious statue with the taped-up bottom that she finally settles on will be a pleasant reminder of this small victory in her mundane existence.

At the end of the weekend, Leonora doesn’t come home. Instead, Leonora calls Maite asking she bring the cat to her. Maite doesn’t want to do this. She would have to carry the cat plus the other items Leonora wants across town on foot and she flatly refuses. Finally, Leonora agrees to yet another large fee and to pay for a taxi, and Maite begrudgingly complies. But when Maite arrives at the agreed upon meeting spot, there is no sign of Leonora. Not only will Maite not be compensated for the cat-sitting or the inconvenient journey, she has to pay for the taxi ride there and back herself. She goes home with the cat, feeling very unhappy with Leonora.

But then a lot of people are unhappy with the missing Leonora, who took something many people are determined to get their hands on. One such person is El Elvis who works for The Hawks under the command of El Mago. His job is to impersonate college students in order to sniff out the liberal communist agenda allegedly being taught at Universities and to squash the political activists among them. El Elvis joined the group out of desperation, and he is anxious to leave this lifestyle. Finding Leonora just might be his ticket out. He’s convinced Maite may be one of the best ways to do that and begins to follow her.

Maite, meanwhile, is determined to get her money and free herself of the cat. She begins to track down every slim lead that might bring her closer to Leonora, questioning that lady’s friends and family for clues as to her whereabouts, unaware that her every move is being watched. As El Elvis and Maite play a dangerous game of cat and mouse, numerous others join the hunt. People begin to die – and as events spiral further and further out of her control, Maite finds herself in a desperate race to find Leonora before both of them wind up dead.

The noir genre involves stories about characters who are cynical, fatalistic, and morally ambiguous, criteria most definitely met by the people in this story, who have been so beaten down by life that their only interest tends to be survival. That is certainly the case for Maite, who longs for sufficient funds to get out of her hardscrabble existence and for someone, anyone, to care about her. Maite lies about having dates and exciting weekends to her only friend to make her life seem more glamorous, and to bring some dignity to her solitary, mundane existence. Maite’s only joys are her books, records and reading Secret Romance, a series of graphic novels that are a cross between telenovelas and Harlequins. As she meets the many men who people Leonora’s existence, Maite yearns for them to see her in the same way they do the fascinating, mysterious young art student.

El Elvis left his impoverished childhood home before finishing his schooling and had been a street thief, barely hanging on to his fragile existence before joining The Hawks. He has used his code name for so long he can barely remember his real one, and he definitely doesn’t want to remember the life he had before. But he isn’t so fond of the life he has now, either. Unlike many of his fellows, he doesn’t take pleasure in roughing people up, making them talk and ruining countless lives for the benefit of governments he doesn’t support or care about. His only pleasure is in his books and his record collection and when he searches Maite’s apartment and discovers she loves the same things, he finds himself fascinated by the shy, plain-looking secretary who seems “a kindred spirit who shares his love of music and the unspoken loneliness of his heart.” Following Maite becomes as much about his own interest in her as it is about his desire to find Leonora and use the co-ed as leverage to get out of The Hawks.

Maite and El Elvis serve as our introduction to the Guerra Sucia, the “Dirty War” in which the Mexican government – with help from the CIA – “abducted, tortured, incarcerated and murdered Mexican citizens” for nefarious reasons under the guise of keeping the nation from falling to communism. As a result, the tale is rather violent, and our hero and heroine are rather desperate, driven people. One of the major themes of the story is how little human life is valued in this time and place. Not being an expert in the era myself I can’t speak to the historical accuracy, but the narrative evoked sorrow, horror, and pity from me. It seemed terrible and sad that anyone should have to live this way.

And while the writing is amazing and the characters compelling, the subject matter could be so dark and difficult that it was hard to stay engaged with the story, and I found myself at times struggling to finish the novel.

Velvet Was the Night, with its beautiful prose and haunting storyline and imagery, is a book that will appeal to fans of gritty, unsentimental crime fiction that takes a hard look at the difficult realities of the more treacherous parts of the world and who enjoy flawed (in some cases deeply so) characters finding their way forward in the midst of peril.

Velvet Was the Night ✨

Maite is a secretary dreaming of a more exciting life when her beautiful neighbor, Lenora, asks her to feed her cat for the weekend while she’s gone. Lenora doesn’t return and Maite starts searching for her. Someone else is also searching for her, a member of the Hawks, named Elvis, who has different reasons for finding her. Maite comes across several types of characters during her search, a handsome man from Lenora’s past, college students who are activists, shady police officers and eventually she crosses paths with Elvis. I didn’t know much about the Dirty War in Mexico and that was interesting to read about.

However, this one wasn’t what I was expecting. It is a slower, noir novel and was just okay for me. I loved Mexican Gothic and Gods of Jade and Shadow but this fell a little short for me. I think Silva Moreno-Garcia is a very talented writer and I’m impressed with the way she writes completely different books each time. The covers on these are all so beautiful. 😍 If you enjoy noir you may enjoy this one:) Just know it’s different than her previous books.

Thanks to @netgalley and @penguinrandomhouse for an arc for an honest review.

As a huge fan of #MexicanGothic I was totally pumped when I got the ARC from @netgalley

Every character feels so alive, even if they have smaller parts. I feel like this book had A LOT of characters to follow but none of them were forgotten.

I finished IN A DAY. for me this doesn’t happen lol originally I was going to give this four stars but I writing this is making me realize how much I absolutely adored it.

I feel like that’s what SMG does to me though. I get so involved that I’m non stop reading then when I’m done I’m like “it was good” but then I really start thinking about it and I’m like THIS WAS GOOD.

Can’t wait for #CertainDarkThings to come out!

Alright, I've read a few others by SMG and really liked them. I think I just couldn't connect with this one in the way I connected with the others, but I think the genre and the slow pace contributed to that. This is definitely a slow-burn book, heavy on dialogue and explaining the relationships between characters.

The characters are great (don't get me wrong there) and I love the thought that went into them and their flaws. They are realistic and interesting and I did enjoy learning their stories. The ending surprised me and overall, I'm happy I stuck with it.

The setting is nothing less than what I expect of this author. She does a wonderful job describing scenes, as well as people, and that makes for a vivid story. Some parts were graphic and bloody, in my opinion, but they fit with this time period. Everything that happened in these pages was well-suited for a crime noir.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an ARC.

"Music and comic books. Why couldn't that be life! Why was life so dull, so gray, so bereft of any surprises?"

Last summer author Silvia Moreno-Garcia's novel Mexican Gothic seemed to be the talk of the bookish community. I quickly procured a copy of the book for myself to see what all the fuss was about. Then, like too many of the other hyped "must-read" books that I buy, I never got around to actually reading it. So much time has passed, in fact, that Moreno-Garcia has already released another novel. I didn't want to miss out on her work again, so when her publisher offered me a copy of Velvet Was the Night, I was happy to accept it.

The year is 1970. The place, Mexico City. Young Elvis is a bit odd for a man of his generation. He loves to watch classic movies and listen to old rock 'n' roll. Heck, even his chosen name is inspired by the King of Rock himself. Elvis isn't a bad guy, at least not in his own eyes, but the man he works for is a different story. Who is this mysterious figure? As the novel opens, we're not exactly sure. All we know is that this boss has tasked Elvis and the other members of his goon squad with disrupting the political activism that is threatening to overtake the Mexican government's status quo.

Maite's life is about as far from action and excitement as you could possibly imagine. The young secretary diligently works her mundane job each day and spends most of her off time at her apartment reading the latest installment of Secret Romance. She fantasizes about being a character in those serialized stories, finding a hunky man to sweep her off her feet as she endures daring adventures each week. Alas, a life of romance and intrigue is not in the cards. The most adventure she'll have today is feeding her neighbor's cat in the apartment next door. But here is where things begin to get interesting. You see, Elvis has been tasked with keeping an eye on none other than Maite. Why? Well, let's just say that Maite is about to fall into a conspiracy even wilder than the stories she reads.

Like the great noir novels that seem to have inspired it, Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a quick little thriller with plenty of twists and turns to keep the pages turning. The cat and mouse aspect between the two main characters propel the plot forward while also revealing little details that deepen our understanding of them. The ordinariness of Maite, in particular, served as a nice foil to the outrageous action that was unfolding around her. Despite all these positives, I couldn't help but feel like something was missing from the book. The disparate elements of political activism, a budding romance, and an unlikely hero's journey were fun to read about at the moment, but I didn't feel a true sense of arrival or completion when I finished the final page. Velvet Was the Night ended up reading more like the serialized stories that Maite read. I had fun breezing through the pages, but the story didn't move me beyond the entertainment of reading it. Of course, there's nothing wrong with that, so I hesitate to say I didn't like the book. Like Maite at the start of the story, I think I was probably just hyping myself up for something more than was being offered.

After Mexican Gothic, I wasn’t sure what to expect with this noir. Maite finds herself in a not ideal situation cat sitting for the artsy girl next door while she just wants to be escaping into her own romantic daydreams. But Lorena is involved in much more than Maite could think of, involving a plethora of mystery men in her life. This book was full of some brutality, steaminess, an honest setting, and a transportation to 1970s Mexico City. Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC.

This novel deserves all the hype it’s getting. Silvia Moreno-Garcia is as adept with noir as she is with Gothic horror. Set in Mexico City in 1971, around the politically repressive period know as The Dirty War, Velvet Was the Night focuses on two people. Maite works as a secretary at a law firm, but her passions are romance story comics, classic books, and music. El Elvis is a thug for the Hawks, a black ops group formed to quash political dissent, but, like Maite, he has a passion for music and books. Also like Maite, he harbors romantic notions, seeking to break from the role into which he’s been cast. When Maite’s beautiful neighbor goes missing, it sets off a chain of events that intertwine the two lonely dreamers, and so much delicious noir ensues.


[Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for an opportunity to read an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my opinion.]

I loved Mexican Gothic! So I was totally on board with a new book from the ever-so-talented Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Plus, what's not to love about this dreamy cover?!?

The only challenge is that I was expecting more of a Mexican Gothic noir-ish novel, and got a whodunit-type crime book instead. And one that's chock-a-block full of Ef Bombs. Especially at the beginning.

While I love the concept of this book... two people trying to find their way as new adults in Mexico City... it just didn't click for me. And since I wouldn't necessarily recommend this book, I'm only giving it two stars.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read the advanced copy via the NetGalley app. As a side note, I also downloaded the audiobook and the narrator's gorgeous accent really added to the authenticity of the characters.

I love Silvia Moreno-Garcia's writing! This is my second book by her and I look forward to reading more. I love the Mexican settings and the added Spanish language that she uses. I am part Mexican so it really helps me connect and sink into the story. I love that Velvet Was the Night was loosely based on the Dirty War. I had never heard about it before but found it interesting. I also loved all the musical references and the song list that she included. Maite is a relatable character to me. She loves reading, music and just trying to live her life, even if it's a bit boring. She got involved in everything so innocently and kind of found herself through it all. I liked the dual narration of Maite and Elvis. They were similar in very different ways.

I feel like I'm one of Silvia's biggest fans, so for me to rate this book less than 4 stars hurt, but I have to be honest. It's a classic noir (not a genre I read or am interested in) set in 1970's Mexico (definitely a political climate I am very interested in learning in), but having both of these topics reversed in importance in the story really didn't work for me. This was a low-stakes noir which gave me huge Search Party vibes, cringe and all. I...didn't love it, but that's just me. I will certainly be giving Silvia a chance to redeem herself in the future.

The author of Velvet Was the Night has stated many times that this book is historical noir, which is not a genre I've read before. I was drawn in by the mystique evoked by the cover and title, but it took me awhile to adapt to the cadence of the writing and slow pace of the plot.

Overall, this mystery delivers elegant writing and multifaceted characters. For me, though, something missing. My interest was never fully hooked. I'm going to blame it on my lack of familiarity with the genre. I don't think this type of book will ever be my favorite. However, if you're a fan of this genre, this book will be incredible for you!

I also love that the author included a note at the end of the book explaining the historical significance of this historical period/location, as well as a playlist that coincides with the narrative. 😍

I have some things to say about this book. To start, is not a great book. The writing is good (Silvia Moreno Garcia is a good writer, no doubt) but the storyline is extremely flat. Nothing really happens. I think that the author wanted to make a statement writing about a very dark episode in Mexican History and make sure that the CIA involvement was clear to all of us. Nice. But, if you are going to write a book to denounce something, do it with commitment. This books is weak and I couldn't even call it a slow burn because nothing is burning.
I was disappointed because I love to read a good noir story with historical background and a dark setting. But this book didn't deliver. I also found weird that it was written in english. The "action" takes place in Mexico; the characters are Mexican, they have hispanic nicknames, but the book is written in english by a hispanic author. I'm confused.
I loved the cover and I really appreciate the author's effort and talent. This one just didn't work for me.

This book was a slow burn. I wasn’t sure if I even wanted to keep reading once I got halfway through, but I’m glad I did because the end was so worth it. The characters were so interesting. I started out liking Maite and hating Elvis, but by the end Maite had become pretty unlikeable and Elvis had become pretty endearing! I loved how the whole book was a slow buildup for the explosion at the end - and the twist was wild. I didn’t see it coming at all because it lulled me into a false sense of security. I loved the dark and atmospheric style of this book. I could almost envision myself reading in a dark smoky cafe while listening to the author’s curated playlist - which was a fantastic touch. Overall - this gets 3.5 stars but I’m rounding up to 4!

Silvia Moreno you are freaking amazing !!!!
Velvet was the Night is a crime noir novel based on some horrible events that occurred in Mexico in the 70's where hundreds of students were injured and killed by a group created and organized by the Mexican government itself.
In Velvet our 30-year-old protagonist Maite leads a boring life as a secretary in a legal office, one day her neighbor Leonora disappears without a trace. Maite interested in the young woman's disappearance begins to enter a world of political intrigue and dangers that will change her life completely.
I loved this book, the characters and the intrigue made me keep reading for hours.I find that reading this book alongside the author's amazing playlist was a unique experience. This is my fifth book by the author and as I have said previously in other reviews I will continue to read everything that she writes.
4.5 stars
Thank you so much to Netgalley and Random House publishing group/ Ballantine del Rey for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic was one of my favorite books of 2020, so I was excited to review her latest novel, Velvet Was the Night. This classic noir narrative is a beautifully written snapshot of one of the darkest times in Mexican/American history.

1970s, Mexico City.  Maite has a dead-end secretarial job and is barely making ends meet. Her car is in the shop and she is unsure how she can get the funds to repair it when a miracle occurs - her rich neighbor Leonora asks Maite to look after her cat for the weekend. The two women have barely said hello, so Maite will hardly do this from love or friendship - but for money?  Maite agrees on the condition Leonora pays a rather exorbitant rate for the service.  Leonora, a college student whose family funds her lifestyle, barely blinks at the extravagant sum before concurring and leaving for the weekend.

Feeling the first glimmers of hope she has experienced in months, Maite enters Leonora’s apartment to feet the cat and decides to celebrate her change in fortune by pilfering some small but personal item, something she’s done many times before. These tiny thefts give her a feeling of one upmanship, a chance to believe she has finally gotten the better of someone in a life where she rarely wins at anything. The plastic religious statue with the taped-up bottom that she finally settles on will be a pleasant reminder of this small victory in her mundane existence.

At the end of the weekend, Leonora doesn’t come home. Instead, Leonora calls Maite asking she bring the cat to her. Maite doesn’t want to do this. She would have to carry the cat plus the other items Leonora wants across town on foot and she flatly refuses. Finally, Leonora agrees to yet another large fee and to pay for a taxi, and Maite begrudgingly complies.  But when Maite arrives at the agreed upon meeting spot, there is no sign of Leonora. Not only will Maite not be compensated for the cat-sitting or the inconvenient journey, she has to pay for the taxi ride there and back herself. She goes home with the cat, feeling very unhappy with Leonora.

But then a lot of people are unhappy with the missing Leonora, who took something many people are determined to get their hands on. One such person is El Elvis who works for The Hawks under the command of El Mago. His job is to impersonate college students in order to sniff out the liberal communist agenda allegedly being taught at Universities and to squash the political activists among them.  El Elvis joined the group out of desperation, and he is anxious to leave this lifestyle. Finding Leonora just might be his ticket out. He’s convinced Maite may be one of the best ways to do that and begins to follow her.

Maite, meanwhile, is determined to get her money and free herself of the cat. She begins to track down every slim lead that might bring her closer to Leonora, questioning that lady’s friends and family for clues as to her whereabouts, unaware that her every move is being watched. As El Elvis and Maite play a dangerous game of cat and mouse, numerous others join the hunt. People begin to die – and as events spiral further and further out of her control, Maite finds herself in a desperate race to find Leonora before both of them wind up dead.

The noir genre involves stories about characters who are cynical, fatalistic, and morally ambiguous, criteria most definitely met by the people in this story, who have been so beaten down by life that their only interest tends to be survival. That is certainly the case for Maite, who longs for sufficient funds to get out of her hardscrabble existence and for someone, anyone, to care about her. Maite lies about having dates and exciting weekends to her only friend to make her life seem more glamorous, and to bring some dignity to her solitary, mundane existence. Maite’s only joys are her books, records and reading Secret Romance, a series of graphic novels that are a cross between telenovelas and Harlequins.  As she meets the many men who people Leonora’s existence, Maite yearns for them to see her in the same way they do the fascinating, mysterious young art student.

El Elvis left his impoverished childhood home before finishing his schooling and had been a street thief, barely hanging on to his fragile existence before joining The Hawks. He has used his code name for so long he can barely remember his real one, and he definitely doesn’t want to remember the life he had before. But he isn’t so fond of the life he has now, either. Unlike many of his fellows, he doesn’t take pleasure in roughing people up, making them talk and ruining countless lives for the benefit of governments he doesn’t support or care about. His only pleasure is in his books and his record collection and when he searches Maite’s apartment and discovers she loves the same things, he finds himself fascinated by the shy, plain-looking secretary who seems “a kindred spirit who shares his love of music and the unspoken loneliness of his heart.” Following Maite becomes as much about his own interest in her as it is about his desire to find Leonora and use the co-ed as leverage to get out of The Hawks.

Maite and El Elvis serve as our introduction to the Guerra Sucia, the “Dirty War” in which the Mexican government - with help from the CIA - “abducted, tortured, incarcerated and murdered Mexican citizens” for nefarious reasons under the guise of keeping the nation from falling to communism. As a result, the tale is rather violent, and our hero and heroine are rather desperate, driven people. One of the major themes of the story is how little human life is valued in this time and place.  Not being an expert in the era myself I can’t speak to the historical accuracy, but the narrative evoked sorrow, horror, and pity from me. It seemed terrible and sad that anyone should have to live this way.

And while the writing is amazing and the characters compelling, the subject matter could be so dark and difficult that it was hard to stay engaged with the story, and I found myself at times struggling to finish the novel.

Velvet Was the Night, with its beautiful prose and haunting storyline and imagery, is a book that will appeal to fans of gritty, unsentimental crime fiction that takes a hard look at the difficult realities of the more treacherous parts of the world and who enjoy flawed (in some cases deeply so) characters finding their way forward in the midst of peril.

Buy it at: Amazon, Audible, or your local independent retailer
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