A Mexican noire novel. No, a noire style novel set in Mexico. Writing is good but I found the story lackluster. Pretty good character development.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is such a fascinating author with the way her books are all so different - I'm planning to delve into her backlist after reading Velvet Was the Night and Mexican Gothic, but I did find the former more successful than the latter. The world of this novel is so well-built and the political elements layered in carefully, while the characters were intriguing and complicated with no real hero. It was so satisfying to read an effective modern (in terms of publication) noir that also works in a noir tradition that isn't American or European, with the appropriate slow burn, noir tropes, and atmosphere.

Velvet Was The Night is a historical noir pulp fiction style novel about two people in 1970’s Mexico City who are stuck in the middle of a clash between free thinking students and the government tactics designed to quell communism and with it any voices of dissent.
When we meet Elvis he’s part of a goon squad called The Hawks that are asked to rough up student demonstrators. Maite is an apolitical secretary that is unlucky in love and lives for her romance comics. When Maite is asked to cat sit for her beautiful bohemian neighbor Leonora she reluctantly agrees but quickly regrets it when Leonora doesn’t return. Maite finds herself sucked into the investigation to find Leonora but this also puts her on the radar of The Hawks and the secret police.
Velvet Was The Night has great pacing, atmosphere and Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s signature sly humor. There is a gritty style of realism that made it feel authentic but also entertaining. It would make an amazing movie because it’s such an intriguing glimpse into Mexico City, the government and the people during this era. I would also love to read a sequel with more adventures with Maite and Elvis. I highly recommend this smart and stylish noir novel!
4.5 stars (rounded up to 5) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a master at slow burn storytelling. This story takes place during the beginning of the Mexican Dirty War, a subject that I knew nothing about. I lost myself down a Google rabbit hole many times while reading this book. At first, I did not find any of the main characters (especially Maite) likable but they slowly grew on me. All in all, good storytelling about a tumultuous time in Mexican history.
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for this ARC in return for my honest review

I knew Velvet Was the Night was a noir fiction by the author of Mexican Gothic (a super creepy southern gothic style horror novel -- so totally different genre), but I did not know that it had a slight historical fiction element to it. It's a slow burn, like Mexican Gothic, but it's a good crime mystery so stick with it. I enjoyed the setting of 1970s Mexico City and I think this would make an awesome movie or limited TV series.

Thank you Netgalley and for the electronic advanced readers copy.

This is the first time I can say I was disappointed (slightly) by Moreno-Garcia. I liked the story, but the execution and pacing was off. Multiple typos and format problems with the e-ARC, but I had pre-ordered the hardcover and will be re-reading to see if my opinion changes. I owe her that much, since I have loved everything else I've read. Consider my four star rating rounded up a bit.

Oh, Maite. A 30 year old, socially awkward, quirky woman who goes through the motions of her boring life while constantly fantasizing about a romance that will sweep her off her feet, like the ones she reads about in her comic books. She almost gave me Eleanor Oliphant vibes - to a point. And El Elvis, so tough and cold on the outside, but such a brooding, beautiful soul beneath the surface. Silvia Moreno-Garcia weaves these two complicated, intriguing characters into the Mexican political strife of the early ‘70s, subtly drawing modern-day parallels in a way that will make readers question if anything (or anyone) is really as it seems.

I really enjoyed this novel. I loved the multi-dimensional, thoughtfully developed characters. There were no stereotypical perfect characters, no one I could even completely dislike. Maybe Emilio. Maybe, but even he had his moments. When I found myself feeling sympathetic toward El Guero, I knew Moreno-Garcia had me hooked. I will admit that the big twist of the book is one I saw coming about halfway in, but I don’t think it was a flaw in the writing or the author’s technique - it was probably just because I read a lot of books.

This book comes out on August 17, 2021 and I would definitely recommend it for anyone who enjoys thought-provoking, quality fiction writing.

Thanks to Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Random House and Netgalley for this ARC in return for my honest review.

Velvet Was The Night was my first novel by this author and I was not disappointed! I look forward to going back and reading some of her previous books. I haven’t read a lot of noir because I thought it was horror, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that this is not the case. This one was suspenseful and had a historical fiction aspect that I really enjoyed.

1970’s Mexico and the atmosphere is grim. There are many different political groups, with vastly different ideas for the country at war. Maite is a normal girl, working at a normal, even boring job as a secretary. She is used to never standing out. She doesn’t keep up with the political unrest in her country so much, she prefers to read romance comics. Maite’s neighbor, Lenora is mysterious, glamorous, beautiful and wealthy. Maite thinks of Lenora as one of the characters in her beloved romance comics, Maite might even be a little jealous. When Lenora disappears and leaves Maite with her cat, Maite goes searching for her neighbor. She doesn’t want to be stuck watching Lenora’s cat indefinitely, but Maite soon realizes that something more sinister is at play. Does Maite have the courage to stand up and rescue Lenora?

Velvet was the night was one of my much anticipated releases and it lived up to its hype. Moreno Garcia does an excellent job of interweaving the high risk lifestyle of a gangster with a young hopeless romantic. The dual perspectives give this story a great vantage point and a great technique to weave this story together while keeping it interesting and invigorating. Highly recommend!

Where in the world is Lenora? And what is on her camera? Set in the 1970's in Mexico we switch between two narrators Elvis and Maite, both who are on the search for Lenora but for very different reasons. Set amongst the tense political background we see lots of characters from the liberal political protestors and the opposed government backed Hawks who take them down. There are plenty of twists and turns

This is my first read from the "noir" genre and I enjoyed it. It isn't horror, but isn't exactly thriller. There is however a lot of mystery and suspense, a little romance all wrapped up in a giant historical fiction bow. Something for everyone!

My favorite thing about Silvia Moreno-Garcia is that every single one of her novels is completely different! All works of fiction but sometimes sci-fi, sometime noir, sometimes suspense sometimes even historical. She is brilliant and Velvet was the Night does not disappoint.
In 1970s Mexico City, Maite is a secretary who lives for one thing: the latest issue of Secret Romance, a serial comic. While student protests and political unrest consume the city, Maite escapes into stories of passion and danger.
Her next-door neighbor, Leonora, a beautiful art student, seems to live a life of intrigue and romance that Maite envies. When Leonora disappears under suspicious circumstances, Maite finds herself searching for the missing woman—and journeying deeper into Leonora’s secret life of student radicals and dissidents.
Meanwhile, someone else is also looking for Leonora at the behest of his boss, a shadowy figure who commands goon squads dedicated to squashing political activists. Elvis is an eccentric criminal who longs to escape his own life: He loathes violence and loves old movies and rock ’n’ roll. But as Elvis searches for the missing woman, he watches Maite from a distance—and comes to regard her as a kindred spirit who shares his love of music and the unspoken loneliness of his heart.
Now as Maite and Elvis come closer to discovering the truth behind Leonora’s disappearance, they can no longer escape the danger that threatens to consume their lives, with hitmen, government agents, and Russian spies all aiming to protect Leonora’s secrets—at gunpoint.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this intriguing arc.*

Silvia Moreno Garcia is already an auto buy author for me, so of course I got excited when I saw that her newest book was available for request. I think that she has this wonderful way with words that keeps you addicted, and she's become one of my favorite writers.

The storytelling is impressive, the plot intriguing, and I can certainly say this isn't a book to be missed.

This is the second book I've read by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, the first being Mexican Gothic, and I can only describe her books as this: Unputdownable. Moreno-Garcia has this uncanny knack for drawing readers into lush, visceral settings, and then keeping us there with tension and intrigue as the mystery unfolds. And, again, like I did with Mexican Gothic, I'll be pushing this book on my friends and book clubs almost like an evangelist, saying "you will love this! read it and tell me what you think!"

Silvia Moreno-Garcia continues to be a master genre-bending author whose work often features time periods, settings, and cities as characters unto themselves and Velvet Was the Night is no different.

For fans of the noir genre and slow burn mysteries, Velvet is captivating and will sweep you off your feet. Moreno-Garcia plays with 2 different perspectives as the disappearance of Leonora, a mysterious and alluring woman, sets off a chain of events that is both reflective of and driven by Mexico’s turbulent political climate in the 1970s. Asked to watch over Leonora’s cat, Maite, Leonora’s neighbor, finds her mundane life interrupted. Soon she finds herself within the sights of the Mexican secret police, criminal organizations, and even communists. Longing to be the heroine and main character in her life turned comic book mystery, Maite descends into Leonora’s world of shady motivations, political unrest and dissension, and radicalization. Because Leonora, it seems, has stirred the hornets nest in a deeply paranoid and unstable political environment that threatens to reveal secrets from the higher ups who will do anything and go through anyone to protect their dirty secrets.

At the same time, we meet Elvis, a young man drawn in to an criminal organization to survive as the country continues to be ravaged economically and politically, pushing people into the fringes and shadows. Elvis is tasked with finding Leonora which puts Maite directly in his crosshairs. While outwardly plain, Elvis finds himself drawn to Maite, connecting with her through her extensive music collection (which is itself an affront to the political climate and bureaucracy of the country) and their kindred feelings of loneliness.

The push and pull between Maite and Elvis and their connection through music was an interesting dynamic. There is a playlist that accompanies the book on Spotify which I highly recommend. The lyrics and meaning for each song, their use and placement within the story, and their connection to Elvis and Maite made their emotions and characters come to life off the page. I couldn’t get enough. As Elvis and Maite unravel the mystery and come face to face with power and corruption, the commentary on the country and government continues to rises to the surface, showing us how these machinations manifest and affect ‘every day’ citizens. Not super spies or highly successful individuals, but every day commoners just trying to get by.

I love that Moreno-Garcia continues to put Mexican history and culture prominently on display in different genres, often making them characters unto themselves. There’s a romantic, wistful element that she gives us so well that makes her stories linger long after they’re done.

As a noir story, this may not be for everyone. Those looking for a quick thriller or cozy mystery should look elsewhere, but for those willing to sit and get consumed in the 1970s, amid unrest and suspicion, this one will feel all encompassing and enveloping. While there were some pacing issues, particularly in the middle, this nonetheless highlights an important time in Mexican history and delivers a grittiness and authenticity that is hard to find.

This book was fine. I knew going into this that mysteries really aren't my thing, however, I thought this would have a weird twist like MEXICAN GOTHIC. That is entirely my fault. This book is nothing like Silvia Moreno-Garcia has ever written, but that's not a bad thing. My main issue with this book was I was left bored. It took a good chunk of the book to even get into what is on the synopsis, and since I already read the synopsis, I was aware of what was coming and was impatient to get to the 'start' of the plot. I highly recommend going into this blind. On a positive note, Moreno-Garcia creates an atmospheric noir historical fiction that will compel so many readers! The writing is beautiful and witty. This isn't my favorite thing she has written, but it by all means is not bad!

CONTENT WARNING: profanity, gun violence, blood, violence, torture, murder

Silvia Moreno-Garcia has been an author on the tip of everyone’s tongue, and this story sounded absolutely irresistible. Even though it’s noir, which isn’t a genre I’m at all familiar with, the cover and description won me over before I ever read the first page. And I was right about it—it’s a fabulous book.

Moreno-Garcia really takes her time with this story, painting a vivid picture of Mexico City in the 1970s; the neighborhoods, the political climate, and overall society. The story is slow-paced, atmospheric, and lush, developing at a leisurely pace without ever dragging or feeling rushed. It allows a range of characters to be slowly introduced, and each of them serves a purpose, even the side characters.

The story is told from the POV of two MCs, Elvis and Maite, who actually have quite a lot in common, least of which is their moral gray-ness. Neither of them is happy with how their lives have turned out, and they want more than anything to change, but aren’t really sure how to go about that. However, their actual lives are both quite different, even if their personalities are somewhat similar. Their paths intersect when they both get involved in finding a lost woman—Elvis because his boss puts him on the job, and Maite because she’s neighbors with the woman and just wants to stop looking after her cat.

While the story is a smooth, slow-paced read, I couldn’t put it down and read it quite quickly. I was always surprised with how things went, and there were quite a few plot twists that I didn’t see coming, although I felt incredibly proud of myself for sort-of figuring out a major reveal beforehand. Seeing the two POVs getting closer and closer to intersecting was exciting, and I loved reading this book. The way that music was interwoven through both of the POVs was intriguing, and the writing was smooth, beautiful, and carried an air of romance. I’m definitely planning to check out more of SMG’s work, and soon.

Okay, let’s first start off with how much I actually ended up loving this even though it isn’t at all what I expected! I have never read a mystery that had such a slow pace, but kept me on the edge of my seat wanting more. I was so captivated by this story that I ended up starting and finishing this in one sitting. The writing was phenomenal as I knew it would be, but it is something I never thought I would have liked. Just know this is 100% a historical noir novel, and even though historical fiction I am not interested in, I devoured this book.

Maite, the main character is living a good but quite dull life. That is until her neighbor, Leonora, asks her to watch her cat while she is out of town over the weekend. Only that the weekend turns into a week and then some. Maite can’t seem to get ahold of Leonora or track her down and it doesn’t seem that she is the only one trying to find her. The stakes are high and people will stop at nothing, not even murder to find Leonora. We also get another perspective, Elvis, he is a Hawk and his boss has told him he needs to find a missing girl and her camera. Doesn’t matter how he gets the girl, but he must find her. Who is the missing girl? Leonora.

What really made me love this so much was the dual perspective and how they are intricately weaved together. I loved the setting of this book which is 1971 Mexico City and I really loved how this was a work of fiction, but had some truth in the historical aspect. I was genuinely surprised by some of the twists and even though this is not action packed or high stakes, it has such amazing dialogue and writing that it was just as good.

I think what really made me give this 4 stars was the ending. I absolutely adored where this story went and while I am not a huge fan of open ended books, the way this ended was perfection. I really am astonished that SMG can write such vast genres and end up writing them so well.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia's been at it for over six years, but I'm ashamed to admit she didn't even appear on my radar until 2019's Gods of Jade and Shadow (a historical fantasy) appeared on NPR's Book Concierge. She got some well-deserved attention last year with the release of Mexican Gothic (as the name suggests, a gothic horror), but essentially she's been spending her time writing whatever the heck she wants and making it all good regardless of genre. Velvet is the Night, out today, fits right in with her eclectic brand, and sends readers into the noir genre.

Set during the student uprisings in 1970s Mexico City, Velvet is a story told from two vastly different points of view: Maite, a bored and lonely legal secretary always hurting for money, and Elvis, a member of a gang that concerns itself with, at turns, interrupting and triggering violent protests. As different as these two characters are, they both wind up entangled in the same mystery: the whereabouts of a twenty-something radical, Lenore--and the incriminating photos she took at a deadly protest.

Maite, who, at 30, fears she's missed out on her chance for a romance like she reads in the pages of the illustrated romance magazines she loves, gets involved when Lenore, her neighbor, asks her to feed her cat while she goes away for a few days. With her paycheck far too small to cover the costs of her chronic car repairs, Maite agrees. But a few days come and go, and there's no sign of Lenore, or her money. When Maite sees one of Lenore's exes dropping by to check on her, she tries a more proactive approach to offload responsibility and get her payment through visiting the people in Lenore's orbit. But because Lenore is involved with a radical group, her acquaintances tend to be radicals, too, and soon Maite finds herself under suspicion through association by a federal agent. Worse, the violence that put Lenore into hiding is now careening toward the person everyone seems to think knows where Lenore and those pictures are: Maite.

Meanwhile, Elvis is moving up in his gang, the Hawks, and the group's leader gives him his own team as a reward for proven loyalty. His task: find Lenore and the photos she took. Since Lenore is nowhere to be found, Elvis and his new subordinates follow many of the same clues Maite does--but gets his information through more, uh, direct means. The bloodier his knuckles become, it seems, the less he knows. But stepping outside the strict guidelines provided by his boss, Elvis starts to see a bigger picture of what's happening inside and out of the Hawks, and what he finds out makes every step all the more dangerous. I've written before about how I admire how little Moreno-Garcia cares if her characters--particularly her female characters--are considered "likable," and the same holds true for Velvet. Maite is selfish, driven to find Lenore not out of concern for her neighbor's wellbeing but because she's just so sick of feeding that cat and wants her car fixed. She's a bit of a petty thief, liberating little things from those around her out of boredom, and her maudlin approach to her nonexistent love life reminds me of that one roommate everyone seems to have who doesn't talk or flirt much with anyone of their desired gender(s) but is convinced at 21 she'll die an old maid because no one's beating down the door to date her. Several times, I wanted to sit her down all like, "Maite, honey..."

Yet I did worry about her. I worried, and I got angry when other people's problems threatened her dull but safe existence, even if she had sheltered herself away from knowing what was happening in her own city. And when she looked to get her lonely little heart broken, I was sad for her.

Elvis is a little easier to root for, even when it was obvious how badly he was being played by his boss. Moreno-Garcia paints him clearly as someone with legitimate promise to do good despite being stuck in a series of impossible situations, and as a result he's easy to sympathize with. His story is more straightforward, too--and easier to engage with early on because of his proximity to the action at hand. His is the plotline that really pulled me through the setup of the book in ways Maite's could not. The two threads start to entwine themselves about a third of the way in, though, and by halfway through both perspectives are indispensable.

And while every word of Velvet is fictional, Moreno-Garcia's afterward reminds us it's based on real events in a chapter of North American history I honestly heard nothing about until earlier this summer a tweet compared the protests about the Olympics in Tokyo to protests during Mexico City's 1968 protests and ensuing violence. (I swear, being an adult is just a long process of finding out all the stuff teachers should have brought up instead of rehashing oversimplified accounts of the Boston Tea Party for the fifth time.) The multiple groups racing for the same information to use for their various purposes, hints of CIA involvement, local gangs being funded by the government...it's madness, but it's the factual story playing on the fringes of Moreno-Garcia's character-driven fiction. She does a great job with it, too. Another book, another genre, and I'm finding myself more and more a ride-or-die Moreno-Garcia fan.

(Will publish Tuesday at 2:44 p.m. MDT at this link: https://ringreads.com/2021/08/17/velvet-was-the-night-a-sizzling-noir/)

Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is told from the perspective of two different characters--Maite and Elvis--and has at its core the mystery of the disappearance of Leonara. The world building was executed wonderfully and throughout the book you can truly feel the tension of the political climate. This isn't your typical thriller, which tends to have a lot of fast-paced action and largely suspenseful moments. It is definitely more of a noir style novel with the suspense being being more slower paced and focuses more on the reality of the experiences of these two key characters during this dangerous political upheaval. Seemingly, they're both bystanders pulled into the mix of danger all because of Leonara and the mystery surrounding her.

The pace of the book is much slower than what I'm used to which made it a little difficult for me to read because I kept putting it down to do other things and then came back to it because it is good but slower paced books don't usually hold my attention.

I feel like I always have to start off a review of a Silvia Moreno-Garcia novel with the fact that I am in awe of her writing and her ability to write across genres.

Velvet Was the Night is a historical noir set in 1970's Mexico City. The story follows the perspectives of Maite and Elvis. Maite is a secretary obsessed with romance comics and music. Maite’s neighbor Leonora asks Maite to watch her cat while Lenora goes on a short trip. Maite sees it as an annoyance, but also a way to make some extra money. When Leonora doesn't come back, Maite starts searching for her and finds herself mixed up in some dangerous political drama.

Elvis is a hawk, one of many criminals who work among political activists, using violence and surveillance to crush activists' dissidence. Elvis doesn't necessarily enjoy being a hawk, but he is good at it and doesn't have many other options available to him. When his boss gives Elvis a crew and puts him in charge of looking for Leonora, Elvis gets mixed into the same mess Maite finds herself in, and their worlds start to collide.

Velvet Was the Night was the first noir I have ever read. It is not a genre I’m usually drawn to, but I was pleasantly surprised. Maite and Elvis were such complex and interesting characters. I enjoyed seeing their worlds collide. They are both unhappy anti-heroes, getting mixed up in things much larger than them. Maite and Elvis are far from perfect, but I was still rooting for them throughout the story. I found the plot to be intriguing and I enjoyed that we got to follow different characters, with different motives as they both searched for Leonora.

One of my favorite things about Moreno-Garcia’s writing is her ability to add culture references about books, movies, and music without it being misplaced or cheesy. Velvet Was the Night is filled with these kinds of references and it added so much to the vibe and atmosphere of the story. I highly recommend listening to the Velvet Was the Night playlist on Spotify as you read along. It adds so much to the reading experience!

If you’ve read Moreno-Garcia before, you know that she always brings something new to the table. Her books shouldn't necessarily be compared because they’re always quite different from each other, but the writing is always top-notch, so if you've enjoyed Moreno-Garcia's writing in the past, I always recommend picking up something else from her! I would also recommend this to anyone who enjoys:
-crime fiction
-political machinations in a plot
-mysteries
-historical novels that really embody the time period that their set in (specifically the 70's in this case)

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for the eArc copy of this book, given in exchange for an honest review.