Thank you to NetGalley and Jo Fletcher books for an early copy in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia does it again! This book is so very different from the two previous novels I have read by her, but just goes to show how incredibly diverse of an author she is. Having previous read Gods of Jade and Shadow and Mexican Gothic I had high hopes for this book and it did not disappoint. She has such a way with words that completely sucks you in.

To my knowledge I haven’t read a noir novel before but this book has made me want to pick up more in this genre. I have read many thrillers but they have never quite suited my tastes and having read Velvet was the Night I think I have figured out why. I much rather prefer the gentle rhythm and pace of a noir novel where as a thriller is all about the shock reveals and twists. I’d much rather be taken on a journey when reading a book than getting twist after twist. I found I was able to appreciate the much finer points of the book and enjoyed getting to know our main characters in Maite and Elvis. I also appreciated the setting as well. My knowledge of Mexican history and culture isn’t very vast but this book has made me curious to learn about these student uprisings in the 60’s and 70’s and the CIA’s involvement in trying to keep communism out of Mexico.

While I understand this book won’t be for everyone, especially if you like the breakneck speed of a thriller. I, however, would recommend this book to anyone who likes a character driven piece and enjoys the slow unfurling of a plot. The writing is top quality as I’ve come to expect from Moreno-Garcia and has cemented her as an auto-buy author for me. I very much look forward to reading more of her work in the future.

Rich and immersive, Velvet Was the Night is a journey through the seedy underbelly of 1970s Mexico. Set against a backdrop of political unrest, espionage, and uncertainty, this is a captivating noir that will instantly suck you into the story.

The narrative alternates between two different characters - Maite and Elvis. Maite is a nondescript secretary with a deep loneliness and love for little other than her treasured comics and record collection. She feels misunderstood and ignored as life passes by.

Elvis is an up-and-coming criminal with something to prove. Named after the King of Rock and Roll, he loves his music yet is sucked into a spiralling life of crime. Maite and Elvis are outwardly as different as it's possible to be, but internally, the two are kindred spirits.

United by the search for missing student and activist Leonora, Maite and Elvis' lives fall into an unintentional rhythm - coexisting, yet never interacting.

This is a riveting story with many subtle undertones and edgy currents. It's clever, understated, and mysterious in equal measure. It is a slow burner rather than a fast-paced ride, but the slower pace allows the opportunity to pause and just drink in the impressive prose.

Beautifully written and atmospheric, Velvet Was the Night is a story about two lonely people searching for their place in a fractured world.

I have decided that from here on out, I will just read everything Silvia Moreno-Garcia writes.

It doesn’t matter that I’m not a noir fan. It doesn’t matter that I’ve never read a crime thriller in my whole life. If Moreno-Garcia writes it, it is instantly a must-read for me.

Moreno-Garcia’s writing just really resonates with me. I love how richly she imagines her characters, and the way she weaves storylines together to create something that truly, utterly sucks you in. I first experienced it reading The Beautiful Ones, and she has done it again for me in Velvet Was the Night.

Velvet Was the Night is set in 1970s Mexico City, will all the political upheaval that entails. This is not a simple crime story with mob bosses. This story weaves in every element of peoples’ lives, and expertly shows how actions and consequences can come from and touch all aspects of a person. I also learned a lot about a place and time that I am woefully unfamiliar with.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that my favourite character is Maite. A woman who spends her time reading beautiful, sweeping romance stories and waiting for someone to come along and give her the fairytale she so desperately wants? Um, same, girl! Reading about Maite was like reading about myself when I was a little younger, and I was instantly endeared to her. She is interesting and complex and flawed and I am once again in awe of Moreno-Garcia’s ability to make her characters leap off the page, fully formed. The other main character, Elvis, is similarly richly imagined.

This book is not my usual fare, and it may not be yours either. If that’s the case, I urge you to try something new and give Velvet Was the Night a read. I can almost guarantee that it will captivate you the same way it has captivated me.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Quercus Books for providing me with this ARC.

Velvet Was the Night is a standalone noir thriller set against the political oppression and violence of Mexico’s Dirty War of the 1970s, when the Mexican government — with the support of the CIA — sought to trample dissent and suspected communism. The instigating incident is The Corpus Christi Massacre, or El Halconazo, a 1971 protest by students in Mexico City. The protest turned violent when the government sent in a paramilitary group. They killed 120 students. We are introduced to Maite, a 30-year-old legal secretary from Mexico City who is constantly reminded of her failure compared to her sister’s success, is concerned about growing old alone and is bored of her tedious office-based employment. To escape the political upheaval and monotony all around her, she religiously reads her romance magazines vicariously living her perfect relationship through the people who feature. When she meets Leonora, the young, carefree art student across the hallway, it's the most exciting thing to happen to Maite in a while, and Leonora asks her to cat-sit for her as she is going away for a few days over the weekend and will be back in town on Monday at the latest. But when Monday comes around, Leonora calls to let Maite know she will be back later than planned and that she will pay her for the extra care she is to provide.

Little do Maite’s trusting neighbours know, she pilfers something from every one of their homes when they allow her to slip in to care for their pets. Meanwhile, Leonora is never seen again. Then we are introduced to 21-year-old Elvis, who is a member of the Hawks, a government-funded black ops cell hired to suppress, surveil and quash left-wing student uprisings and activism. He has worked for the group for 2 years as they "inform on the activities of the annoying reds infesting the universities". The enigmatic group leader El Mago, gives Elvis an important assignment and Elvis is more than happy to escape his current lifestyle. He is asked to find Leonora along with some photographs El Mago seems to desperately want to get his hands on. From then on a cat and game ensues, set against the backdrop of student protests. It's an explosive and evocatively named noir novel and the magic, intrigue and mystique of Moreno-Garcia’s rich world help retain her grip on our imaginations from the very beginning. It transports you to a volatile Mexico City ripe with a diverse cast of characters including a daydreaming secretary, a lonely enforcer, a cohort of leftist activists, covert police officers and plenty of other memorable players. Secrets, romance and antiheroes abound and combined with an intricate plot and pitch-perfect pacing, this is a winner. Highly recommended.

I think it's time to stop think about Silvia Moreno-Garcia as a genre writer but thinking about her as one of the best South American writers of her generations.
I know she writes in English, but her descriptions, characters and settings share a lot of traits with the best South American writers.
Velvet is the Night is a noir but it's also a book about historical facts, repression and the impacts of political unrest on the life of common people like Maite or outcast like Elvis.
It's a gripping story, a page turner I couldn't put it down and a book that made me learn about a part of Mexican history I didn't know.
Maite is not the average noir heroine, a femme fatale who can make things happens with a smile. She's a plain Jane, a dreamer and someone who is trapped in a life she doesn't want but she's unable to change. There are some unlikeable traits but there's also the realistic description of a 30 years old single woman in a Latin country in the 70s.
Elvis is an outcast, someone who joined a paramilitary squad as it was his only choice. He's also a dreamer, someone who doesn't like violence and want to improve himself.
They will become involved in the search for a woman who disappeared, and they will have to face who wants to protect Leonora's secrets at all costs.
It's a slow burning story that takes its time to introduce us to the characters and the political situation. The structure of the book reminded me of Paco Taibo and other South American mystery writer who always creates the atmosphere and introduce the characters before any twists.
I was hooked since the first pages and loved what I read, the final twist was unexpected, and I loved it.
An excellent read that I strongly recommend.
Many thanks to Jo Fletcher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Silvia is someone who was always on my radar, but I never got round to reading any of her books, but I am so glad this is my first. I usually read contemporary, but after reading TJR books I wanted to read other book set in different eras. I loved the setting of 70's in Mexico. I've been reading a lot of thriller and this was amazing to read. After reading this I can't wait to read other books by Silvia especially Mexican Gothic,

Velvet Was The Night | Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Silvia Moreno-Garcia has quickly become one of my must-read authors. Her books create luminous, rich worlds with evocative characters that steal you away from the blandness of everyday life. In short they are a joy to read and her latest Velvet Was The Night is no exception.

In Mexican Gothic we were treated to haunted house thrills, in Gods of Jade and Shadow lush Mexican mythology and in The Beautiful Ones belle epoque magic and romance. In the pages of Velvet Was The Night (How good is that cover?) we dip into the world of Noir.

Picture it. Mexico City. The 70s. Political unrest. A President suppressing music, students and activists. A missing art student. A secretary who longs for life beyond the pages of her romance comics. And a criminal thug who loves old movies and rock n roll. In the hands of Moreno-Garcia these elements come together in an explosive modern Noir masterpiece. In Noir I love the ambiguity of the characters motivations and the shadows that exist in their world however sunlit it is. Velvet Was The Night captures this mood expertly.

This book is unlike anything that has come from her before but proves that Moreno-Garcia can turn her hand to any genre with blazing success. All the trademarks of excellence we expect are here, the rich world building, the complex anti-hero characters who you don’t always like, but want to follow their journeys and a mesmerising story that hooks you until the last page. Mexican Gothic was cinematic, but this book is another level, I adore the Mexico City that we see through the writers eyes and this period of history it captures.

Proving she can write anything. Brilliant crime noir in Mexico City 4 stars out of five

4.5 stars

This was my first experience with the noir genre and I loved it so much. Moreno-Garcia's writing is so great, so fluid and she always creates the best atmospheres.
Velvet Was the Night was both languid and suspensful. I loved the pace of the book and the dual point of views between Maite and Elvis. You were always wondering where the story would go, when the two would meet, when it would all go down. And as always, characters really are Moreno-Garcia's strong suit. They were so interesting and complex. I loved getting to see both sides of the conflict, Maite and Elvis are worlds appart, and yet you find out they're so similar. I loved the mirroring elements in both POVs.

Moreno-Garcia really masters all genres beautifully, and I'm so excited to read more of her books.

Whatever Ms MOreno-Garcia writes is an instant good time. Velvet Was the Night is so different from the others books I've read from her. Still, another great female main character who you have to like.

Velvet was the night is my third Silvia Moreno-García and if I have one thing clear by now is that she can write any genre she wants. In this case we have a noir political thriller and though I didn’t love it as much as I did Mexican Gothic I still enjoyed it much more than I thought I would going by the synopsis alone. Though slow paced I was never bored and I managed to read it in a couple of sittings. I found both Elvis and Maite to be really interesting characters although at times, Maite’s internal monologue and her constant putting herself down was a bit tiresome. The writing is beautiful as it’s always the case with a Moreno-García book and the open ending suits the story perfectly (I usually hate them so kudos for that).

I can’t wait to slowly read my way through her backlist.

1970s, Mexico City. Maite is a secretary who loves romance comics and completely ignoring the events going on around her. While student protests and political unrest consume the city, Maite is quite content to ignore all of this and bury her head in romance. However, when her neighbour, Leonora, disappears she becomes involved in finding her, in order to return her cat, journeying deeper into Leonora’s secret life of student radicals and dissidents.
On the other hand, someone else is looking for Leonora for his boss a shadowy figure who commands goon squads dedicated to squashing political activists. Elvis, an eccentric criminal who longs to escape his own life: He loathes violence and loves old movies and rock ’n’ roll and wants to escape his life. But as Elvis searches for the missing woman, he comes to observe Maite from a distance—and grows more and more obsessed with this woman who shares his love of music and the unspoken loneliness of his heart.

Now as Maite and Elvis both slowly discover the truth behind Leonora's disappearance, they can no longer escape the danger that threatens both their lives, with hitmen, government agents, and Russian spies all aiming to protect Leonora’s secrets—at gunpoint.

This book was absolutely incredible. I had no knowledge about Mexico in the 1970s so had to do a bit of research about the events but Silvia Moreno-Garcia does the most amazing job of painting the picture of a city at war. The two different points of view were brilliant, Maite the 30 year old secretary who is caught up in the revolution and Elvis, the 21 year old juvenile delinquent a member of The Hawkes, the CIA trained operatives that bring down student protests with violence. The difference is their points of view and the fact that between the two they encompass everything that is important in this book so cleverly. Neither of these characters are particularly likeable but you still root for them because they are just trying to survive in the situation that has been handed to them by life. The loneliness in both of these characters draws them to each other and the parallels that are drawn between the two are brilliant.

This historical crime noir is riveting, beautifully written and so difficult to put down and I can't wait to read more by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

prettiness is currency she thought. All doors open for you if you’re pretty.

I won’t lie, I have been eying this book up for MONTHS because of the stunning cover, it is truly one of my favourite covers of all time, and knowing that it is based on the 70’s was a huge selling point for me because I love anything set in that era. HOWEVER, I left this book feeling underwhelmed and wanting more. Though with that being said, this novel started with a BANG, the political tension was felt from the start and I was completely hooked from the first chapter. The setting completely paved the way for the rest of the book and it was my first dive into reading noir, which I LOVED.

Velvet Was The Night is centred around Maite and Elvis, trying to find the missing Leonora. It is told from both of their perspectives, and if i’m honest, I found Maite to be kind of unlikable at times, though saying that, I definitely found reading from her perspective to be much more interesting. Elvis was a very intriguing character to me, I loved the dyslexia representation and his love for records was so relatable.

Going into this book, I was unaware that it was based on true events, so I learned so much history whilst reading, which I appreciated so much. This is an event that needs to be taught a lot more, wether that be in schools or in media.

If you are looking for a noir based around true events, I would definitely give Velvet Was The Night a go! It was definitely a learning experience for me and I am grateful to Silvia Moreno-Garcia for writing about these events.

(Trigger warnings for grooming, drugs, torture, knives.)

Velvet Was the Night is a really interesting political-historical romance novel. Here are two protagonists - Maite, a secretary who has agreed to take care of her neighbors, Leonora's cat; and Elvis, a young though, who doesn't really like violence, but it’s his job and he wants to please his boss. So what connects them - Leonora, who has not come back when she promised, so Maite will look for her to return the cat and collect the promised money and Elvis has given an assignment to find the girl and the photos she has.

So step by step, chapter by chapter Maite and Elvis get closer to each other, talking to the people who knew Leonora and following in her footsteps before she disappeared. If the beginning of the story is somewhat slow, soon it gets really brutal and bloody. Turing all of this Maite lets her fantasy fly along her favorite graphic novels stories and in a background there is always the music from the seventies.

I really enjoyed the book even if I figured many secrets out fairly quickly, I just reveled the ride till the end. And it was nothing like the other books I have read form Silvia Moreno-Gacia, which made it even more interesting.

'Velvet Was The Night’ is a historical noir novel set in 1970s Mexico, a place of student protests and massive political unrest. It provides an intriguing insight into a piece of history rarely portrayed in fiction, and like all Silvia Moreno-Garcia novels is sharply written. Noir isn’t a genre I read particularly often, but for fans of the genre or those looking for a taut piece of historical fiction this is a solid read.

Mexico City, sometime in the 1970s. The government is cracking down on student protests, often forcefully, with shadowy gangs enlisted to do the dirty work. Elvis – a pseudonym only – has found himself part of one of these gangs, roughing up reporters and stealing information for his boss. Its not the life he dreamed of, but it got him out of his dead-end hometown and he’s determined to never go back. At first glance, Elvis has little in common with Maite – a secretary who lives for vinyl records and the comic series ‘Secret Romance’. However, the disappearance of a student protestor named Leonora sets both of them on a path to find her. Against a backdrop of violence, hitmen, and simmering secrets, their lives draw inexorably closer – and Elvis finds himself captivated by a woman who shares both his love of rock and roll and the loneliness in his heart.

‘Velvet Was The Night’ is a brutal story. Elvis is the ultimate anti-hero – a gangster beating up journalists and students just on his boss’s say-so. Moreno-Garcia does a wonderful job getting the reader to sympathise with him despite his violent actions. Elvis is obsessed with rock and roll and the West – idolising Elvis Presley- and dreams of success in a childlike, abstract way. He uses music to escape from the harsh reality of his life. Elvis is young and naive, and while he’s not always a nice character he’s one its easy to feel sorry for and root for.

Maite, on the other hand, is a self-depreciating woman to the extent it occasionally gets on the reader’s nerves. Just turning thirty, Maite adores romance – she troves through romantic comics, especially ‘Secret Romance’, and despairs of the fact that she still hasn’t found someone to share her life with. She has an independent streak, but – possibly due to the opinions of her family and society at large – hates herself for what she perceives as her inadequacies. She’s not pretty enough, not smart enough, not good enough at conversation. Maite is a perfectly average young woman and that drives her to despair. Like Elvis, its easy to feel sorry for Maite – but she’s harder to root for, especially as she inevitably makes terrible choices.

The best part of this book is the setting. Moreno-Garcia paints an incredible picture of 1970s Mexico, transporting the reader to a slice of history where danger lurks around every corner yet the mundanity of everyday life trundles on. There’s the constant fear of riots and the police, but also ordinary struggles like paying the mechanic and dealing with nagging parents. The dichotomy works beautifully, and whilst this is exaggerated pulp fiction its based in fact and those influences are fascinating.

The plot is entertaining. Most of the twists are easily guessable, but there are a few surprises, and this is intrinsically designed to be an easy-read book rather than one with too much hidden below the surface. Its the perfect read after a long day when you want to switch off and not think too much. There are lots of references to the rock and roll scene – not something I’m familiar with, but fans will likely appreciate them.

The main weakness is a certain degree of separation between the reader and the characters. Maite and Elvis always feel like characters rather than fully rounded people. They’re a little too caricaturic – especially Maite. Its still enjoyable, and its definitely a noir rather than a character study – but it would be nice if Maite was taken a little outside her romance-loving secretary stereotype.

Overall, ‘Velvet Was The Night’ is a solid noir novel with an intriguing historical basis and lots of references to the rock and roll music scene. It highlights once again Moreno-Garcia’s sheer versatility as a novelist, and provides a peek at a slice of history rarely referenced in modern media. Recommended for fans of noir and thriller novels along with those looking for a readable piece of historical fiction.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is an awesomely talented and eclectic author. There is much more to he writing than her recent stand-out horror Mexican Gothic, in recent years she has has books published across multiple genres including SFF, romance, thriller, noir, and, yes, horror, often with crossover elements but always with action and heart.

In Moreno-Garcia's latest, Velvet Was the Night, we meet Maite, a young secretary in a Mexico City legal firm. Maite is something of a daydreamer and even perhaps what would now be called a geek - happiest retreating in the evenings to be with her books, records and comics. At 30, the patriarchal society around her (Maite's mother and sister included) are inclined to judge her as virtually an old maid, and Maite has bought into this to a degree, but I sensed that she gets far more fun and commitment from her own interests - and especially her favourite comic, "Secret Romance" - than she's had from any actual partner.

Also prominent here is Elvis, a tough who's part of a clandestine government militia used to break up demonstrations and target radicals. This is Mexico in the early 70s, a country haunted by the spectre of revolution, awash - or so the government believes - with Communist agents and sympathisers, and deeply penetrated by CIA operatives. Elvis has had a hard life and membership of the "Hawks" (who really existed, as Moreno-Garcia explains in her Afterword) has given him discipline, a purpose in life and, of course, a living.

The two figures circle round one another after Maite's neighbour Leonora, a well-to-do student affiliated with the radical scene, vanishes. There is a classic McGuffin in the form of a missing camera and film, which all sides want, and which might either be the spark for an uprising, evidence of oppression and torture, or a useful bargaining chip in the struggle between different arms of the security forces (of which there is a veritable alphabet soup). Maite is, at the start, wholly innocent of the deep waters she's getting into. She just wants paying for looking after Leonora's cat, so that she can get her car back from the mechanics and not have to travel to work on the bus, exposed to the attentions of gropers and worse. But in the best traditions of noir, innocence is no defence and if she wants to survive, Maite's going to have to wise up very quickly to the world she's in...

I loved this book, which - while being a wholly different story and set earlier, has thematic continuity with Moreno-Garcia's Untamed Shore, also featuring a young woman who becomes involved in murky goings on, and who ends up leaving her hometown for a more glamorous life in Mexico City. There is a similar examination of a woman's place in a male-dominated society, and a similar nuanced treatment which refuses to cast things in terms of victimhood: Maite is dissatisfied with her life and in particular her job, but she has carved out a space for herself in which she can live on her own terms. Like Viridiana in Untamed Shore, Maite is a quick learner and even more, a brave person who continues her investigation - as it has become - even when the warning signs begin to appear that she may be getting too deep. She's drawn, I think, at some level, to a potential adventure - her reading of sensationalist comics priming her to the potential for plots, conspiracies and Gothic revelations. Maite was already coping with her mundane office life by weaving a fictive world peopled by characters (boyfriends, enemies, allies) from her reading so it's perhaps not a big step to find herself in the kind of story they might inhabit.

Of course, this exposes Maite to real dangers that threaten the little world she has made, and which won't neatly resolve themselves in the last panel. Elvis (his codename, but which he prefers to his real name) is, he discovers, in something of a similar position with his best friend (his only friend) AWOL and his boss, the enigmatic El Mago, issuing increasingly frantic orders (such as to rough up a priest - which Elvis, though not at all religious, considers to be crossing a line). For both Maite and Elvis, reality and fiction seem to be crossing over and certainties dissolving. For both, it is perhaps a process of coming awake, even as life is getting darker and stranger.

The action here exposes that darkness - a period of Mexico's history when protesters were beaten and shot, opposition figures disappeared and factions within the ruling party struggled for primacy. It is a period that I know very little about and Moreno-Garcia's story shines a bit of light on it, while resisting stereotypes (Elvis and his crew are not, for example, bad men so much as poor ones doing a job) and allowing her characters room to breathe and to express themselves in the culture of the time, particularly its music (which plays a similar role here to that of cinema in Untamed Shore). Moreno-Garcia has included in the book her Spotify playlist for the book, which is well worth checking out.

I hope that in the description above I haven't made the book sound too doozy. It is, above all, a great read, atmospheric, exciting and soulful, bringing alive a particular place and time. Moreno-Garcia allows her characters to speak, more, she allows them to sing, and what a song this is. I'd strongly recommend.

Velvet Was The Night is a 1970s noir mystery inspired by real life events and set in Mexico City. It is a period of civil unrest and political protest, and the only escape secretary Maite has is between the pages of Secret Romance, her favourite comic filled with passionate affairs and dangerous adventures. Lost in her stories she can escape the boredom of work and hide from her mother's suggestions that she needs to find a husband soon. When her neighbour asks her to feed her cat while she is away, Maite has no idea that she is about to be drawn into an adventure of her own.
Elvis is a low level enforcer for a local crime boss, but dreams of better things. Not a violent man by nature, he has fallen into this life and is looking for a way out of his current work, hunting down political dissidents.
When Maite's neighbour disappears, she tries to track her down- she needs to get the cat off her hands, and more importantly needs the money she was promised for the job. It soon becomes clear that she is not the only person looking for the missing woman, and as she digs a little deeper she learns that her neighbour is part of a group of radical student dissidents who fear that she may have been caught by the secret police because of some photographs she may have taken. Elvis is also on the hunt for Maite's neighbour, and soon he finds himself strangely drawn to this unremarkable woman who shares his taste in music. Eventually their paths are destined to collide.
This is very different from anything I have read by Silvia Moreno- Garcia before, being much more grounded in reality but once again her strength as a storyteller means that this is a gripping read. The characters are complex and relatable. The book is something of a slow burn, it simmers away for ages before reaching the dramatic conclusion, but there is plenty to enjoy along the way. The setting really comes to life on the page, and I appreciated the author's notes at the end outlining the historical context of the story as it was not something I was familiar with before picking up the book.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Slivia Moreno-Garcia seems determined to prove that she can deliver in any genre. Her breakout book Mexican Gothic was, as the name suggests, in the traditional gothic style with a Mexican twist; her book The Beautiful Ones was a historical fantasy set in an alternate Central America; and her Gods of Jade and Shadow was a fantasy based around Mexican Folklore. Velvet is the Night could not be more different from these – a historical thriller set in and around real events – but despite this difference can clearly be identified as Moreno-Garcia’s style.
The book opens with the infamous massacre of students during a protest in Mexico city in 1971 (portrayed recently in Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma), known afterwards and El Halconazo. The riot earned this name due to the involvement of a semi official paramilitary group known as Las Halcones, translated here as the Hawks (also sometimes translated as the Falcons), who infiltrated the march and then beat and shot students and reporters while the police and military looked on. The remainder of the book occurs in the shadow of that event. That opening scene is told from the point of view of El Elvis, a young member of the Halcones, who will later be tasked with finding a woman called Eleonora who reputedly has photos that could implicate the gang.
The second strand of the novel revolves around Maite, a thirty-year old single woman who feels that her life is passing her by. Maite works as a secretary and lives her life through the pages of romance comics. Maite is asked by her neighbour to look after her cat when she goes away for a few days. It turns out that the neighbour is Eleonora. When Eleonora does not return Maite goes looking for her and gets pulled into a world of dissident students, secret service, KGB and, of course, Las Halcones.
The novel then charts Elvis and Maite’s separate, and very different attempts to track down Eleonora and her photos. Through this process Elvis has his eyes opened to the world in which he lives, one of corruption and betrayal, while Maite finds herself drawn to the danger, adventure and romantic opportunity that the search provides her. And all the while Moreno-Garcia is exposing the web of political, military and secret service involvement in attempts to suppress student unrest.
While Velvet is the Night is a historical thriller it is never too far from the telenovela and pulp sensibility that lies just beneath the surface of Moreno-Garcia’s other novels. This approach is made explicit in Maite’s love of romance comics and her constant need to relate the events happening in her life with the events in those comics. But that sensibility, when polished up delivers a page turning thriller plot with a romantic undertone. So that while there is violence and pain there is also the slow circling of Elvis and Maite as they come into each other’s orbit.
Velvet is the Night deals with a dark time in Mexican history but it does it with style and verve and through the eyes of two well drawn characters. And it is more evidence that perhaps Moreno-Garcia can, indeed, turn out great reads in any genre she turns her hand to.

Maite and Elvis couldn't be more different, but they are in a race to find out what happened to a missing girl, and some dangerous photos.

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Maite is a thirty-year-old spinster, living alone, and working a dead-end job in Mexico City in 1971. She is quite happy with her little life, and never reads the papers, or gets involved in the growing tensions around her.
When she (begrudgingly) agrees to look after her neighbours cat, Maite is in the middle of a mystery when the neighbour doesn't return.

Elvis is early twenties, and has gone between several gangs and cults. He is now a Hawk, working for El Mago, doing whatever needs to be done.
He's a bit smarter than his fellow thugs, and he's been given a new job - to hunt down a missing girl, and find the photos that could turn things into a political war.

This is the first book I've read by Silvia Moreno-Garcia that didn't include magic or mythology, but this is a really strong historical novel. She really builds the tensions at the time, and the conflicting points of view - from Elvis and the gangsters; to Ruben and the protesters; to little old Maite, who sticks her head in the sand and gets on with life.

I thought that the first half was quite slow, as you build the cast and their motives. Nothing really happens, and I thought that was amplified by the fact that our main characters weren't involved in driving the story forward.
Elvis is blindly following El Mago's orders; and Maite is being steered around by her new friend Ruben.

In the beginning, I found Maite quite unlikeable. She's a compulsive liar and kleptomaniac, which isn't as exciting as it sounds.
Maite lies to her colleagues, fabricating romantic encounters, and creating an exciting fantasy life; but she is quick to belittle the life choices of other women around her. She's dull, and blinkered. She's generally unhappy with her life, but won't do anything about it.
On the other hand, our other narrator Elvis was a sweetie. Despite all the horrible things he's witnessed, knowing what he does about gangs; he is still soft and naive, in a way that is completely believable. He wants to trust the people around him, the brothers he has made; and El Mago who he has grown to worship; believing that it is all for some greater good.

As the story progressed, and the mystery surrounding missing Leonora got deeper, I was hooked.
More players, and more dangers appear. And I eventually found Maite's disconnected way of viewing things quite endearing, in its own way.

I loved the lack of romance in this book. It felt fresh, and unwilling to bend the story to create a HEA.
It was so realistic, following Maite who assesses the new men her life for romantic potential. Measuring them up against her favourite 'Secret Romance' comics, and her disappointment when they don't tick all of her boxes.
I liked the building connection she has with Ruben, and I've got to say the end made me laugh.

Overall, despite the slow start, I really enjoyed this book; and I would read more of the author's noir stories.

Historical noir set in 1970s Mexico.

Real events provide the background to this novel - it's a time 0f political unrest, student protests, killings, disappearances & surveillance. Velvet Was The Night is a smaller scale, lower stakes story (for more detail on noir as a genre I recommend reading the authors post on goodreads) about two very different music-loving daydreamers.

When her beautiful neighbour fails to return from a trip, Maite finds her boring life disrupted. Desperate to be paid for looking after the cat, she's determined to find Leonora but doesn't expect to be drawn into a world of political activism & rival government factions. It isn't quite like the adventures in her romance comics.

Elvis is a member of the Hawks, a paramilitary group used to attack protesters. Like Maite, he fantasises of a different life but lacks the belief that he can be anything other than a criminal of some description.

As I don't read noir, I can't say how this rates as a noir novel. I can only say that I enjoyed the experience!

Whilst there are mystery and thriller elements, with tension and dangerous people around every corner, it's closer to an amateur sleuth detective story than a political thriller. And, with the focus on the thoughts & feelings of the two main characters, there is quite a contained & intimate feeling despite the wider political climate in which it's set.

I also like the strong musically element and thought it grounded the story, giving a strong sense of time & place. (I'll be checking out the spotify playlist)

I'm not particularly well versed in the depths of noir crime as a genre, but have always had a fascination with the gritty atmosphere and the fine intricacies that come with it, so I was curious to find out what Moreno-Garcia would make of it, after having enjoyed Mexican Gothic.

Velvet Was the Night is set in Mexico City in the 70s, where a secretary called Maite finds her beautiful neighbour disappearing under suspicious circumstances. As she begins her search, she is unaware that there is a shadowy boss commanding a goon squad also interested in locating Leonora. We're invited into a world of political activists, shady criminals and lonely hearts with love for music.

Historically, this novel is both informative and atmosphere-building. Music plays a big role in here for example, with various songs mentioned and one character having named himself Elvis after the King himself. What I didn't know beforehand is that music in the 70s was a loaded subject in Mexico, as the government was suppressing rock music in order to keep students and activists from getting too crazy in their aspirations. There are loads of little fun research bits interwoven into the story, like Maite's love for comic books being grounded in how popular they were in Mexico back then.

While Moreno-Garcia shows her talent of taking on any genre, you should free yourselves from expectations her previous novels might have built up. There are no paranormal elements in here, nothing horror or even mysterious. It's also not an epic thriller with high stakes, but essentially just a story of a couple of folks trying to get by. I think this might have might have been my problem with it – I didn't quite find my way into the story, as the characters felt a little too flat, an ounce too cartoonish for my taste. For a story that's as character driven as this one is, it ended up being a killer.

Don't expect an action-pact ride, but more of a slow burner. The story is told from the perspectives of the two main characters and we get a lot of inner dialogue and interactions between the characters. I enjoyed how Maite was completely unaware of what's going on politically in her country early on in the story, while Elvis, as a member of the Hawks, a paramilitary group that was used by the Mexican government to attack protestors, knows almost too well what the deal is.

I think learning about the political upheavals in Mexico in the 70s was what I enjoyed most about this novel. I guess I would have gotten more from it hadn't I expected something a bit grander plot wise, which was probably my own fault. Moreno-Garcia still proved that she's a skilled writer with a knack for coming up with stories, so I'll be looking forward to whatever she decides to tackle next.