The Last Nightingale by Anthony Flacco is a wonderful book, taking place during the San Francisco earthquake in the early twentieth century. Its two main characters are a police sergeant, Randall Blackburn, whose career had stalled for some reason and he was relegated to the night shift in the worst part of town; the other important character is a twelve-year-old, Shane Nightingale, the only survivor of a family presumed to have been killed in the earthquake. Only Shane, and one other know that was not the case. It had been murder. This read is not for the faint-hearted. There are some things that are described that are gut-wrenching and well as totally immoral, but Flacco handles them with ease. Shane comes to Blackburn's attention when he sends the solution to a murder case on a piece of paper torn from the newspaper. Blackburn then needs to explore who this person is. He learns a lot.

I am not sure why I connected so strongly with the book. It was a decent mystery, although we saw the crime from varying points of view. It was full of fear, and some serious mental illness, not to mention profiteering at its worst. Flacco built strong characters without over sharing. There was some serious larceny in one of the characters but she became endearing as well. The funniest part was when a woman manipulated her "jailer" and upon her release turned him in for his part in the scenario. I loved this book.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of The Last Nightingale by Severn River Publishing, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine! #netgalley #severnriverpublishing #anthonyflacco #thelastnightingale

San Francisco. The police have been chasing a killer they have named The Surgeon because of what she does to the victims. But now the city has been devastated by the 1906 earthquakes. In the aftermath a killer invades the home of the Nightingales, and tortures and kills the occupants except for the hiding Shane. Soon Sergeant Randall Blackburn and orphan Shane help each other. Can the killers been caught.
A slow-paced and entertaining historical mystery with its likeable main characters. A good start to this new series.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Last Nightingale is a 12 year old boy, Shane, adopted by the Nightingale family from a home for orphans and delinquents run by a less than honorable Friar and his helpers. The novel opens in 1906 as the Great Earthquake devastates San Francisco. Shane is shut up in the pantry while a crazy man violently tortures and murders his adoptive mother and sisters, chattering the whole time and leaving their bodies under furniture so that it looks like the earthquake got them. Neither of them know this, but Shane has a momentous encounter with Sergeant Blackburn and a series of odd and unexpected events with throw them together in the city just moving along day to day in the aftermath of devastation. Shane was traumatized by the murders and by his own failure to come out of hiding and trying to save his family. Flacco creates a wonderful group of characters remaining in the decimated police department. Blackburn is the guy who makes others bad by actually working hard at his job, so he is forced to work midnights in the unsavory Barbary Coast neighborhood. No one is sure how the various acts of graft and corruption will continue. A wealthy orphan with some very strange proclivities is planning his next moves against perceived enemies.. A girl from the orphanage remembers Shane and now knows he survived. Can she find him? The underbelly of the city comes alive as do the necessary machinations for those in power to right the system and restore the status quo. The writing is atmospheric and paints a fascinating story of loss and poverty and crime that goes on because it is opportunistic to accelerate when no one is watching. Great story, well plotted. Stayed up till 3 am to finish on Day Light Savings night. Looking forward to the next book in the series.

My first time reading this author and I was kept riveted. This book read very different than most other thrillers.

Sergeant Blackburn and Shane Nightingale. Two unlikely partners when it comes to solving crimes. Shane Nightingale is only 12 and the sole survivor and witness to the brutal killings of his adoptive family.

A well written book with likeable characters. I really enjoyed the fact that there was a happy ending for the kids and Sergeant Blackburn.

Thank you NetGalley and Severn River Publishing for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.



#TheLastNightingale #NetGalley

I really enjoyed the setting of The Last Nightingale by Anthony Flacco. I grew up in the Bay Area and worked in San Francisco, so I knew some described areas. The mystery was done well and sometimes hard to read. What was tedious about the book was the amount of exposition. It seemed to drag the story along at times.

Overall, The Last Nightingale kept my interest for the most part and had a good mystery and story to tell. I would consider reading more from this author.

#TheLastNightingale #NetGalley

This book was sent to me by Netgalley electronically for review. This is a book of murder and horror...it is difficult to put down but difficult to keep reading...this author has woven a story that reads like true crime...Read to discover the conclusion...

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy.

This year has definitely taught me that historical fiction mysteries and thrillers are in my wheelhouse! As a California native, being thrust into the wild setting of post-1906-earthquake San Francisco was absolutely riveting! The story was original and captivating, keeping me hooked until the last page.