Unfortunately I missed the first book in this series but I think I came to grips with the characters and the background pretty quickly.

Viviana Valentine Goes Up River is set in New York in 1950. Viviana was previously Girl Friday to Tommy Fortuna but she has now become his business partner and they work together as Private Investigators. There is a strong attraction between them which indicates they may well become partners in the other sense as well.

The crime is a 'locked room' one when weather prevents all the suspects leaving after a murder has occurred at a weekend house party. Many of the guests turn out to be much more than they seem and it is very difficult to discover the murderer. There were some very clever touches and some interesting historical facts included along the way.

I enjoyed the mystery and the setting, but was a tiny bit uncomfortable with the characters and the dialogue which seemed to me a little stereotyped and overdone. Still a good book and worth 4 stars.

Except for one very glaring error, this was an exceptionally good read. We might call this an almost 'locked room' murder mystery. You may be wondering why I didn't rate it higher then. I couldn't always keep it straight because there were so many secondary and tertiary characters, especially when the author sometimes used last names and then switched to first names.

This was the first time I read a locked room mystery. The reason I call it that is because once the murder happened, everyone stayed in the house and, due to a storm, never ventured anywhere else.

This was a very clever book that kept me guessing.

Oh, and the glaring error I mentioned was the use of the word "database," which wasn't used until 1962, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. So except for that, I found this to accurately represent the year 1950. Of course, I wasn't born in the 1940s, but not so many years after 1950!

*ARC supplied by the publisher Crooked Lane Books, the author, and NetGalley.

After Viviana Valentine became a PI and partners with Tommy Fortuna in their Manhattan business, wealthy debutanteTally Blackstone moved into Viviana's position as secretary. The firm's newest client, Buster Beacon, is one of Tally's acquaintances. Buster is a scientist with a sprawling estate in Tarrytown, and he's been hearing creaks and ghastly sounds in the house, and wants the PIs to uncover the cause. When Tommy and Viviana arrive, they find a house full of scientists and wealthy investors, but Buster doesn't know who to trust. Within a day, an undercover FBI agent is dead, and the estate is snowed in with a bridge out. Although the investigators try to keep their identity secret, it isn't long before they have to dig into top secret Cold War scientific experiments in hopes of uncovering a spy as well as a killer.

Some of the questions are never fully answered in the sequel to Viviana Valentine Gets Her Man. Sexist male attitudes towards working women are on full display in this 1950s period piece that may only appeal to fans of the earlier book.

Set in 1950 New York, Viviana Valentine Goes Up River is the second in the rollicking Girl Friday series. Not only are historical details written with a flourish but there is spying, top secret information, romance and murder to whet the appetite.

Viviana is Tommy's new partner in his private investigative business. But they mix outside of work, too, and enjoy easy banter and other activities. Wealthy science man Buster (love these 1950s names!) hears weird noises on his estate so asks the pair to investigate during a house party featuring investors and scientists. Things go bump in the night in more ways than one. As a former cunning pickpocket, Viviana knows the ins and outs of the industry. Tommy is smart, too, and the two make an intelligent team as they inveigle and mingle.

Romcom noir isn't my wheelhouse but the blurb appealed. I like author Emily J. Edward's style. You get noir flavour but not gritty bombardment.

Those searching for a bit of an edge and originality in their characters and mystery, do try this.

My sincere thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for providing me with an early digital copy of this fun novel.

Another great episode in a fun series. This one takes Viviana and Tommy to an isolated manor filled with mad scientists. It's the movie Clue meets Sam Spade! Fun, with lots of twists and turns and a satisfying ending. I recommend this series!

I have not read any other books by this author yet.
I definitely am not typically a historical fiction reader but I really enjoyed the setting and time period of this book.
I love the main character, I love the easy descriptive way the author writes.
Definitely a good mystery and intriguing enough that it makes me want to read more by this author.

Thankyou to author Emily J Edwards, Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.
🌸📚🤗 Charlene @lastnownext

The books in the author's Girl Friday Mystery series are quick reads and light-hearted romps. Private investigator Tommy Fortuna has now made former secretary Viviana Valentine his partner, based on her skillful handling of a case where he was largely absent.

Again set in NYC in 1950, the second book takes place at the mansion of Buster Beacon, a scientist who is counting on Tommy and Viv to determine the source of the strange sounds that have unnerved him and the mansion's other occupants and guests. One by one, we meet Buster's partners, investors, and other guests, each of whom has a reason to be suspect when one of their company is murdered during a snowstorm that has prevented any escape. What is really going on in Buster's lab? Is there a traitor divulging scientific secrets for remuneration? Or is it the traditional: "the butler did it"? And is there something going on between Viv and Tommy beyond a platonic relationship?

Viviana is a likeable character, an ex-pickpocket who is smarter than her {lack of} education would suggest. She's always up for a challenge and is becoming an expert at gaining trust and extracting information from suspects. The discussions about the lab's experiments with technology that we now take for granted are quite amusing, and the plot is satisfyingly convoluted, to the point where Viv's summary at the end is helpful and welcome.

My thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book.

3.5 stars.

I took my time with this one, it might just be me but as a younger reader and Asian at that, I feel like I'm missing a lot of the nuance and context of the setting: post-war 50s London. It's hard to picture the scenes and interactions, definitely not the book's problem but my own as a reader.

Though, I do feel like somehow for me this felt a bit dragged out longer than it should, or it was rather slow pacing for me. I guess, cozy mysteries thing.

Good one to pick up if you don't find the my problem to be an issue for you. Perhaps, just not the book for me! Might be the book for you.

Got this as an eARC from NetGalley, thank you for providing me the book for me to review!

Four friends have stolen aboard the Titanic. They're after the Rubaiyat - a book inlaid with priceless jewels. Josefa is a charismatic thief, Hinnah a daring acrobat, Violet an outstanding actress and Emilie a talented artist.

It is Josefa's plan, but she needs all of their skills. Despite their very different backgrounds, in a world of first-class passengers and suspicious crew members, the girls must work together to pull off the heist of their lives.

Viviana Valentine is back!

If you fell in love with the chippy, brassy, fabulous Viviana Valentine in her first outing, Viviana Valentine Gets Her Man, you will immensely enjoy her second outing. Viv and her boss, Tommy Fortuna, get referred by friend and former client Tallulah Bankstone, to help out a charming inventor at this out of town mansion. He's looking for investors, but is concerned about strange noises in the night. Naturally, there's more going on than meets the eye, and when a federal investigator turns up dead, Viv and Tommy need to be at their best.

As in the first book, the 1950's time period is captured brilliantly. Fashion is always a passion, and descriptions of the spaces and characters are terrific. Viviana is nobody's fool, and genuinely comes into her own in the mystery, as she helps Tommy untangle a giant web of interconnected relationships. Throw in a snowstorm that traps everyone in the space, a butler who is definitely not just a butler, and maybe some espionage, and you have the makings for a perfect curl up cozy. I did miss the assorted cast of characters from the rooming house that we met in the first book, but I'm hoping they'll be back in future installments.

Either book in the Girl Friday series would work in a detective fiction language option at the high school level and strong intermediate readers would have fun with Viviana's feistiness, too. If they're reading Agatha Christie, or are fans of Knives Out and the Glass Onion, they will enjoy this. Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane books for the e-arc.
Viviana Valentine debuts May 2, 2023

A great story! Viviana and her boss Tommy are hired to figure out the source of some spooky noises. They end up solving a murder. Author Emily J. Edwards serves up another cool mystery, with a cast of characters that are quite interesting. This reader pegged the killer, but it turns out murder wasn't the only crime being committed. The ending was sweet, a nice little surprise that was a little unexpected. All in all, a fun read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this ARC, which I voluntarily read and reviewed.

Private investigators Viviana Valentine and Tommy Fortuna are. hired by Buster Beacon to investigate some odd noises being heard in his expansive country estate. It just so happens that Buster is having a small house party while they’re there. And when one of the guests gets dosed with something to send him to an early grave, what appeared to be simple burglary becomes a case of murder.

When I read the description for this I was really intrigued, but it did quite not live up to my expectations. I enjoyed the fast pace of the story, the wisecracking dialogue, and the plot which soon expanded to international intrigue and murder. Unfortunately, I found the characters to be one dimensional cardboard cutouts of characters that could have been lifted from any 1950’s B movie.

Interestingly enough, but not quite entertaining.

The writer chose to set this mystery in 1950 and populate it with characters who have both inherited wealth and degrees from MIT. So, it's not totally her fault that all the white men in this book started to blend together for me. Because it's a very white male milieu. There weren't enough physical descriptors for me to understand who was who for most of the book. Felt flat.

Viviana Valentine and Tommy Fortuna are private investigators. They are hired by a rich man, Buster, to investigate odd sounds in his house. He lives in the country and his house is too big for him to find out the noises that are only heard at night. Thus, the two sleuths went to stay at the said house and discover its secrets. What appeared to be a simple enough case, soon turned into a murder. Now, they might be the only people to solve the mystery before it's too late.

The book is well-paced and the mystery is intriguing enough for you to keep reading. Many times you will wonder what's going to happen next. For me to enjoy a murder mystery, I must like the detective(s) and in this case, I did. Viviana is an interesting character and I enjoyed her relationship dynamic with Tommy. I'm not the type of reader who tries to solve the mystery as I read. I like to go with the flow and enjoy every twist as it comes along. There are some interesting twists in this one. This is my first book by the author and I love it enough to read more. I gave this book 4.5 stars and if you like cozy mysteries then I recommend it.

I don't often read American historical fiction and that's why struggled a bit with the language, but other than that the book is great and I loved the story.

1950s, business-partners, closed-circle-mystery, cozy-mystery, friendship, historical-novel, historical-research, house-party, law-enforcement, murder, New York State, private-investigators, read, scientist, snow-season, verbal-humor, witty,*****

Viviana and Tommy are knee deep in snow and murder.
Fun characters and snappy dialog make a good mystery a whole lot of fun!
Very entertaining!
I requested and received an EARC from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

Viviana Valentine is swiftly rocketing up to a top place in my heart of favorite detectives. I dropped EVERYTHING when I got approved for the sequel because I just LOVED the first one so much!

Let me tell you, Viv and Tommy did NOT disappoint. This time, they're investigating strange noises at a millionaire's mansion, and not too soon after they arrive, a snowstorm locks them in and a man turns up dead. Edwards gives us the intensity of a locked-room mystery where everyone is a suspect, secrets, and she and Tommy have to outwit a couple of geniuses to figure out who's got it in for them.

They perfectly potent mix of a higher-stakes mystery and Viviana and Tommy (pretending to be engaged!!) makes for a whirlwind of a mystery. There's no info-dumping here- we learn with the two of them, and though my personal preference is more description for my characters, the way Edwards throws you into the thick of it, like you're old friends of theirs, makes it even more fun.

This time, we got a great mystery, a lot of character development, lots of twists, a house party full of suspicious characters, and a whole lot more of rough and tumble Tommy, which is always a good thing in my book.

I don't typically read private eye books but enjoyed this one, a fun private eye book which is the second in the Girl Friday series, set in New York City in the early 1950's. Loved the characters and especially the banter between Viv and Tommy.

I liked it well enough to immediately pick up the first book in the series.

Very enjoyable!!

3.25 - This is an instance where I knew I was jumping into the second book of the series without reading the first (which was not yet published at the time I requested this one), so if I'm off the mark that's completely on me. That said, I didn't find myself completely lost while reading book two of the Girl Friday series which was helpful.

Viviana and Tommy are invited by a wealthy science man to a party at his home. While hobnobbing with New York's well-to-do, a body is found. Better yet? The party is snowed in. Having recently been promoted to Tommy's partner, this incident makes Viviana question if she truly has the capacity to be an investigator. The stakes are high and the setting is out of a movie.

What drew me to this series was the time period and setting. The 1950s were an interesting time in America in a city like New York and especially for women. I've read a mix of cozy mysteries set far prior and far later. I saw a lot of potential in Viviana. As for the plot? I struggled to get super into it. I don't think this is because I didn't have a lot of the backstory and build-up of the first book but there is that possibility. The characters were my favorite part of the story. I am curious to backtrack to the first book and get to know them properly. It's a cute premise. I'd check out future books.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing me with a free ARC to read and review.

How did I miss this series?!

I loved the banter between Viv and Tommy, and what a cast of suspicious characters!

It was fun reading something that was so firmly set in post-War New York. The storyline was clever and enjoyable. It’s always great when there are some strong, intelligent women, and this cast certainly fit the bill. I also really enjoyed the tie-in of scientific advances at the time (without it being too hard to follow).

I’ll have to go back and read the first book from this series. Thanks to #NetGalley and CrookedLaneBooks for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so much fun. I enjoyed every minute of it.

The characters, the conversations, the writing, the setting!! The could see all of it so clearly and really had such a good time reading it.

I’m off to order the other two books now!