Member Reviews

New York City, 1950, New Year's Eve.

Recently engaged, Viviana and Tommy make their way to Times Square to celebrate 1951's arrival when the sleuthing duo witness a brutal stabbing. As Viv attempts to save the dying man, she hears his final words: a whispered apology to an unknown friend.

This is admittedly my lowest rated book in the series, and I have some theories about why. But first, would I continue this series? 100% yes, no question about it! My theories as to why this book was as spectacular as books 1 and 2 include that fact that it was long before picking this up that I gave book 2 five stars. It can be dangerous reading through a series so quickly. This book also shows the signs for middle-series syndrome, that dreaded disease that many series suffer from. Either the author is shifting characters into position in preparation for the plotting of future books, or they are trying to figure out where to take these characters next so some experimentation take places. I'm not fully sure if any or all of these reasons fully explain my 3.25-star rating, but I'll acknowledge they are possibility!

I loved the opening scene with New Year's Eve, I still love Viviana Valentine as our eyes and ears, and the audiobooks remain high quality. My issues with the book were that there may have been too many mysteries be juggled at once in this narrative, and I disliked the turbulence within Viv and Tommy's relationship. I'd prefer them to be stable, working through conflicts openly and support each other. It's too common that we see a coupling take place and then it's disrupted immediately after to cause drama. I like Viv and Tommy's dynamic too much to accept that they would lose faith in their relationship so quickly.

Actual Rating: 3.25 stars
Original Pub Date: 7 November 2023
Reading Format: audio

PREVIOUS BOOKS IN THE SERIES:
Viviana Valentine Gets Her Man—4 stars
Viviana Valentine Goes Up River—5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for an E-ARC copy in exchange for this honest review!

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A travel to the 1950s in New York with a very mysteryous atmosphere and characters very well written.
This is the third book of the series, and its engaging features were the best part, as was the dynamy between Viv and Tommy.
Suspense, mystery, and some funny bits that could be longer.
Thank you, NetGalley, for the arc copy!

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New Year’s Eve, New York City. The year is 1950. Viviana Valentine and Tommy Fortuna have plans for the next year. They’re private detectives who are also getting married. Soon, or soon-ish. For now, it’s time to head to Times Square for the big celebration.

However, that plan goes kaput when they take a shortcut through an alley to avoid the huge crowds. They are just in time to see a man stab a guy in the gut. Viviana stays with the dying man while Tommy chases after the killer but loses him in the crowd.
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The man spoke before he died. “Tell Frankie it’s okay. I’m sorry.” He has no identification but there are a couple of matchbooks in his pocket, along with cash.

With the help of the other tenants in the boardinghouse where Viviana lives, Tommy and Viv are on the hunt. There’s also controversy about the boardinghouse being renovated and/or sold, and what will happen to the tenants who are more family than renters. Tommy seems to be more interested in getting married than Viviana is—and it’s not just for the benefits. Despite the scandalous appearance, Viviana does spend nights at Tommy’s apartment too.

Viviana has a smart mouth, worries she doesn’t fit in, and can sniff out clues. It’s a nice change of pace to read a mystery set in 1950 when pineapple upside down cake was the most popular dessert, and you could eat a steak dinner with all the sides, drink included, for about a dollar. Not so long ago to be historical (not by my standards!) but not set in a time where we’re all connected to the Internet and can Google the clues.

This is book three in the series. When the sound of a million people cheering the New Year is heard, Viviana comes up with the line “It was 1951 and we had a murder to solve.” I was hooked.

That’s a series I want to continue for a long time to come.

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This book may have been my favorite of the Viviana Valentine series!! I thought it had such playful capers in this one, which is strange since this one starts with a murder. Viviana hits her stride as a PI. We get multiple cases, some of them sillier than others, and a lot of gumshoeing. I really thought Edwards layers the fun on in this, and the his girl Friday was so strong! The writing was witty and fun, and the pace was perfect! Add to all of that a sprinkle of realistic engagement plans and discussions of marriage and money, and it was a perfect book for me!

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Viviana and Tommy Boy are an item, and are headed out for New Year’s Eve celebrations at Times Square and stumble across a stabbed man. Tommy sets off in pursuit of the murderer, while Viv tries to prevent the man from bleeding out. She's unsuccessful, and is left shaking and horrified.

When Detective Jack Lawson of the NYPD can’t identify him, Viv and Tommy decide to hire themselves to determine who the dead guy is. Viv is now a partner in the agency, and has her own desk, and say on what cases they take on. Her fellow boarder Betty handles reception and phones for them, until she can find another nursing position.

This isn't their own case, as they have three other investigations to run. Viv spends a lot of time travelling around, asking questions, while Betty and her other fellow boarders chip in with ideas and knowledge when needed. Mrs. Kovalenko, owner of the boarding house, is worried about Oleks, her son, who is sullen and unhappy that Tommy is now a frequest visitor.

Of course Viv cracks the murder case. She's observant, quick-thinking and good at putting facts together, and her friends are invaluable to her, both professionally and personally. I'm really enjoying how all the woman at the boarding house are involved in gathering facts, or investigating, in some way or the other.

But that was actually almost the background to the changing dynamic between her and Tommy. He lets her know he has money, which freaks Viv out, a lot. Before, she thought they both came from poverty, but his different circumstances change everything she thinks she knows about him. The two have to work through this, which takes Viv a while, as she doesn’t know how to relate to him now. Then Tommy says he wants Viv to meet his mother, which I assume will happen in the next book. Fireworks, perhaps? Can’t wait!

Thank you to Netgalley and to Crooked Lane Books for this ARC in exchange for my review.

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This is book 3 in the Girl Friday series. I think I might have enjoyed it more if I had read the previous 2 books. Set in the 1950's in New York City, Viviana and Tommy are running their detective agency and planning their wedding. They have a lot of potential clients that want to hire them. As they are out on New Year's Eve they witness a man being stabbed. He dies in Viviana's arms. The police don't seem too interested in solving the murder so it's up to Tommy and Viviana.

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Overall, Viviana Valentine and the Ticking Clock is a fun mystery novel. The setting is, perhaps, its strong suit, with vivid descriptions of 1950s New York City that become a character all its own. There are also several mysteries at play, which is exciting initially but ultimately makes the novel feel unfocused.

The characters also border on being too cliché -- a pair of private investigators who, at times, feel like caricatures of themselves. Still, you can't help but root for both of them.

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Dollycas's Thoughts

New Year's Eve doesn't go as planned for Viviana Valentine and Tommy Fortuna. Instead of celebrating the event with the masses, they are on the scene for a beastly stabbing. Viviana tries to save the man but fails. Tommy tries to catch the killer but he fails as well. When Detective Jack Lawson arrives he believes he has a mugging on his hands but after hearing the victim's final words Viviana and Tommy think it was murder. They don't have a lot of evidence to work with but they vow to get to the truth.

In addition to the murder, the private detectives have several other cases on the plates. An investment banker has gone missing and his boss wants him found. An old friend of Tommy's thinks his fiancee' is cheating on him and wants her followed. And another man is being blackmailed and all the demands are written in codes that need to be ciphered. The couple is also trying to plan their wedding while a place for them to live at the boardinghouse after the nuptials is being renovated.

Can "Dollface" and "Tommy-boy" juggle their personal life with all their cases? Or will their clocks run out?

______

We continue to get to know all the characters better in this book. Tommy's background was not only a surprise to me but to Viviana as well. How she reacts reveals more of her backstory too. The people at the boardinghouse are more involved in this story. Betty who lost her job as a nurse is Tommy and Vivana's new secretary. School teacher Dottie along with another teacher strive to solve the codes in one of the 4 cases Tommy and Viviana are working on. Mrs. K runs the boardinghouse with the help of her son Oleks. Both seem to have a heavy weight on their shoulders. I really appreciated the time the author took to give these characters more depth. I was engaged before but even more so now.

I was surprised by all the cases Tommy and Viviana were working and to be truthful at times it did get a little confusing, especially with all that was going on in the character's personal lives. At first, I thought there would be a string that would tie the cases together in some way but that wasn't the case. The murder mystery was my main focus and that was very well done. Two of the others were very interesting and I enjoyed seeing them come to their conclusion. The fourth case had me really intrigued but when it came to its end I was a little upset. I was looking for something really complex and it wasn't although the payment received was nice.

Ms. Edwards does a fantastic job of pulling her readers to 1950s New York. Her words set each scene vividly with descriptions of the place, the weather, and the fashions. The character's dialogues ring true. It is easy to imagine all three books in the series as old-time movies.

Viviana Valentine and the Ticking Clock was a fun and entertaining read but I did enjoy the previous two books in the series more. That being said I am excited to see what happens next for Viviana, Tommy, their friends, and their new secretary.

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Unlike most series in this subgenre, these just keep getting better and better from book to book.

This was so much fun, a combination love letter to New York and a fun and clever mystery.

Viviana is a terrific heroine, and she shines especially bright in this book. The supporting characters are also excellent, and I love the found family aspect of Viv and her crew.

There are several smaller mysteries built into the larger narrative here, and it keeps the story moving without ever getting convoluted. The scavenger hunt piece of this was especially good, and it’s a fun tour of some of the city’s statuary and other important locales.

Can’t wait for the next one!

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This is an excellent historical mystery series. i love the characters and the vivid historical background, the mysteries are always solid and entertaining.
This is another excellent novel, recommended
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

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Viviana Valentine and the Ticking Clock by Emily J. Edwards is the third in The Girl Friday series, noir-ish with hard-boiled undertones, down to the vocabulary and oodles of historical detail. It is New Year's Eve in New York City with revelers celebrating in Time's Square. Amongst the attendees are Viviana Valentina and Tommy Fortuna, both private investigators and engaged to be married. They witness a stabbing and while Tommy chases the perpetrator, Viviana valiantly does what she can to save the life of the victim.

The story is chock full of criminal cases, blackmailing, deceptions and a disappearance. But my favourite story is that of the goings-on at the boarding house. Viviana and Tommy are both bright, respect each other and share witty banter as they inveigle and investigate.

If you like almost-cozy mysteries with touches of gritty gangster vibe, this series may be for you. This installment is not as strong as the other two in my view but I remain keen to explore the rest of the series once the books become available.

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

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Fans of historical mysteries might enjoy this tale set in 1950 New York. Know that there's some "period" language and attitudes but that Viviana and her fiancé Tommy will work hard to solve four four four mysteries at once! I'd not read the earlier books and so felt a little less connected to the characters than I would have liked. That said, and despite the large number of things going on, this made for a light quick read. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. Looking forward to the next one.

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The Viviana Valentine series is a great 1950s historical mystery series, with a clever 'Girl Friday' main character, a Noir-but-with-a=heart-of-gold detective (now fiance) and a gaggle of female housemates as well as a sweet landlady. This third outing is just as delightful as the first two, and I will continue to read!

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I love this series. All the characters are so great. Love the nitty gritty old timey New York setting. And the 50s politics. So so good

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Emily J. Edwards has another hit with her latest Girl Friday mystery. This time, Viviana & Tommy have 4 cases to work, starting with murder on New Year's Eve. It was enjoyable following along the simultaneous investigations, as always. Also, it was cool to have the boarding house residents fleshed out a bit more, to have more of their personalities shine through. Yet, even with all that, the book just didn't have the same zing as the previous ones. When all four cases were resolved, each conclusion seemed a little anticlimactic; one in particular made me so mad I actually cursed out the character. Then I had to laugh at myself for getting so upset. Ultimately I enjoyed the book, but not as much as the first two.

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

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Book #3 in this series was fun and entertaining. It's a light quick read but full of character growth and clues to be solved. If I need to offer some thoughts, I would say a bit of the conversation can be a bit claggy and doesn't feel like a natural flow. I do think we got a bit off point of the mysteries and murders a times but by the end, we pulled it back together to ensure there was closure. Nevertheless, I love picking up easy reads which suck me into the world and help me escape with the characters. If you are looking for a series which offers a bit of crime to solve and entertainment to be had, this may fill that need. I can't wait to see what else is in store for Viviana and Tommy.

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The New Year gets off to an awful start for Viviana Valentine and her fiancé/partner Tommy Fortuna when they witness a murder while on their way to Times Square for the New Year’s Eve celebration. Despite not having a paying client, the two private detectives decide it is up to them to solve the man’s murder. Meanwhile, they have three other cases that they are working on—a missing banker, a duplicitous fiancée, and a man whose blackmailer is sending them on a scavenger hunt throughout the city for the next clue.

There is a lot going on in VIVIANA VALENTINE AND THE TICKING CLOCK with Viviana and Tommy working on four cases at the same time. Because of the four different cases—plus the storylines concerning Viviana’s relationship with Tommy and everything going on at her boarding house—the story was a bit chaotic and hard to follow. There was a lot of jumping around between the different plots and subplots. I was waiting for at least two of their cases to tie in together, but that didn’t happen. While still an interesting story, I didn’t think it worked as well as the first two novels in the Girl Friday series.

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Fall is SUCH a good season for mysteries., and Viviana Valentine and the Ticking Clock is another fabulous one. The Girl Friday mysteries are fun, easy reads with some quality twists and turns and, of course, darling characters.

Let's start with the main event- the mystery! This is a combo case, with three different puzzles for our P.I.s to solve through the book. Puzzles, murders, and missing bankers make for nonstop action and investigating, even as we draw closer to Tommy, Viv, and the boarding house crew. The three mysteries keep you guessing and we meet a lot of interesting characters along the way, although I do think being spread out so much made it harder to feel like I was solving the mystery WITH them, because Tommy and Viv split up so much to investigate.

Tommy and Viviana, engaged at the end of book 2, are getting ready to plan a wedding. I do think this felt more like what book 2 SHOULD have been in terms of developing their relationship. There were a lot more tension-filled moments and them figuring out how they work as a couple and not just friends than in the last book, and it would have been nice to have that balanced with a few more squishy moments. It felt like their relationship walked backward just a little bit and not a lot of things got resolved.

I love Viv and Tommy and the crew, and the way the rest of the girls (and Oleks) from the boarding house got involved was a really fun change from book 2, where it was all off in another location. I think Viviana Valentine Goes Up the River will stay my favorite, but I can't wait to see where our sleuths go next!

Overall, maybe one of those mysteries could have been edited out because we DEFINIETLY needed more Tommy and Viv moments, but this is a fun, fast, light-hearted read (despite the murder!) and Edwards is an auto-read author for me!

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I absolutely love mysteries, but this one took real willpower to get through.

Viviana and Tommy are not my favorite characters. Their "Tommy boy" and "Dollface" exchanges felt forced and ridiculous. Viviana's heavy feminism seemed to really only come in to play when she wanted it to (fine for Tommy to pay for her lunch, dinner, taxi, but do NOT treat her as physically weaker than a man). It struck me as more teenager starving for attention that strong, independent woman.

The supporting cast of characters were far more interesting--both in their demeanors and their backgrounds. They were what kept me going.

The murder aspect itself was a fine story on its own. It was nice to see so many elements (puzzles, people in hiding, etc) worked in to the overall plot.

Overall: 2.5 stars

I'll tell my students about: alcohol, language, sex, trauma, violence/death/gore, drugs, LGBTQIA+

**Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the free ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.**

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A great noir-ish series! For when you want a historical mystery but are a little burnt out on mysteries that take place during war time. It was phenomenal and highly enjoyable. Will recommend to historical mystery loving patrons!

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