The Chelsea Girls: A Novel

Meet Isabel Puddles by M.V. Byrne is a new cozy mystery featuring widow Isabel Puddles. She is active in her community and knows everyone (along with their stories). We get detailed information on Isabel and what seems like everyone she knows. It felt like an information dump in the beginning with all the details. I did not feel we needed a life history on Isabel (not in the first book) and anyone who lived or worked nearby (it was too much). There are some interesting and quirky characters in the story. I enjoyed the humorous moments which had me laughing. The vivid depictions of the town allowed me to visualize it. It took a bit to get to the mystery (we are busy getting to know Isabel). There are multiple suspects in the whodunit. Isabel works her way through each one. I wish the whodunit had been more of a challenge. Identifying the guilty party is a piece of cake even with the number of suspects. The mystery is not at the forefront of the story. Just when I would start to get into the whodunit, Isabel would launch into one of her tales (she has so many of them). We follow Isabel and the sheriff as they investigate Carl’s death. I do like how it all comes together at the end. The author needs to find a balance between too much information and too little. I cannot imagine what else there is to learn about Isabel. It seems that we know everything about her. I thought the pacing of the story was slow and the story felt like it dragged on forever. I really struggled to finish Meet Isabel Puddles. There were some bright moments that I truly enjoyed. I hope there are more of them in future books. This is just the first book in A Mitten State Mystery series. We must wait to see how the series develops as well as the author’s writing. Meet Isabel Puddles has potential with its interesting main character, quirky residents, and charming town.

THE CHELSEA GIRLS by Fiona Davis is a stand alone, historical, women’s fiction storyline focusing on three women: actress Maxine Mead, struggling actress/playwright/director Hazel Riley, and New York’s iconic Chelsea Hotel, where the who’s who of entertainment and art, party and live. Told from first person perspective (Maxine Mead) and third person (Hazel Riley), based loosely in fact, THE CHELSEA GIRLS covers approximately twenty-two years in the life of actress Maxine Mead, and struggling actress/playwright/director Hazel Riley. In 1945 Hazel Riley had the opportunity to join the USO tour in Europe where she would meet actress Maxine Mead, and young artist Floyd Jenkins. A tight friendship would develop but the end of the war separated the trio until five years later when Hazel’s play Wartime Sonata, based upon their experiences in Europe, would be picked up by a Broadway producer, bringing Maxine, Floyd and Hazel back together again but all was not well in the United States as Senator Joseph McCarthy started a hunt for Communists in America. Targeting the entertainment industry, creating the HUAC House Un-American Activities Committee in an effort to takedown those believed to be members of, and support the Communist Party, Hazel would soon discover that a wolf in sheep’s clothing was about to destroy everything and more. The majority of the story line is set in Manhattan, New York and The Chelsea Hotel . Hazel’s play has been commissioned by a Broadway producer, and the arrival of Hollywood starlet Maxine Mead pushes the production onwards and up but opening night is a disaster, and the fall-out finds Hazel facing the HUAC trying to prove she is innocent, and defend the lives of the people she loves. Fiona Davis blends fact with fiction in a story line sweeping in the grandeur of The Chelsea Hotel-the secrets, the parties, the artists, and the reality of McCarthyism, and the witch hunt for Communists in America. THE CHELSEA GIRLS is character driven, imaginative and wondrous story line that focuses on a period in time where lives were destroyed by accusation and innuendo without proof or evidence to the contrary.

Broadway Lives in a Turbulent Era This book follows the lives of two women from USO entertainers in WWII to NYC theatre and through the blacklisting of the 1950s. It is an honest look at life in such a different era. These women had to struggle for work in writing and directing the plays as well as trying to get good roles without the casting couch. The Red Scare and blacklisting affected several generations of artists from all areas. The author takes an honest look at all of this using the Chelsea Hotel as a backdrop. The Chelsea was an artist's oasis almost since it was built. It was a secluded home for rising stars in all areas. A place where they were left alone to learn their lines, write the lines, paint the pictures, or compose their masterpieces. The book in an intriguing look at the history, a glimpse into life as it was. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.