Harlem After Midnight
1936, Harlem, New York, and a woman falls from on high onto the steps of a brownstone. As blood seeps into the pavement, she is discovered to be holding a British passport, in the name of the book’s protagonist Lena Aldridge.
Lena, a professional singer, arrived in New York ten days earlier. She came here for work – and also on the track of family history. Her father, much loved but recently deceased, had originated in New York but never spoken of his past. Lena is here to discover it. Lena is also keen to further her relationship with Will, a musician on board ship while crossing the Atlantic. Her adventures on board were related in a previous book, Miss Aldridge Regrets. These are referred to in Harlem After Midnight, but the book can be read alone.
Harlem After Midnight is a romance-cum thriller, in which family secrets prove to be deadly. Lena is mixed race, her skin colour affecting the opportunities available to her. She wears these restrictions lightly: she has suffered them all her life. But they persist. As a singer, Lena takes us into the clubs and theatres of New York. Under the glamour lurks sleaze, a dark side of the music scene. Affluent white audiences come to listen to poorly paid black musicians play the fashionable jazz and swing.
The timeline of the story hops around as lively as a ragtime dancer: it’s necessary to pay attention to dates in the chapter headings. Thus, Hare maintains the suspense of Lena’s discoveries, both about her father’s past, and the secrets that cause her to doubt her new lover, Will. This is a competent romance/thriller that will interest readers who enjoy the ‘family secrets’ genre. It is set up for a sequel.
