We met Vivian Kelly in LAST CALL AT THE NIGHTINGALE when she was working at the club. She was enjoying it immensely until one night when she discovered a body outside. Now she’s back, with her bobbed hair and jaunty spunk.

Vivian and her sister are employed by a dress shop in New York City. Well, the dress shop is her day job. This is the Prohibition era, and making ends meet for a single girl like Vivian isn’t easy. By night, she works at the Nightingale, a popular speakeasy, along with her best friend, Bea. The Nightingale is a hopping place where people go for all sorts of fun, mostly of the illegal type. But it’s where Vivian finds comfort and release, pals and protectors. And it has that special --- and dangerous --- extra benefit, Honor Huxley, who is also her boss. Their relationship is what one might call complicated. Her nights are spent serving drinks, dancing with the male --- and sometimes female --- customers, and generally making sure that everyone is having a grand time.

"Katharine Schellman writes with an authenticity of period that makes every paragraph a pleasure. I, for one, hope to see more of Vivian and the Nightingale."

All is going along just swimmingly when they hear the news that Pearlie, one of the club’s bouncers, is dead. Whispers of “suicide” ripple through the bar. Bea --- Beatrice Bluebird, the Nightingale’s ravishing singer and Pearlie’s niece --- isn’t buying it. He had too much to live for and no reason to off himself. Vivian agrees. So despite her friend’s protestations, Vivian plunges into discovering what’s behind Pearlie’s suspicious demise.

We’re talking about a dark time in the history of the NYPD, when the cops had a reputation for rampant corruption within their ranks. So even if Vivian wanted to take her evidence to law enforcement, she couldn’t be sure she wasn’t walking into the enemy camp. Pearlie obviously had something sinister going on that got him killed. But who’s to say that that something didn’t involve a dirty cop? No, Vivian has to covertly snoop around on her own. Well, not entirely on her own; she has the help of her buddy, Leo. Leo is a tough guy who has street smarts and connections, both of which are critical if you want to stay alive while poking around where you don’t belong. He also has a little sweet spot for her.

As for leads, Vivian has a few, because the killer sent Pearlie a letter before he died. And apparently that wasn’t the only one. Vivian discovers that others in their community have gotten similar letters --- threatening messages demanding some item of value from these people, who really have very little to begin with…or else. Who would do this and why? At first, she suspects the mob but quickly dismisses that idea. The mob wouldn’t go after small potatoes like Mrs. Kaminski’s candlesticks.

Vivian’s sleuthing takes her on a lively romp around her neighborhood and into some pretty hairy situations. Thankfully, she has friends from the Nightingale to look after her. She also has Honor, who clearly takes care of her people. In that part of town, a lot of things can get you killed really fast, and Vivian is pushing boundaries with every step she takes. So having the backing of the Nightingale crew might be her salvation. Even so, when she finally realizes who’s behind Pearlie’s death, along with the letters, she hardly believes it. How can she possibly keep herself and those she cares about safe now?

THE LAST DROP OF HEMLOCK will take you back to a simple, but no less dangerous, period in our history --- a rollicking time of great jazz and forbidden booze. The spirited Vivian Kelly will grab you by the hand and pull you along with her in solving this mystery, where ultimately you’ll arrive at a surprising conclusion. Katharine Schellman writes with an authenticity of period that makes every paragraph a pleasure. I, for one, hope to see more of Vivian and the Nightingale.