From the author of the “riveting” (Chicago Tribune) The Midwife of Venice, a fresh and sweeping historical novel following a Jewish woman attempting to bring justice to her family on the eve of World War II.
New York City, 1939: At the height of the Great Depression, a time when President Roosevelt is trying to keep America out of World War II, Giddy Brodsky is lucky to have a job as a cigarette girl at a Manhattan jazz club. Nevertheless, she dreams of establishing a cosmetics business and leaving the poverty-stricken Lower East Side tenements behind. She has lived there with her family ever since they fled Russia, forced to emigrate after a group of Cossacks burned down their village, and her memories continue to haunt her.
Giddy tries to focus on the future until, during an evening streetcar ride, she thinks she recognizes one of the Cossacks who changed her life forever. Determined to get answers, she enlists the help of Carter van der Zalm, the Chief Commissioner of Immigration at Ellis Island, who is hunting the same man. He suspects the Russian is involved in an assassination plot that will destroy American and Soviet relations, and he enlists Giddy to moonlight as a spy for him. But when she finally tracks down the man they’re both seeking, she finds herself in the middle of a shocking political conspiracy that changes everything she once held true.
In the tradition of Lara Prescott’s The Secrets We Kept and Kate Quinn’s The Rose Code, The Jazz Club Spy is a glittering and gritty look at pre-WWII America, and the personal battle one woman wages between justice and forgiveness.
Genre: Historical
New York City, 1939: At the height of the Great Depression, a time when President Roosevelt is trying to keep America out of World War II, Giddy Brodsky is lucky to have a job as a cigarette girl at a Manhattan jazz club. Nevertheless, she dreams of establishing a cosmetics business and leaving the poverty-stricken Lower East Side tenements behind. She has lived there with her family ever since they fled Russia, forced to emigrate after a group of Cossacks burned down their village, and her memories continue to haunt her.
Giddy tries to focus on the future until, during an evening streetcar ride, she thinks she recognizes one of the Cossacks who changed her life forever. Determined to get answers, she enlists the help of Carter van der Zalm, the Chief Commissioner of Immigration at Ellis Island, who is hunting the same man. He suspects the Russian is involved in an assassination plot that will destroy American and Soviet relations, and he enlists Giddy to moonlight as a spy for him. But when she finally tracks down the man they’re both seeking, she finds herself in the middle of a shocking political conspiracy that changes everything she once held true.
In the tradition of Lara Prescott’s The Secrets We Kept and Kate Quinn’s The Rose Code, The Jazz Club Spy is a glittering and gritty look at pre-WWII America, and the personal battle one woman wages between justice and forgiveness.
Genre: Historical
Praise for this book
"A wonderfully immersive and utterly delightful novel that beautifully evokes the world of Jazz Age New York City. You'll fall in love with Giddy Brodsky, an ambitious immigrant with big ideas and a brave heart. The propulsive plot, while inspired by facts, imaginatively blends history and fiction. Written with authenticity and verve, The Jazz Spy Club is a thrilling romp filled with mystery, political intrigue, and compelling characters. You'll root for Giddy and her indomitable spirit from the first page to the last. I stayed up all night to reach the entirely satisfying conclusion." - Kim van Alkemade
"A suspenseful historical novel that never loses touch with humanity, The Jazz Club Spy centers on Giddy Brodsky, a funny, tough-talking cigarette girl in a 1930s jazz club, a cosmetics inventor and entrepreneur, a daughter trying to heal her broken family, and a born spy with nervs of steel. From a high-level conspiracy that could push America into war to a homemade recipe for eyeliner - there's nothing Roberta Rich can't do." - Katherine Ashenburg
"Roberta Rich brings to life 1930s New York in this fast-paced, gritty historical thriller featuring a cunning, young cigarette girl with a quick mind and a hidden past who is dropped into a political conspiracy on the eve of WWII and comes face to face with secrets and lies that put everything - including her life - in jeopardy. Full of twists and turns, this is a page-turner to the end." - Genevieve Graham
"A suspenseful historical novel that never loses touch with humanity, The Jazz Club Spy centers on Giddy Brodsky, a funny, tough-talking cigarette girl in a 1930s jazz club, a cosmetics inventor and entrepreneur, a daughter trying to heal her broken family, and a born spy with nervs of steel. From a high-level conspiracy that could push America into war to a homemade recipe for eyeliner - there's nothing Roberta Rich can't do." - Katherine Ashenburg
"Roberta Rich brings to life 1930s New York in this fast-paced, gritty historical thriller featuring a cunning, young cigarette girl with a quick mind and a hidden past who is dropped into a political conspiracy on the eve of WWII and comes face to face with secrets and lies that put everything - including her life - in jeopardy. Full of twists and turns, this is a page-turner to the end." - Genevieve Graham
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