Shrines of Gaiety

Any new novel by Kate Atkinson is almost guaranteed to top my favorites list. Shrines of Gaiety is a brilliantly drawn portrait of the seamy underworld of London in the aftermath of the First World War, involving an uptight policeman and a no-nonsense heroine in a search for two disappeared girls.

As always with Atkinson, the format of the crime-mystery genre provides an opportunity to achieve something more ambitious – a literary novel with a light touch, at once deeply funny and profoundly affecting.

If, like me, you opt for the audiobook version, Jason Watkins’ mellow narration is an absolute… show more.

Kate Atkinson's books are something special. No other author I've read has the ability to create characters and worlds with the same style and freedom. And Shrines of Gaiety is up there with her best, pulling us along into something beautiful, dark, and still somehow incredibly real. 

Setting us down in the glamourous world of 1920s Soho, Atkinson conjures up a London swirling with the lights and decadence of a country determined to ignore the trauma of the war. Nellie Coker is the ruthless and ambitious club owner, determined to defend her empire not only from London's only honest detective… show more.

I like all of Kate Atkinson’s writing; her prose is pitch-perfect, and her characters, while often morally ambiguous, are always engaging and well-drawn.

Atkinson refuses to recognise the artificial categorisation of books into genres like "crime" as opposed to literary fiction. Shrines of Gaiety is a perfect example of a book which is both and neither, it is simply, very good.

This book is set in the demi-monde of Soho, its gangsters and addicts, police, and thrill seekers, but also shows the shadow of the Great War. Set in the 1920s, the crime plot is about the murder of young… show more.

The quirky yet believable characters make this historical novel set in 1926 worth reading. I wanted each of them to succeed at their ultimate goals despite being at odds with one another.

There’s Nellie Coker, the nightclub matriarch. “She was happy to provide [fun] for others, for a sum. There was nothing wrong with having a good time as long as she didn’t have to have one herself.” As for Detective Chief Inspector John Frobisher, “Dirt never slept, so neither would Frobisher.” Gwendolen Kelling, labeled “practical” by some yet “ruthless” by her own mother, is the perfect person to infiltrate… show more.

The dazzle of 1920s London and the release of notorious Soho club owner Nellie Coker from prison echoes TV’s wicked family dramas: Peaky Blinders, Sopranos, and Succession.

The characters spill onto the page and into your heart. The Cocker empire is under threat from a rival and Detective Inspector Frobisher, who is investigating the disappearances of several young girls. Like two novels from my list of all-time favourites–Sarah Waters’ Fingersmith and Beatrice Colin’s The Luminous Life Of Lily Aphrodite–this is a delicious mix of longing, satire, and mystery and draws us into a world teeming with vibrant characters,… show more.

I love anything Kate Atkinson writes. I admit my bias: Kate originated in York, Yorkshire, a Yorkie like me. The historical fiction stories I write also begin their journeys in York.

Kate has a wickedly dry sense of humor, which reveals itself throughout her writing. I read this book during a challenging year and needed the humor as I nursed my husband back to health from a catastrophic illness. 

I enjoy how Kate used her research on the period (1929) to take me deep into the era, so I learned as I laughed. 

I’ve always been a fan of Kate Atkinson and this was one of my favorites. What initially grabbed my attention was the 1920s setting in London.

After reading the novel, I so much better understood what it must have been like following the First World War—the frenzied times. The details of place, dress, and manner of speaking are all perfectly described. Atkinson’s ability to recreate that era allowed me to swiftly be transported. But once I’d gotten to know the several main characters, they became—not characters—but real people, for better or worse.

Nellie Coker, the matriarch, is truly unforgettable! I… show more.

Kate Atkinson is a very talented writer - she weaves together many lives in this book, from the main character, Gwendolyn, to Nellie, the unrepentant nightclub owner, to the young girls who get caught up in running to London to escape their mundane and sometimes abusive homes.

We see the top layer of society, the royalty, as they mingle with underworld kingpins, and see what can happen to unsuspecting young victims.

I kept going back to the story to see what would happen to young Freda who wants a career on the stage but learns that that is only possible… show more.