THE SPECTACULAR
Fiona Davis
Penguin Group Dutton
June 13, 2023
368 pages
Bonus points, right off the top: The cover of this book attracted me instantly, as did the author, Fiona Davis. And, the book grabbed my attention from the first page. I love it when it doesn’t take a long time to become invested in a book.
In a nutshell, this book is about Radio City Music Hall and the Rockettes. It is also about The Apple City Bomber who terrorized New York City for 16 years during the 1940s and 1950s. I knew nothing about this. This is one of the reasons I love a historical novel, an easy way to learn about the past.
The book focuses on two stories. The one is about a young woman, Marion, trying out for and becoming a Rockette at Radio City. It is a gruelling schedule and very exacting rehearsals.
And, the secondary story is about the bomber. Marion teams up with a young psychiatry resident who tries to help the police catch the bomber by using criminal profiling. This was the first time profiling was used in police work. I found it quite interesting how seemingly insignificant details put together could create a persona. While this may seem to be far-fetched, it is a NOVEL which is lightly based on actual events. The author uses literary license to change the details in order to make it more appealing to the reader. In the Author’s Notes at the end, she does set the record straight. I still learned about events that I had never been aware of.
Ms. Davis hits it out of the park with this book. All of her books are set in New York City. Each book has a different historical building as a main feature. The stories revolve around each building respectively. I found her books very enjoyable, easy to read and informative.
I’m sure there will be some readers who will find it somewhat contrived. But it is fiction. It is entertaining. For me, that’s what it’s all about.
Great storyline, great characters and great outcome.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.
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