If you are a reader who loves murder mysteries but don't like the blood and guts associated with it this is the book for you. Set in Prohibition era Chicago the author takes the reader into the dangerous and dark underworld of the speakeasys of that era.For me the story just flowed from beginning to end. Murder Knocks Twice is the first book in Susanna Calkins new series. I can't wait for book 2 to be published. ( )

This is a promising first book in the new Speakeasies Mystery series, set in 1929 Prohibition Era Chicago. The sleuth sells ciggies at a speakeasy.

Though the book started slowly, I thought, ultimately, it really picked up and I would certainly continue to read future books in this series. As a lifelong Chicagoland resident, I love reading books set in Chicago, particularly historical Chicago books.

This is a book and series I would recommend!!

(I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via Net Galley, in exchange for a fair and honest review.)

Murder Knocks Twice is a new series by Susanna Calkin that takes place in 1929 Chicago during prohibition. We see Gina Ricci, the main character, start a new job as a cigarette girl in a speakeasy, replacing a girl who was murdered.

We meet a myriad of characters that work at the speakeasy, The Third Door owned by Signora Castallazzo, the customers, ie socialites finding some fun, ex-servicemen playing poker in a back room. Prohibition cocktails and mentions of gangsters such as Al Capone and there is also a mention of the St.Valentine's Day Massacre and the rise of organized crime.

I have not read much about 1929 Chicago other than the stock market crash. What does a cigarette girl do, she wears this box around her neck and goes around the speakeasy selling cigarettes and cigars, she also waits tables as needed. That is what Gina started doing but she also wants to be a photographer. The piano player, Marty is murdered and Gina comes upon the scene just as Marty is dying. Gina had learned that she and Marty were cousins on her mother's side so this murder was personal.

Gina finds herself right smack dab in the middle of trying to figure out who and why Marty was murdered. With a camera and a roll of film, that she learns how to develop, may give her answers. Will she find out what she is looking for? She does learn more about her mother's family and I see this as a big part of the series. Who her mother's family are and why were they estranged?

I enjoyed reading this book, not fast-paced but easy enough to read. I see this as a fun series that I would continue reading. If you love a good historical mystery that takes place during Prohibition, then this is the series for you.

I received a copy of this book for review purposes only. ( )

Murder Knocks Twice is light on the mystery and heavy on the meandering.

The story is oh so slow. We're more than 100 pages in before anything of substance happens. Unfortunately, that something is the murder that's given away in the book's description. Really, if you're going to give a spoiler in the description, it should happen within the first few pages. Consequently, the only surprise with that aspect of the story was that he'd finally been murdered.

The setting is fun. I enjoyed spending time in the speakeasy, at least initially. After a while, the content became repetitious, as we accompany Gina in serving drinks, selling cigarettes, and gossiping with and about her coworkers.

Gina is a likable enough character. The others just sort of filled the space. In the end, I didn't really care what happened to any of them.

*I received a review copy from the publisher, via Amazon Vine.* ( )

Murder Knocks Twice is the first book in the A Speakeasy Murder series.

It’s January 1929 and Gina Ricci has been looking for a job and jobs are mighty scarce in Chicago. Gina’s father has repaired electrical appliances and radios, but with his failing health and not be able to work, Gina needs to find a job to pay the rent and put food on the table for them. One day, Gina is shopping at the grocery store, she runs into Lulu, a friend who she hasn’t seen in years. Lulu who works at The Third Door, a speakeasy tells Gina that the speakeasy is looking for a cigarette girl and that she should go and apply for the job. Gina meets with the owner, Signora Castallazzo and quickly finds herself the newest cigarette girl at The Third Door.

For the most part, she enjoys the job and is quite impressed with clientele that frequent the speakeasy, the ex-servicemen who play poker in the backroom. But she wishes that the club’s jazz pianist Ned, ease up on being so friendly towards her and also wishes the club’s photographer, Marty Doyle, would be a little more of a conversationalist. She is also impressed how easily the speakeasy can be converted into a reputable business very quickly and it’s patrons to safety in case they would be raided. A lot of the talk among her fellow workers is the way the previous girl met her demise.

Then one evening Gina is in the alley behind the speakeasy when she hears a disturbance. As she follows the moaning she comes across the brutally beaten body of Marty Doyle. As she bends down to talk to him, he reaches inside his coat and hands her his camera and his dying words were: keep this safe and trust no one.

She believes there must be something incriminating on the roll of film that is in the camera. But how will she get the film developed and can she get it done before someone finds out that she had Marty’s camera.

I really enjoyed this new historical series. It is a well-plotted and told story that moves at a fairly quick pace. There is a well-developed cast of believable characters and I’m really interested in where the series will be going. ( )