The Spectacular
Fiction
Dutton
June 13, 2023
Hardcover
369
Purchased
New York Times bestselling author Fiona Davis transports us back to 1950s Manhattan and the glamorous Radio City Music Hall. . . .
New York City, 1956: Nineteen-year-old Marion is over the moon to have been selected to be one of the Rockettes, Radio City Music Hall’s glamorous precision-dancing troupe. It’s an honor to perform in the world’s most spectacular theater, an art deco masterpiece. But with four shows a day as well as grueling rehearsals, not to mention exacting standards of perfection to live up to, Marion quickly realizes that the life of a Rockette has both extraordinary highs and devastating lows.
Then one night a bomb explodes in the theater. It’s only the latest in a string of explosions around the city orchestrated by a person the press has nicknamed the "Big Apple Bomber." They have been terrorizing the citizens of New York for sixteen years by planting bombs in popular, crowded spaces. With the public in an uproar over the lack of any real leads after a yearslong manhunt, the police, at Marion’s urging, turn in desperation to a radical new technique: psychological profiling.
As Marion finds herself pulled deeper into the investigation, she realizes that as much as she’s been training herself to blend in—performing in perfect unison with all the other identical Rockettes—if she hopes to catch the bomber, she’ll need to stand out and take a terrifying risk. But she may be forced to sacrifice everything she’s worked for, as well as the people she loves the most.
My review:
I was very excited about this book. It's written by an author whose previous novels I have really enjoyed, I trust her to tell a well researched story about a New York City landmark, and who isn't fascinated by the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes? In dual timeline, we follow one of the dancers who was a Rockette in the 1950's, and also as she prepares to attend a commemorative gala dedicated to Radio City. Most of the book concentrates on the 1950's, and not only includes many anecdotes on life as a dancer, but also a mystery surrounding the city concerning a bomber who targets city landmarks and has yet to be caught. I loved the insider info about the Rockettes (who knew they aren't really attached during the iconic kick sequences?) and the look at what it meant to want a career, and not marriage and motherhood in that era. The investigation into the bomber was intriguing, particularly the use of psychological profiling (one of the first times this was ever used) to narrow down the suspects. I could have done without the obligatory romance, but that's a me thing (as anyone who reads my reviews knows!).
Well written and researched, I was transported back to life in 1950's NYC. This author has once again brought an iconic structure to life with wonderful characters and history of the place. I've been to Radio City Music Hall a few times in my life, so this book resonated with me even more having that experience. You will definitely learn things you probably never knew about both the theater, its dancers lives, and a little known crime event. I highly recommend if you enjoy historical fiction.
