The Orchid Hour

Nancy Bilyeau

From Shelf: Hotly anticipated, October 2023

New York City, 1923. A young widow named Zia De Luca finds herself at the center of a murder investigation, but to bring the killer to justice, she'll have to beat notorious racketeers Arnold Rothstein and Lucky Luciano at their own game.

There is a certain hour, in the dead of night, when the orchid's scent can put you under a spell... New York City, 1923. Zia De Luca's life is about to be shattered. Having lost her husband to The Great War, she lives with her in-laws in Little Italy and works at the public library. But when a quiet poetry-lover is murdered outside the library, the police investigation focuses on Zia. After a second tragedy strikes even closer to home, Zia learns that both crimes are connected to a new speakeasy in Greenwich Village called The Orchid Hour. When the police investigation stalls, Zia decides to find her own answers. A cousin with whom she has a special bond serves as a guide to the shadow realm of The Orchid Hour, a world filled with enticements Zia has shunned up to now. She must contend with a group of players determined to find wealth and power in New York on their own terms. In this heady atmosphere, Zia begins to wonder if she too could rewrite her life's rules. As she's pulled in deeper and deeper, will Zia be able to bring the killers to justice before they learn her secret?