One of the things I love about Moreno-Garcia’s writing, though, is that she never does the same thing twice. And for that reason it’s really difficult to anticipate what direction the story is going to take. Velvet Was the Night was an engrossing journey through a tumultuous period in Mexican history, and I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it. Mexico City: while student protests and political unrest consume the city, Maite escapes from her humdrum life in the stories of passion and danger that fill the latest issue of Secret Romance.

Velvet Was the Night wasn't what I expected, although that's my own fault. This is true noir, take that seriously. It's a slow burn, with relatively low-stakes. Silvia Moreno-Garcia presents a well-crafted storyline based on true events in Mexico City. The 1970's brought student unrest as activists took to the streets. The government, in turn, sent goons to stop any uprisings and the result was chaos and bloodshed. Read the Afterword at the end by this author to get a clearer picture of what actually took place. Maite is the nervous, lonely secretary who adores Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole. She spends her spare moments reading her Secret Romance comics. She is beside herself that a favorite character falls into a coma. It was funny how she would sneak moments of reading in at work. I've never heard of romance comics, but after googling them I was able to see many varieties. I loved her character and her chapters were my favorite. She was like a "Cinderella, dreaming".I was hooked from the first few chapters..... the mysterious/smoky tone, unusual characters (not your neighbor next door types) and the 1970's Mexico City setting. It was a unique reading experience for me. I don't read a lot of books like this and while I really enjoyed it, it still won't be a genre I will seek out. Maite is a lonely girl who is quite tired of her 9-5 boring job and wants nothing more to shed her boring image. So much so that she reads romantic comics and makes up stories putting herself into them. She is thrown into a dangerous adventure when her neighbor asks her to cat sit. An absolute flex . . . [ Velvet Was the Night] left memarvelingat what kind of sorceress Moreno-Garcia must be as she reworks genre after genre, weaving in Mexican history and culture, satisfying familiar cravings without resorting to mere pastiche. The most tantalizing suspense of all comes withwondering what she’ll do next.” — Slate Elvis is a member of the Hawks which is a group run by the government. He is a criminal who loathes violence. When it becomes known that Lenora has photos that the government do not want to be seen, El Mago, Elvis's boss sends him and his crew to get those pictures. While looking for the Lenora and the pictures, Maite catches his eye and Elvis' eye especially when he learns of the things they have in common. Needless to say, both of their searches are dangerous - more dangerous than they could ever imagine!

Velvet was the Night is an explosive combination of such classic ’70s thrillers as Three Days of the Condor and contemporary Mexican noir like Yuri Herrera’s celebrated Signs Preceding the End of the World. Leonora is a beauty, a free-spirit, a student, an artist. She lives across the hall from Maite. Although the two have never really socialized, Leonora comes to Maite one day for a favor and then disappears. Maite's neighbor Leonora disappears and leaves her keys and instructions to feed her cat. She nevers comes home, leaving Maite on a dangerous path. Still, this book has a vibe all its own and I appreciated learning some of Mexico’s more recent history while being thoroughly entertained. I loved this book, and I think a lot of other readers are going to enjoy their time with it.

Mexico City: while student protests and political unrest consume the city, Maite seeks escape from her humdrum life in the stories of passion and danger filling the latest issue of Secret Romance. Intrigued by the young woman's disappearance, Maite begins looking into Leonora's life. The mystery infuses Maite's life with an excitement she's never really had before.

Her fictional story is set in Mexico City and focuses on a romance comic-obsessed secretary named Maite who gets caught up in the disappearance of her beautiful neighbor and meets a reluctant thug named Elvis who’s also trying to find her. There’s violence, a little sex, loads of naughty words, and a lot of intrigue. A slow burn, but for me the pace was just right. There is some action, violence with the thugs going at each other, a traitor, and a anti-hero that I was pulling for. I also learned some Mexican history during the Dirty War. After seeing that Velvet Was the Night was going to be a noir novel I found myself actually looking forward to reading it as I happen to enjoy noir books, such as the ones penned by Walter Mosley. The cover, title, and premise of Velvet Was the Night were certainly alluring. I mean, covers like this one are pretty much my Achilles’ heel. My expectations weren’t that high given my history with SMG's works...and yet, even so, I still ended up being fairly disappointed by Velvet Was the Night. Finally, the title was expertly chosen and I loved the references to the song 'Strangers in the Night' that both of the characters listen to as well as "Blue Velvet', and by the end, we get a real sense of how well-weaved throughout the novel the title really is - this was expertly done.This one ended and had me wishing I could begin another book by this author right away. Silvia Moreno-Garcia did a brilliant job of blending fiction with historical events. You can read her Author's note at the end as she details the events. She caught my eye with Mexican Gothic and I became a bigger fan with this book - I have to say I enjoyed this one more.