ABOUT THE BOOK
New York City, 1936. In the midst of the Great Depression, the Big Apple is defiantly striving toward an era infused with art, architecture, and economic progress under the dynamic Mayor La Guardia. But those in City Hall know that tumultuous times can inspire both optimism and deadly danger . . .It’s been six months since Lane Sanders was appointed Mayor Fiorello “Fio” La Guardia’s new personal aide, and the twenty-three-year-old is sprinting in her Mary Janes to match her boss’s pace.
Despite dealing with vitriol from the Tammany Hall political machine and managing endless revitalization efforts, Fio hasn’t slowed down a bit during his years in office. And luckily for Lane, his unpredictable antics are a welcome distraction from the childhood memories that haunt her dreams—and the silver gun she’ll never forget.
When Lane gets attacked and threatened by an assailant tied to one of most notorious gangsters in the city, even the mayor can’t promise her safety. The corrupt city officials seem to be using Lane as a pawn against Fio for disgracing their party in the prior election. But why was the assailant wielding the exact same gun from her nightmares?
Balancing a clandestine love affair and a mounting list of suspects, Lane must figure out how the secrets of her past are connected to the city’s underground crime network—before someone pulls the trigger on the most explosive revenge plot in New York history . . .
Book Details:
Title: The Silver Gun
Author: L.A. Chandler
Series: Art Deco Mystery, 1st in series
Genre: Cozy mystery
Publisher: Kensington (August 29, 2017)
Paperback: 336 pages
On tour with: Great Escapes Book Tours
GUEST POST BY L.A. CHANDLER
Food and Drinks Galore
The first book in The Art Deco Mystery Series, The Silver Gun, is full of food and vintage cocktails. I am often asked about this fact. I get a lot of quotes like, “Be prepared to always be hungry when you’re reading!” and “I love all those cocktails!”
Well, there are two reasons why I write so much about the culinary aspect of the city. The obvious one is that New York is a veritable haven for foodies. You could live here forever and never visit all of the restaurants. Every day, all day, you walk by restaurants and pubs and smell the delicious food all around. Experiencing the city involves all the senses. The second reason is not so obvious. When you come here and fill your day running all over the place doing touristy things, or if you have a job like my protagonist, Lane, where you are traveling around the city like crazy, you have to be prepared to be simply ravenous. All. The. Time.
You use a lot of energy. I always tell people you have to be able to really walk in your shoes, even the high strappy kind. (One time I was trying on a pair of high heeled red shoes –my favorite—and my husband caught me with them on striding jauntily across the store. He looked at me with a cheeky grin and said, “What are you doing?” I said, “Marching. I mean, trying on my shoes!”). And be ready to need to find food at a moment’s notice because your stomach is viciously growling.
Since the era of the Art Deco Mysteries is directly after Prohibition ended, cocktails were really big. Lane and the gang have a variety of cocktails, especially when they’re out dancing. There’s the Bad Romance, a Sidecar, a FloraDora… In my newsletters, I share recipes for vintage cocktails and those recipes always have the highest click-rates!
My favorite appetizer recipe–and the one that I get asked about all the time–is the crumb-coated olives that Lane and Finn have at the Italian place in Little Italy. I love them so much, but they can be hard to find. Below I have a recipe for you. I also have a vintage recipe of a Flora Dora cocktail you can make as a mocktail or fully leaded.
All in all, food and cocktails are to this day a big part of the city. To skip that part, you would miss a dynamic aspect of city living. But what makes these aspects really powerful in the books, is that they have a fantastic ability to bring people together. And that’s the best part!
Crumb Coated Olives
½ cup flour
½ cup bread crumbs
1 beaten egg
Olive oil for frying
Pitted green olives
Dry the olives well, then dredge in flour, then the egg, then the bread crumbs. Fry in 1/2" of olive oil until golden brown. Can top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. They are fantastic by themselves, or you can make a dipping sauce with ½ cup sour cream or plain yogurt, juice and zest from ½ of a lemon, ¼ teaspoon parsley flakes, and 1/8 teaspoon of garlic salt (to taste).
Flora Dora – it has a beautiful pink color
In a pitcher combine 1 cup gin or vodka, ½ cup Chambord (raspberry liquor), and the juice of 1 lime. (Double or triple for larger groups – can also add lime slices to the pitcher).
Over ice, fill the cup halfway with Ginger Ale, then the other half with Flora Dora mixture. Garnish with lime slice.
For a virgin Flora Dora, fill pitcher with Ginger Ale, the juice of 1 lime, 1 lime that’s been sliced (just add right into the pitcher), and ½ cup of raspberry puree that’s been strained of its seeds. Pour over ice.
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