Bad Bettie Sugartown Blues, Book One
Layne BlacqueHistorical romance
Available from The Wild Rose Press
July 2008
| In 1948, it was illegal for blacks (or coloreds, as they were then known) to marry whites. Because of that, it was certainly frowned upon, if not detrimental to health, to mix for pleasure. Barbara Elizabeth Bleue, called Bettie, sang at a nightclub called Sugartown, which was a big hot spot shut down by the Los Angeles Police Department because of suspected illegal operations. Bettie, a 23-year-old colored woman from Chicago, had been in L.A. for four years.
Detective Mike O’Neal was a 32-year-old policeman with the LAPD. From the first time he saw Bettie he was captivated. He offered to drive her home after he and his colleagues shut down her place of business. That started a whirlwind, passionate rendezvous between them. Ms. Layne Blacque started her Sugartown Blues series with this first book. I cannot wait to read the subsequent offerings in this sequence. Ms. Blacque has a unique way to tell a story in a concise, mesmerizing manner which grabbed my attention from the first word. It didn’t let me go even after reading the last word. I definitely was not ready for the story to be over. The characters were strong, not intimidated, and the storyline had me enthralled. The sensual scenes were good, but not overbearing. It was a great read and one which I highly recommend to everyone.
Overall rating:
Reviewer: Brenda Talley |
