Do you enjoy historical fiction? If you could go back in time, would you immediately go back to the 20s? Are the lives of flappers and gangsters your thing? If so, you definite;y want to check out Tasting the Apple by Sherilyn Decter! It is the second book in her Bootleggers’ Chronicles. You can check out more info on the first book here.
Luckily, I was able to be included on the blog tour for this second novel and I have a excerpt and a giveaway today! You have the chance to win both books and they will be signed! Who doesn’t love a signed book? Make sure to scroll all the way through to ensure you enter the giveaway.
Let’s get to the book!
A young widow on the edge. A policeman back from the dead. Together, can they take down the city’s most notorious bootlegger? Philadelphia, 1925. With a son to raise and boarders to feed, Maggie Barnes is at her wit’s end. But when a criminal element infiltrates the police force, the single mother puts her cares aside to help. As she tries to dig up dirt on bootlegger mastermind Mickey Duffey, Maggie realizes she can’t take on the case alone…
Inspector Frank Geyer used to patrol the streets of Philadelphia before Maggie was born. As he attempts to clean up crime from beyond the grave, the spirit uses his Victorian sensibilities to fight back against lawbreakers. But with corruption throughout the police force, can the phantom informant save his city and Maggie’s livelihood? With the roof leaking and the lawlessness spiraling, Maggie and Frank have one chance to take down a criminal and prevent the unthinkable…
Check out Tasting the Apple on Amazon.
Excerpt
The two gals couldn’t be more different or closer. Some days it feels like they’ve been through the wars together, and in many ways they have.
Six years into it, Philadelphia is entrenched in the anarchy of Prohibition. Bootleggers have turned a city, once known as a place that had a week of Sundays, into a playground for gangsters and racketeers. Washington should have known that you can’t tell people, especially those in Philadelphia, what to do. If they want a drink, then they’ll find someone to sell it to them. The fact that it’s illegal is merely an inconvenient technicality. Moonshiners brew it. Rum runners import it. Bootleggers and speakeasies sell it. And cops and politicians all look the other way for a small fee. Lawlessness bleeds into all areas of life because, if you’re comfortable being a lawbreaker so that you can enjoy an afternoon tipple or a night on the town, then it’s easy to slide just a wee bit further down that slippery slope. The fact the slope is sometimes slippery with blood? Well, it’s not happening to me, bub, so look the other way.
Maggie loves coming to the pictures. The Stanton is one of Philadelphia’s magnificent baroque movie palaces: ornate plaster and golden flourishes. The moment when the lights dim and the heavy, red velvet drapes sweep open always makes her catch her breath as she falls into a world of make-believe.
Her life allows only a few indulgences. Maggie’s widowed and raising her son. She’s managing to keep a roof over their heads, thanks to the regular rent payments of her lodgers. Even so, Maggie can hear the padded footsteps of hungry wolves always pacing back and forth in front of her door.
A pinched pocketbook is one of the reasons why Maggie Barnes enjoys these little outings with her best friend, Edith Duffy. They’ve gotten to know each other well over the past year and a half. The circumstances that brought them together were a real crossroads in Maggie’s life: a neighbor’s child’s death; her search to find the murderer and bring him to justice; a kidnapping. Some would shudder, trying to forget, but Maggie is grateful that, in all the darkness, Edith’s friendship shone through. The fact that her friend is married to the chief suspect is merely a complication—hey, in these riotous days, what isn’t complicated?
The two gals stroll arm in arm down the street toward the coffee shop. With one eye on the darkening sky, Maggie’s glad she’s brought her umbrella. More rain is the last thing she needs.
About the Author
Those readers that aren’t familiar with the author, here’s some background
information on her. The Roaring Twenties and Prohibition were a fantasy land, coming right after the horrors and social upheaval of World War I. Even a century later,
it all seems so exotic.
Women got the vote, started working outside the home, and (horrors!) smoked and drank in public places. They even went on unchaperoned dates (gasp)! Corsets were thrown into the back of the closets, and shoes were discovered to be an addictive fashion accessory after hemlines started to rise. And thanks to Prohibition, suddenly it was fashionable to break the law. The music was made in America- ragtime, delta blues, and of course jazz. Cocktails were created to hide the taste of the bathtub gin. Flappers were dancing, beads and fringes flying. Fedoras were tipped. And everyone was riding around in automobiles (aka struggle buggies and I leave it to your imagination why- wink.)
Bootleggers’ Chronicles grew out of that fascination. Writing as Sherilyn Decter, I will eventually have a series of historical crime fiction novels dealing with the bootleggers, gangsters, flappers, and general lawlessness that defined Prohibition. The Bootlegger blog rose out of all the research that I’ve been doing about this incredible era.
Growing up on the prairies and living next to the ocean, I am a creature of endless horizons. Writing allows me to discover what’s just over the next one. My husband and I have three amazing daughters, a spoiled grandson, and two bad dogs.
Sherilyn Decter is enthralled with the flashing flappers and dangerous bootleggers from the Roaring Twenties and Prohibition. Through meticulous research, that lawless era is brought to life. Living in a century- old house, maybe the creaking pipes whisper stories in her ear.
To get the inside skinny on the Bootlegger’s Chronicles, you can reach Sherilyn at the following links:
Giveaway
Sherilyn Decter is giving away an autographed paperback copy of Tasting the Apple and Innocence Lost.
What do you think? Will you be checking out Sherilyn Decter’s latest book? What do you think of when you think of 1920s Americ? Feel free to leave a comment below!
Bookish Rantings 
Excerpts are a great way to draw you into the story. Thanks for sharing and for being a part of the author’s tour.
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Of course! These books sound so interesting. I can’t wait to read them!
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I love the 20s ✨
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Same here! It’s such a fascinating time.
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Looks good!
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