Westside Lights audiobook

This is the first book I’ve read in this intriguing, alternative-Earth, fantastical mystery series set in the Westside of Manhattan during the Jazz Age. That being said, I really didn’t have any issues reading it as a standalone. The setting and premise are absolutely great: intriguing, mystical, vibrant, and obviously well-researched and then redeveloped into something wholly different than what Jazz Age New York was really like. The place where fantasy meets reality closest regarding this time and age in Westside Manhattan is socioeconomics, and I think that’s a very salient point, given the author’s overall plot arc and cast of characters. Our protagonist, solver-of-tiny-mysteries, Gilda Carr, is fierce and irreverent. She may be our main character, but the whole cast of characters is nothing to frown upon (although, there are a lot of them). The dialogue is sharp, witty, and bright. The pacing of this book is a little slower than I like (unless I’m in the mood for something a tad more cozy than a thriller or even suspense mystery), but it can definitely read close to a noir mystery, which isn’t a bad thing at all. Where Akers’ writing shines best is when he’s writing about New York itself, whether it be the elements closer to reality or the distinct elements that transform this New York into something from an alternative Earth. The book is entirely worth checking out, as are the other two books before it. I love this influx of alternative Earth mysteries and fantasies focused on eras like the Jazz Age. Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for early access to this title and a physical ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Westside Lights is the third in W.M. Akers series of historical urban fantasies set in an alternative 1920s New York City featuring Gilda Carr, amateur detective and solver of tiny mysteries.This rounded out the trilogy well.

https://openbooksociety.com/article/w...Brought to you by OBS reviewer OmarReviewAfter the events of Westside Saints, Gilda Carr and her lover Cherube have decided to take a well-deserved vacation to the riverside, live in a boat, and even get a pet seagull. After some months, the residents of the Eastside also decided to try and modernize the riverside of the Westside and fill it out with new lights, booze, and casinos. Among the Eastsiders that are staying at the riverside, Gilda and Cherub have become somewhat friends with a group of artists, a writer, a musician, and a play writer, among others.After some weeks of constant late-night drinking, Gilda notices that her pet seagull has disappeared and the itch to go on a tiny mystery has started to come back, but she promised Cherub that she wouldn’t be taking cases for a while. One night, with a headache Gilda decides to stay in and sleep. Her writer friend Martina??? Comes to see her and gives her a new drink that is going around the riverside.Gilda passes out and wakes up to the sound of something hitting the boat. When she manages to get up there, she finds a massacre of people. She cannot find Cherube anywhere but recognizes the remains of her friends and a warning on the sail implying that Cherub is also dead.As Gilda tries to find help, she is instead accused of murder and the police is after her. Now, Gilda must escape from the police, follow the trail of dead birds, find out who killed Cherub, and get revenge.I liked Westside Lights, it was great to get back into the world of parallel New York and see Gilda Carr solve tiny mysteries that keep getting bigger. While I like the series, when I read the summary of the book and what might happen to Gilda and Cherub I was a little hesitant to start reading, but my curiosity for a good mystery got the better of me and I was not let down.It was nice to read more about Gilda and Cherub’s relationship and what they did after the events of the previous books. Even though Westside is a strange place and has a paranormal power, it’s still the 1920’s and it was not seen well for a man of color and a white woman to be dating, we get a bit of this fear in this book and their reluctance of both Gild and Cherub to leave the Westside or New York for a more normal place to leave.Technology and the strange powers of the Westside are making great advances and the new light that adorns the riverside seems to have made the place look safer. But like many stories, it’s easy to not trust anything free and shiny and Gild makes that mistake. I had the question of what those lights were since they were first mentioned, and it was great finding out about them.Many characters from the previous books make appearances in this new story, but we also get to meet new ones with their own secrets. Because of so many people to keep track of and their relationships with Gilda, it is best to give a quick re-read to the previous books just to be all caught up.While the main mystery of the book is who killed Cherub and Gilda’s other friends, other tiny mysteries arise. It was very interesting to see how they are all interconnected, from a lost pencil to a missing seagull or the meaning behind a middle name initial. If you are a fan of W.M. Akers works, or the Gild Carr series, then I recommend Westside Lights. In this story, we follow Gilda as she has tried to change for the man she loves, but the itch for tiny mysteries is too much and sometimes you need to follow your gut when it tells you to find your pet seagull.

I really genuinely wish that more people would get on board with this great series.Is it a cozy mystery? I don’t think it is. Is it a cozy fantasy? I don’t think it is that either. Why do I keep calling this cozy in my weird little mind? Maybe it’s because the main character is truly trying to keep herself focused on “tiny mysteries” and yet consistently gets dragged into the largest scale troubles in return. It starts out cozy but ends up madcap and terrifyingly dangerous. This book in particular really feels like it ups the stakes early on and doesn’t really let go until the end. It is a doozy and completely enjoyable. I have to say, actually I’ve probably even said it before, but I am always happy to get an ARC for this series because they are just so consistently enjoyable. Come for the gilded age, jazz hot, crazy magical scene, stay for the (kinda) cozy mystery that might just be the death of our beloved heroine.Don’t think I don’t know she would hate me for this, but I love Gilda’s spunky takes-no-nonsense attitude. While book one explored her relationship with her father, and the second book delved into the relationship with her mother, this third book forces her to really look more closely at herself and how she puts herself out there in the world. I love the progressive growth she has made across these novels. I have no idea if there are any plans for more books in this series, but I certainly hope so. I really want to keep reading about her.Disclaimer: I received this book free from Netgalley.

The Westside of this alternate New York City 1923 is a wasteland of crooks, beggars and gin joints but it is also home to Gilda Carr, Private Detective. She is playing house with her ex-gangster lover Cherub and a one legged seagull on a houseboat when the bad catches up to them and Gilda finds herself in a pool of gore including those she cares about. Digging deeper into who committed the slaughter as strange mass deaths of birds and new drone lights, Gilda finds herself once again running from the law, the underworld and danger she doesn't even understand. This is a fully realized fantasy world that champions the underdog. There is nothing romantic about the underbelly of the Westside other than the rough characters with a heart of gold. Full of violence, corruption, witty dialogue and steampunk devices this is a wild ride for those fans of the other two books as well as readers who can't get enough of New York in the 20's or ferocious heroines like Beatriz William's Gin Kelly. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

Gilda Carr is back at it again! Except actually she isn’t! At the beginning of the book, she has taken a year off from her “tiny mysteries” and she is bumming around with her boyfriend on a boat & drinking and dancing every night with a group of “friends.” Until one morning, Gilda discovers all her friends dead (mutilated) on the boat, including her boyfriend Cherub. It looks like someone from Cherub’s past has caught up with him & enacted some awful revenge. Gilda is now on the case to find who did this & take her own bloody revenge.So that’s the initial premise & I don’t want to spoil anything but the story ends up getting much more complicated & interesting than expected! Lots of fun characters & crazy places & events appear in the book. It’s a fun read! Another fun addition to the west side books!I won this copy in one of the Goodreads giveaways but my review is my own.

A very good Act Three for Gilda Carr. Already on page one, she's different and her world is different. By the end of this book, she's been through a tremendous trial. The plot rockets along beautifully. I was emotional at the end.I feel like the end of the end was a little off. It seemed like it was forced a tad. Also, I will admit that I had a hard time telling the characters apart. I never felt like I got to know most of them. So when they turned out to be evil, or secretly honorable, or a red herring, or dead...it didn't resonate like I wanted.All that being said: the "Westside" series is one of my favorite book series I've read in years.

I enjoyed this one more that I thought I would. It was very much a Westside book. Gilda still makes choices that frustrate me, but it’s become part of her charm. There was a section where the audiobook performer flipped dialogue between Gilda and Cherub attributing one’s lines to the other, but it is easy enough to sort out. I wasn’t expecting the twist. Overall, well done. I’m hoping for more in this series.

A haunting detective tale with action packed twisted situations abound. The protagonist is the true definition of noir on two legs. She lives a unpredictable, battled warrior queen existence. This easy to read page turner is hard to put down. As a reader you want the answers to riddle more that the heroine. And when the pieces come together it will still leave you slack jawed. Great tale!

I love Akers' mash-up of detective story with alternative timeline. This one finds Gilda Car on a boat with her long-term boyfriend. Then she awakens one morning to find all the guests that she had on deck are dead. Not just dead--chopped to bits. Which Westside crime lord accountable? Or is it someone else entirely?

Now here is a good read...it's the third book in a fantasy series set in NYC...This story relates around pri-eye Gilda Carr and her hunt for the truth...And W.M. Akers is a superb writer...and tells this story very well...Recommended!

I read this book in one day. Non-stop action!

Love fantasy stories and this one did not disappoint. Was a great read.