Ybor City Blues

by Gwen Mayo, Sarah Glenn

Cornelia Pettijohn thought she was getting out of Florida. She boarded the train, but so had three gangsters. Instead of a quiet trip back to Colorado, Cornelia is kidnapped at gunpoint., and pressured into solving the murder of a beautiful young blues singer. No matter how carefully Cornelia explains that she is not a detective, her reputation for solving crimes has convinced the gangsters she's the person they need to get their pal out of the jam he's in.

Lucky for her Teddy Lawless and her uncle saw what happened. The two of them are in hot pursuit. Soon the three snowbirds will be reunited and up to their ears in trouble. Just when Cornelia thinks it can't get any worse, the trio gets a surprise visit from Teddy's estranged mother. She's heard about Teddy's engagement and is here to see her finally wed.

Tampa Bay's Cuban quarter has never been more dangerous. Club Tropical is closed after one shooting. Unfortunately, that is only the beginning. Cornelia quickly finds herself in deep trouble after a tumble down the stairs leaves her trapped with a dead man. She isn't sure she can untangle this mess before she loses her life.

271 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 15, 2024

About the author

Gwen Mayo is passionate about blending the colorful history of her native Kentucky with her love for mystery fiction. A graduate in political science from the University of Kentucky, Gwen currently lives and writes in Lexington, but grew up in a large Irish family in the hills of Eastern Kentucky. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, the Historical Fiction Society, and the Short Mystery Fiction Society. Her stories have appeared in anthologies, on online short fiction sites, and in micro-fiction collections. Circle of Dishonor, her first novel, is set during the turbulent political upheaval of post Civil War Kentucky at a time when murder was more common in Kentucky than it was anywhere else in the United States.

Reviews

[Myra McCulloch · Rating 4 out of 5]

A free book from Voracious Readers thank you

An excellent mystery with a well written plot.

An interesting cast of characters who each bring their own to the story.

[Kara M · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose this book based on the murder mystery description because that is not a genre I usually read. While I am relieved the story did not have gory details, I was disappointed with the primary plot details that were short verses the elongated explanations for the supporting plot lines. Also, there were multiple places within or between chapters that a timeframe or location sporadically changed, which was confusing. Overall it was a stress free, quick read.

I received an advance reader copy for free and am voluntarily leaving this review.

[Marietta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished Ybor City Blues and I enjoyed this book it was during the prohibition era and racial segregation so there were lots of twist ad turns that I had never heard of. But it was very interesting to read about this time and hear how some white people thought that it was not right to have racial segregation even if most did. There was lots of twist and turns regarding the murders and how the gangers of south Florida were able to run their business with very little interference by the police as so many where on the mobs payroll. The main Character of Cornelia Pettijohn and her uncle and her best friend were able to help with the investigation into the three murder. It was interesting to see how society looked down on women living with other women and men without marriage being a part of it. Cornelia was able to win over her kidnappers once they saw that she would do what ever it took to find out the murderer was. It took a bit more time than I usual take to get involved wth the story line but once I was able to get involved I theory enjoy this book and I loved how Cornelia's uncle was able to come up with a motorized wheel chair so that Cornelia would not be unable to do what she wanted. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about the early years just after the turn of the century.

[Rosalind · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ladies are back for more crime solving in 1920s Florida! Cornelia Pettijohn thought she was going to board a train traveling from her Florida vacation to her army nurse post in Colorado, until crime boss Charlie Wall’s gang kidnap her. Luckily, her Uncle Percival and her life partner Teddy Lawless saw what happened and tail the gangster car to Wall’s headquarters. It turns out that Wall means her no harm. Instead, he wants Cornelia to solve the murder of a beautiful nightclub singer, because one of his crew has been framed for the crime. This job is not all bad. Teddy is delighted that Wall’s assignment includes putting them up in a fancy hotel, room service included. Uncle Percival gets up to his inventing tricks and Wall’s crew, who are making sure they don’t make a run for it, soon learn not to mess with this 90-year-old gent. The gangster crew chauffeur them around to various nightclubs and parts of town as they investigate the crime. The body count climbs, and Teddy does too much dancing to the jazz bands. This is the third in the “Three Snowbirds” mystery series by Gwen Mayo and Sarah Glenn, and it certainly lives up to the other two. The authors’ historical research brings alive the sometimes seedy, sometimes glamorous world of prohibition-era Florida. “Ybor City Blues” is a solid crime mystery with plenty of cozy, humorous elements that is a delight to read.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

I looked forward to reading this prohibition era murder mystery, but I must admit I was a bit disappointed. The main characters were somewhat interesting, but I was confused with all the mobster names. The mystery went on and on with Cornelia leading the investigation into figuring out the various murders with the protection of her mobster bodyguards. Perhaps if I had read books 1 & 2, I would have had a better understanding of the characters. The Professor's continued attempts to escape/invent (whether in his mind or literally) was humorous at times, but I was left wondering about Teddy's and Cornelia's relationship--2 women who were "more than friends", implicating lesbianism. When I got to 68% of the book, the timeline became confusing, with the story switching back and forth out of chronological timeline.
Overall, Ybor City Blues was an OK book, but not one I'd bother to read again. I did like some of the historical details regarding racial segregation and Prohibition era, but the book did not hold my interest.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book and have voluntarily given my honest opinion in this review.

[Deborah Ortega · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cornelia, her Uncle Percival and her friend Teddy are in for lots of trouble with the Mob. Cornelia is returning to active duty and is about to board a train when she is kidnapped by the Mob. Her Uncle and Teddy follow which leads to a lot of action and danger. This was a fun story I recommend it.