Shrines Of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson

 

Nellie Coker is the queen of the 1920's club scene.  She has four or five clubs, each one managed by one of her children.  Nellie has just gotten out of prison and is ready to take back the reins.  But there is trouble brewing.  The police are closing in with a new Superintendent determined to bring Nellie and the rest of the Cokers down for good this time.  Two other men prominent in the underground life of London want all that Nellie has built up and they sense she might be weak at the moment.

Into this swirl of events steps Gwendolyn Kelling.  Gwen was a nurse during the first world war and is at loose ends now that it has ended.  She was working as a librarian but when she found that she had inherited money she decided to move to London.  Two local girls had run off there and Gwen promised the families she would look for the girls.  But she is pulled into the nightclub scene.  The new Superintendent wants her to spy on the Cokers.  The eldest Coker son is entranced with Gwen and is courting her and Nell has offered her a club to run.  Will Gwen betray the family?  Will she find the girls?

Most readers know Kate Atkinson from her Jackson Brodie detective series.  But she has written other novels that explore feminine power and this one is a great example.  Both Nell and Gwen are independent women full of plans and goals and determined to do whatever it takes to fulfill them.  There are lots of subplots and many fascinating characters and the reader wonders how she will ever resolve everything.  But Atkinson always has a satisfactory ending and this novel is no different.  Everything is wrapped up with knowledge of what happens with all the many characters and plots.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.