It’s 1956, and 19-year-old Marion Brooks is living with her widowed father and sister in Bronxville, New York, teaching ballet to children. Marion has always dreamed of becoming a professional dancer but knows it is her father’s wish for her to marry and settle down. When she learns that Radio City Music Hall is looking for new Rockettes, Marion secretly auditions, is selected and decides to take the job – even though she is promptly kicked out of her father’s house. Work begins immediately and complex routines need to be learned and then performed, perfectly synchronized four times a day. Marion is exhausted but exhilarated, happy to be living her dream and making fast friends with her dance troupe. Deep down, though, she wishes for her family’s support.
Meanwhile, New York City is under attack. For sixteen years, the “Big Apple Bomber” has been planting bombs in crowded public places, causing mayhem, and eluding the police. The night the bomb explodes in Radio City Music Hall, Marion witnesses it firsthand from the stage as it takes away someone she loves. She also is witness to the suspicious man who she believes planted the bomb. When the police turn away her assistance, Marion enlists the help of her blind-date Peter Griggs, a psychiatric resident at a local hospital who is interested in the new art of criminal profiling, to find the bomber.
If you are in the mood for engrossing, well-researched historical fiction that brings the glitz and glamour of Radio City, theatre, and New York alive, pick up this perfect blend of family drama, a suspenseful murder mystery and a smidge of romance. Aptly named, The Spectacular by Fiona Davis is so good, it just might make you dance with joy.
-Carol
Read it or Weep 