I loved this story. It’s back in the jazz age, so we get a young Thomas Nightingale, which was a lot of fun. But the real hero of this story is the narrator – Augustus Berrycloth-Young. He’s a graduate of the same school as Nightingale, but was only ever going to be a middling magician. So he’s escaped to New York, where he can live his life on his own terms. His own terms are following in love with a black music journalist named Lucy, short of Lucien, so yes, gay men in roaring 20’s of New York City. Gussie could be a total caricature, but he is the most lovely man, and his relationship with Lucy is what made this book for me.
The main story is fun – Nightingale’s there to rescue someone on behalf of Molly (so we definitely know Molly’s been around for a while…). There’s a mysterious white lady that makes cursed instruments and when she comes to shows, can curse the entire location. Definitely up Nightingale’s alley, but in a bit of a different way than usual. We get quite a few hints of how different the Folly is in this timeframe.
Great story in this universe – highly recommend.