Forbidden Night by Joanne Lewis, Soul Attitude Press, (c) 2016; 282 pages; ISBN 9781939-181755.
By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO — At first, I was a bit bewildered by this novel; it alternated several stories in different time periods and I wondered how they would all come together. But they did!
One story dealt with an inexperienced attorney (Michael) who was being sued by a past client/ lover (Sara) whom he failed to get acquitted on a murder charge.
Another story concerned a burlesque house comedian (Ruby) who was befriended by mobster Meyer Lansky back in the late 1930s.
Yet another told of a girl (Liana) who barely escaped Kristallnacht with her life, although the rest of her Austrian Jewish family was murdered by the Nazis.
Of these three stories, I found the Kristallnacht account to be the most compelling, followed by the story of the would-be comedian who became an assistant to the Jewish mobster. The mystery about who really murdered “Uncle Charlie”–assuming Sara wasn’t the one who ‘dunnit’ — left me less entranced, possibly because the novel is the second work in a trilogy and I hadn’t read the preceding novel. In that author Joanne Lewis recapitulated some of the first novel’s plot points, readers starting with the second book will be able to keep up, even if they do not understand every nuance.
If you enjoy a mystery that loosely incorporates historical fiction, this one is an easy read.
*
Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com