Ms. Etta's Fast House
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
Essence® bestselling author Victor McGlothin delivers a stirring novel about a player who's down on his luck only to receive help from the most unlikely source--the very women whose hearts he broke. . .
The year is 1947, and Ms. Etta's Fast House is the hottest nightclub this side of Chicago. The city's slickest street hustlers rub elbows here with the rich and famous, and anyone with enough cash can drink like a king and dance the night away. Life is good--until a stranger named Baltimore Floyd strolls into town. . .
Baltimore is a handsome, charismatic hustler with a talent for stirring up trouble. Everyone adores him--including Ms. Etta herself. But before he can imagine settling down with one woman, Baltimore is up for a little action, which is how he hooks up with a corrupt cop's wife--and finds himself on trial for a crime he didn't commit. Now, to keep him from hanging, the patrons of Ms. Etta's Fast House will need to heal their heartache and come together before the world beyond the Ville's borders tears them apart. . .
"A captivating and enjoyable read that takes you on a unique journey into the past." --Urban Reviews
"A talented storyteller." --QBR
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
McGlothin (Borrow Trouble; Down on My Knees; etc.) creates a sizzling slice of life in 1947 in his fourth novel. Located in St. Louis, Mo.'s the Ville, Ms. Etta's Fast House considered "the hottest joint this side of Chicago" where "couples boogied heartily to exorcise their work week demons, as others swayed to the soulful rhythms" was the place to be for the young doctors and nurses of the Homer G. Phillips Hospital, the local baseball team and the criminal element. But life in the Ville is forever altered when Baltimore Floyd strolls in with a gun and a plan to horn in on a crooked cop's heroin trafficking operation. Simultaneously, the St. Louis Police Department becomes racially integrated, despite massive riots throughout the city and public outcry against it. As bodies pile up, Baltimore gets under the covers with a cop's wife and soon faces a bogus rape charge, leaving residents of the Ville to try and save him. McGlothin weaves convincing historical elements into a fast-moving caper, and Baltimore Floyd is a delightful scoundrel.
