Allison A. Davis

1958, San Francisco, crime-fiction, romance, political-corruption, action, whodunit, thriller, lawyers, law-enforcement, investigations, mafia, friendship, historical-mystery, historical-novel, historical-research, historical-places-events, history-and-culture, false-conclusions, falsely-accused, drama, procedural*****

Kay Schiffner is an adventurous lawyer and a devoted jazz enthusiast. Leitisha Boone is a formidable Black club owner who works hard to keep her elegant jazz club afloat show more against threats of redevelopment and worse until she is accused of murder. Kay joins into that dangerous investigation with SFPD Inspector Thursday Zimpel who is as jaded as any of his rank at that time. The story puts itself clearly in the crosshairs of a particularly disgusting time in history but is well paced and conveys the ugliness of politics as well as the beauty of the area and the abiding good deep within the major characters. We need to remember the past, so we aren't tempted to repeat it.
Very well done and I hope for more to come.
I requested and received a free temporary EARC from Bronzeville Books via NetGalley. Thank you! show less

I have to admit that I never expect a whole lot out of a debut novel, but I was very pleasantly surprised with this one. The story itself was so interesting and the pacing was excellent. It was set in 1958 San Francisco, with a main character who was a woman lawyer, something that was almost unheard of at the time. Kay Schiffner was a woman in a man's world, for sure, but at night she was "playing jazz at the Blue Moon in San Francisco’s Fillmore District, a neighborhood where good white show more women weren’t supposed to go." One night, the club's owner, Leitisha Boone, another woman who is trying to make it in a man's world, is arrested for the murder of a man she just happened to argue with right before he was killed, and Kay, who was initially reticent to get involved due to her own precarious situation, sets her mind to finding out what really happened when it becomes apparent that Leitisha is being framed and isn't about to get out of jail until she confesses or someone finds evidence that proves unequivocally that she didn't murder anyone. Even though Kay faces danger at every turn, she doesn't give up, and continues to investigate with the help of a police investigator who is always trying to keep her safe, and a lawyer she befriends.

There is so much more to this book that I can't list because I don't want to give anything away, but trust me when I say, this book is definitely worth your time.

I highly recommend But Not for Me to all my readers.

5/5 stars.

*** I would like to thank NetGalley, Bronzeville Books, and Allison A. Davis for the opportunity to read and review this book. show less