The Paragon Hotel

I really liked this historical novel by Lyndsay Faye. Set in the early 1920's, it illuminates the dark past of Oregon with regard to racism. Here is a plot summary from Library Journal:

"In 1921, Alice "Nobody" James, who is white, escapes her life as a New York Mafia gun moll with a bullet-shaped souvenir in her side. Hopping a train to anywhere, she meets African American train porter Max, who notes her condition and guides her to the Paragon Hotel, the only all-black hotel in Portland, OR. The owner, Dr. Pendleton, treats Alice even though it's dangerous for black men to associate with white women. So begins Alice's stay at the Paragon, where the residents have their own problems, with the Ku Klux Klan gaining popularity and dead animals left at their door. Alice uses her former skills to aid in the most heart-wrenching problem of all: finding the missing mixed-race boy Davy Lee before the Klan does. Faye ... has meticulously researched the racial tensions and social culture of 1920s Portland, basing the Paragon Hotel on the real Golden West Hotel. Her prose is lush with details, from rich descriptions of the hotel rooms and a diva's Paris gown to citing interesting colloquialisms. VERDICT A treat for ... fans of historical crime/thrillers."

What I loved about this book were the characters and the fabulous dialogue, which occasionally made me laugh out loud because it was so clever. The characters had depth and spirit and I hope they will appear in future books of Faye's. 

Publishers Weekly was also positive in their review which concluded: "What starts as a bit of a Prohibition-era crime romp becomes increasingly relevant as issues of mental illness, race, and gender identity take on greater significance. In addition to illuminating Portland's unsavory history of racism, Faye's novel vividly illustrates how high the stakes could-and can still-be for those claiming and defending their own identities."

Kirkus adds its praise:"A young white woman named Alice James flees Prohibition-era Harlem by rail with an oozing bullet wound and a satchel containing $50,000 in cash. She makes it cross-country to Portland, Oregon, where Max, a kindly, strapping black Pullman porter and World War I veteran, whisks her away to the novel’s eponymous hotel, populated mostly with African-Americans besieged by threats from the local Ku Klux Klan. ... Faye  more than delivers on this auspicious premise with a ravishing novel that rings with nervy elegance and simmers with gnawing tension...A riveting multilevel thriller of race, sex, and mob violence that throbs with menace as it hums with wit."