THE PARAGON HOTEL

January LaVoy energetically narrates this 1920s saga--based on fact--set in Harlem and Portland, Oregon. Alice "Nobody" James has always blended into any setting. As the story begins, LaVoy's gutsy Alice is aboard a train, running from the Mafia after being shot. Black porter Max Burton--exceptionally rendered--takes Alice to Portland's all-black Paragon Hotel to recuperate. LaVoy excels with Alice's revealing and entertaining asides and with varied accents and 1920s vocabulary and speech patterns. Evocative descriptions of both locales propel listeners into the settings. Because she feels a kinship with her new friends, it's terrifying and inspiring to hear white Alice challenge the brutal Oregon KKK after a man is lynched and a child is kidnapped. Audio helps listeners with frequent shifts in time and place. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2019]