Wild Women and the Blues

Written by Denny S. Bryce

Narrated by Tracey Conyer Lee and Ronald Peet

“Why would I talk to you about my life? I don't know you, and even if I did, I don't tell my story to just any boy with long hair, who probably smokes weed. You wanna hear about me. You gotta tell me something about you. To make this worth my while.”

1925: Chicago is the jazz capital of the world, and the Dreamland Café is the ritziest black-and-tan club in town. Honoree Dalcour is a sharecropper’s daughter, willing to work hard and dance every night on her way to the top. Dreamland offers a path to the good life, socializing with celebrities like Louis Armstrong and filmmaker Oscar Micheaux. But Chicago is also awash in bootleg whiskey, gambling, and gangsters. And a young woman driven by ambition might risk more than she can stand to lose.

2015: Film student Sawyer Hayes arrives at the bedside of 110-year-old Honoree Dalcour, still reeling from a devastating loss that has taken him right to the brink.

Sawyer has rested all his hope on this frail but formidable woman, the only living link to the legendary Oscar Micheaux. If he’s right—if she can fill in the blanks in his research, perhaps he can complete his thesis and begin a new chapter in his life. But the links Honoree makes are not ones he’s expecting …

Piece by piece, Honoree reveals her past and her secrets, while Sawyer fights tooth and nail to keep his. It’s a story of courage and ambition, hot jazz and illicit passions. And as past meets present, for Honoree, it’s a final chance to be trulyheard and seen before it’s too late. No matter the cost …

“Evocative and entertaining!”—Laura Kamoie, New York Times bestselling author

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9781705025529

Denny S. Bryce

Denny S. Bryce is an award-winning and bestselling author of historical fiction, including Wild Women and the Blues. She is also an adjunct professor in the MFA program at Drexel University, a book critic for NPR, and a member of the Historical Novel Society, Women’s Fiction Writers Association, and Tall Poppy Writers. Currently, she resides in Savannah, Georgia.

Reviews for Wild Women and the Blues

[mishker-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Sawyer Hayes needs to finish his PhD thesis after a year's absence from mourning the death of his sister. His hope lies in proving that his grandmother's old films are original Oscar Micheaux's. The last living link to the film is 110 year old Honoree Dalcour. Sawyer needs to interview her for his thesis, but Sawyer will have to prove his worth in her eyes in order to hear about Honoree's life among the legends of 1920's Chicago. Wild Women and the Blues drops into jazz age Chicago, specifically Bronzeville representing the African American experience during this time period. Honoree's story is one of loss, heartbreak, and danger, but also one of hope and the promise of freedom. We are introduced to Sawyer first, however most of the story is from Honoree's point of view with several intermittent chapters that bring the point of view back to the present. I was completely wrapped up in Honoree's point of view from her youth. Her personality is rough and crude, but she knows what she wants and gets it done. The writing brought alive the Dreamland Cafe with glittering costumes, rowdy customers and free flowing bootleg whiskey. Honoree definitely lived a wild life as a dancer who cavorted with Louis Armstrong, Oscar Micheaux and Capone's gang. The mystery that ran through Honoree's story was enticing, her secrets run deep and were teased out slowly.

[romonko · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book is set in Chicago in two time frames - near Christmas in 1925 and in the summer of 2015. The book's premise was good. The part of the book that is set in 1925 is firmly rooted in the time frame, and a good snapshot of what life was like in 1920's Chicago. We have a few of the big names like Al Capone, Louis Armstrong and his wife Lil. The Roaring 20's were in full swing in 1925, and the mobsters ruled the city. Two girls find themselves right in the middle of it all. Both are dancers in a black nightclub. From there a lot of the action is quite predictable - one girl finds herself in the family way, the other finds herself in the middle of a gang war. Where the book falls down in my opinion is in the 2015 segment. There are too many coincidences as to family connections. A young man in 2015 is interviewing a 110 year old woman. He is gathering information for a doctoral thesis on early black film makers, and is trying to assemble information from one of the girls. I found the pacing of this novel off a bit. The transition between the two time-frames was quite abrupt and it just didn't flow. The story is a good one, and I love the 1920's era, but the book didn't gel for me. It was worth a read for the Jazz Age culture though.

[etxgardener · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Don’t books have editors anymore, because this book really needed one. What should have been an interesting book about the blues clubs in Chicago in the 1920’s and the people who in habited them instead is a mess.The plot is convoluted and hard to follow, and although the author is from Chicago and lists books she used in her research, there were several jarring historical errors. Plus, it uses my least favorite literary device: the modern character whose story is told in parallel to the historical plot. A big disappointment.

[wagner5sarah35 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Set in two timelines - one in 1920s Chicago and the other in 2015 - this novel makes for fascinating reading. Honoree Delacour is a dancer in 1920s Chicago nightclubs who dreams of making it big in New York City or Paris, but her life becomes more complicated after she witnesses the murder of a black bartender by a white man. In more recent times, a young filmmaker tracks a woman believed to be Honoree down in a nursing home with questions of his own. Old secrets are revealed, and a story of family and history emerges. Overall, I found this novel to be compelling and eye-opening to aspects of 1920s that I wasn't aware of. Historical fiction fans would love this novel and I highly recommend it.

[cclpad · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It’s finally here! I’ve been waiting for this book for awhile. I snagged an advance copy through NetGalley and now my own pre-ordered copy is here. I’m one happy reader.If you love historical fiction, dual timelines, stories with a twist, strong female protagonists, and great writing, the you’ll love WILD WOMEN AND THE BLUES.Speakeasies, bootleg hooch, and mobsters. 1925 Chicago had it all. Honoree Dalcour was a dancer at the Dreamland Cafe, and rubbed elbows with Louis Armstrong, his wife Lil Hardin, and Black filmmaker Oscar Micheaux. Sawyer Hayes is hoping to interview her in 2015. Through a series of encounters, we learn the secrets each are keeping and how Honoree’s will impact Sawyer.Bryce writes with an authentic voice, befitting the Jazz Age. She knows what she’s doing and it shows. I loved the characters, the story, the setting, everything.I highly recommend this one!I received a free advance copy through NetGalley but was not influenced to review it favorably.

[brangwinn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The beautiful cover will draw you in, the story will keep you reading. Honoree Dalcour, the daughter of a sharecropper who went to Chicago in 1925. Honoree, a chorus girl at a speakeasy finds herself mixed up in a mob murder and must escape to live. Now reminiscing at age 101 in a she shares her story with a graduate student researching filmmaker Oscar Micheaux, Sawyer, the young researcher things Honoree can help him track down a missing film created by Micheaux. Along the way are clues suggesting another connection between the old lady and the researcher. This is an excellent debut novel.

[whiskeyinthejar-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

3.5 starsI received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Wild Women and the Blues is a historical fiction story that starts us in 2015 from the first person point-of-view of Sawyer Hayes as he tries to finish his thesis. He thinks he has discovered an Oscar Micheaux film in his grandmother's things and while the film is being restored, he travels to Chicago to interview Honoree Dalcour, a chorus girl he thinks is in the film going by other clues in his grandmother's box. When Sawyer meets the one hundred and ten year old Honoree, we then get chapters from her third person point-of-view during her life in 1925 Chicago. Honoree's chapters start off with some who's who of the people that lived at the time (Lil Hardin Armstrong, Josephine Baker, Capone) that felt a little name-dropping at first but ultimately evened off to create the atmosphere and shape a vibrant personality for the setting.Something happened in Chicago in 1925. Something she doesn't want me to know. Doesn't want anyone to know.Even though he starts us off, Sawyer's chapters are less than Honoree's and 1925 Chicago quickly becomes the star of the show. Honoree's first chapters set up the atmosphere but as they go on, they slowly meld with Sawyer's plot as relationships, friendships, and love bring together the story. Honoree is nineteen and alone in Chicago trying to move up in the dancing chorus line world, she gets a try-out at the Dreamland Cafe and from there good and bad plague her decisions and outcomes. Ezekiel, a childhood sweetheart, reappears in her life after disappearing three years ago, she witnesses a murder, and befriends a younger girl, Bessie Palmer, who eventually moves in with her. Every time she had a shot at the good, the bad was on its heels. Honestly, if Sawyer's point-of-views were left out and this was just told completely from Honoree's point-of-view and maybe just telling the story to her nurse Lula, I wouldn't have minded. Sawyer interrupted at times that I was getting into 1925 Chicago and I'm not sure I was ever fully immersed in his family issues. The death of his sister, him seeing her ghost felt out of place and unresolved, and his strained relationship with his dad eventually fit into the overall story but fairly minuscule as the star was clearly the events happening in Honoree's past. Love was better the third time around.This novel did have the ability to sweep you away and provided an atmosphere that brought Chicago in the 1920s alive. From the music, to Bronzeville, the Policy rackets, mobsters, and nightlife, Wild Women and the Blues brings it all to life through the people that lived it.

[gpangel_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wild Women and the Blues by Denny S. Bryce is a 2021 Kensington publication. I love the jazz age! This debut novel, set in 1925 Chicago, is centered around Honoree Dalcour and the Dreamland Café- a high-end black and tan club- and Sawyer Hayes, circa 2015- a film student- haunted by the loss of his sister.Sawyer finds some photographs belonging to his grandmother, which sends him on a quest to find Honoree Dalcour, a woman now in her 110th year of life. As Sawyer slowly coaxes her memories to the surface, an amazing story unfolds revealing a 1920s saga full of crime drama, heartbreak, and romance. While Sawyer feels there is a connection there somewhere with his family, the truth is far more shocking than he bargained for.I loved this book! The author has created complex characters, as well as an authentic atmosphere to create a well -rounded historical mystery and drama, which spotlights black filmmakers and stars of the era. Naturally, with the book set in the twenties, there was plenty of crime drama involving the mob and illegal substances… and murder.Naturally, for me, the historical segments are what truly made the story sparkle. The contemporary storyline is a means to an end, for the most part, but there are some compelling emotional pulls to Sawyer’s side of the story, for a more well-rounded tale. Several characters taking part in the story, were actual filmmakers, movie stars, and performers of the day, making the story even more interesting. This is an exceptional view of the Chicago Jazz age, from the position of black people, juxtaposing the glamour of the decade against the powerful criminal elements that held a tight gripe on the era. The story also highlights the power of friendships and love, while the mystery is tense and suspenseful! Overall, I truly enjoyed this book! It is a compelling story set in one of my favorite historical time periods, but is written from a fresh perspective. There were several historical elements I was unfamiliar with, which sent me on a Googling frenzy on a quest to find out more about the real- life characters featured in this book. I’d also like to mention the fabulous cover on this book- I love twenties fashions! An impressive debut novel for Bryce- hope to hear more from her in the future!

[m.belljackson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Even though I became impatient with his everlasting refusal to just TELL Honoree what was happening and what had happened to him and his family, he still is my favorite character in WILD WOMEN AND THE BLUES.The other main characters are hard to connect with: Sawyer with his (magic realism?)ghost of a sister and the film taking the whole book to decipher, Honoree being either too hard or too intrusive and Bessie being so submissive and clinging.Bessie's Honoree disclosure was a major unexpected revelation - just wish it had not taken so many pages to get to - book would have been better reading if the original Honoree's parts had been shortened.Book features lots of fine Chicago memories like the "El" ride.I just finished reading Attica Locke's BLUEBIRD BLUEBIRD and so am looking forwardto Denny Bryce and BLACKBIRDS. From this excerpt, I disagree with her main character pronouncing a "black militant" not to be just what a "five year old negro child...needs for a teacher." At that time, Fred Hampton, no?

[jacsun · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wild women is the truth. I loved the characters in this book. I loved reading about part of the history in our country with the best jazz from Louis Armstrong and so many others - and well, it goes with the the worst gangster: Capone with his followers during the Prohibition era.

It starts with a graduate student, Sawyer, who needs to finish his documentary thesis with the legendary Black filmmaker Oscar Micheaux in 1925. He couldn't do it without the help of a 110 year old woman, Honoree, that seems perky at times yet hanging on the edge of life with all the answers within at a senior living facility. She's a stubborn old soul that makes you work for every ounce of information. I could hear her words in my head: "Don't you dare go to the end to find out what's going to happen. You must wait." And that's what she did to Sawyer. He researched what he could while she gave him pieces of clues.

The author brilliantly created the characters as if I was watching them in my head with the glamour, violence and the "good and bad" of life for Blacks in the Chicago clubs. I wish we had a chance to view the documentary films that were created of the times. At the end, she wrapped everything up making it more than a satisfying conclusion. I was close to guessing where everything was going but with the continued twist and turns, it kept my interest all the way.

I can't wait to read Denny S. Bryce's next historical romance: Blackbirds.