Why You'll Love This
A grieving reporter and a spy posing as a nightclub singer walk into a 1940s murder case — and falling for each other might get them both killed.
- Great if you want: queer noir romance with genuine stakes and period atmosphere
- The experience: moody and tension-laced — danger and desire escalate together
- The writing: Leak leans into classic noir voice without letting it become pastiche
- Skip if: you prefer mystery plot over romantic entanglement driving the story
About This Book
Set against the fog-soaked streets of 1940s New York, In the Shadow of the Past draws readers into a world of dangerous alliances, buried secrets, and desire that crosses every line it shouldn't. When a grieving reporter sets her sights on a powerful man she believes destroyed her family, she doesn't expect to fall for the woman closest to him — a nightclub singer with a double life and a war of her own to fight. J.E. Leak builds her stakes from the inside out: the mystery pulls you forward, but it's the emotional cost of every choice that keeps you turning pages.
What distinguishes this novel is Leak's command of atmosphere and tension working in tandem. The 1940s setting never feels like costume — it shapes the characters' constraints, their silences, and the particular danger of wanting what society has declared off-limits. The prose is restrained where it counts and sharp when it strikes, and the dual-protagonist structure gives the story genuine depth on both sides of its central conflict. This is noir with a beating heart, and a confident debut that sets up a series worth following.
