Patsy Dryer with her two sisters are feeling trapped in their lives. thier father is controlling and plans to use them to further his business interests. He plans that they will marry wealthy men and not take from his wealth. He uses his wife and daughters as servants in his house and occupys their tiime to try to keep them from wanting anything but the three girls want more from life. They break out of the house after parents go to bed and visit speakeasies in town. They enjoy the freedom and dancing and dream of lives lived bigger.
Patsy dreams of becoming a journalist and she's chasing a story about an escaped convict, as much as she can. She meets Lane Cox, a widower whose life is entwined with the escaped convict., he's also looking into it. The two of them hit it off nad find that attraction and research are intertwined.
Patsy is sometimes reckless but really doesn't have a lot of experience with the world. Her father is a tyrant and her mother has been cowed and she doesn't want her mother's life for herself or her sisters so sometiems she takes risks, partially because she fears that her father will have his way and her life will never be what she wants it to be.
I enjoyed the read, even if there were occasional moments that felt a bit forced but overal it was a firn start to the series. ( )

Fun story set in the rarely used Roaring Twenties. Patsy and her two sisters, Betty and Jane, are the daughters of William Dryer, a wealthy builder. He is determined to find wealthy men to marry them. Tired of being sequestered in the name of "protection," the girls frequently sneak out at night to visit a local speakeasy, The Rooster's Nest. Patsy also has another motive. She dreams of becoming a reporter and will do anything to make that dream come true. Investigating the escape of a dangerous convict should give her the scoop she needs to get her foot in the door of the local paper. Marriage is not in her plan.

Lane Cox owns the LA Gazette. After his wife and daughter were killed during a train robbery, he made the newspaper his life. When the man responsible for the death of his family escapes from prison, Lane uses his skills as an investigative reporter to search for him.

I liked both Patsy and Lane. Patsy is the youngest of the three girls and seems to have the most ambitious goal for herself. Despite having every story she has submitted to the paper rejected, she refuses to give up. I loved her ability to transform herself from the obedient daughter her father demanded to the intrepid reporter masquerading as a vivacious flapper. She has an amazing eye and memory for detail and a talent for getting people to talk to her. Lane is a man who has made the newspaper his life. He has turned his paper into a respected source of news by refusing to print anything that can't be confirmed. He still grieves for his wife and daughter and doesn't see that ever changing.

I loved the first meeting between Patsy and Lane. She has just gotten a lead on the escaped convict when she recognizes Lane. Determined to find out what he knows, she shanghais him into participating in a dance contest with her. Lane is suspicious when she mentions Gaynor's name, thinking that she might be one of his relatives. It was fun watching them spar at the same time they danced. I especially enjoyed seeing the effect that Patsy had on him, stirring up emotions that had been locked away for seven years. He wasn't happy when she disappeared before he finished talking to her. Patsy was equally affected by Lane. Neither was able to stop thinking about the other all the next day. By the time they'd met for a second time, Lane was thoroughly entranced and intrigued, and impressed by the potential he sensed in her.

It didn't take too long for them to decide to cooperate in their investigations. Their investigative techniques complemented each other. The drawback was that Patsy still had to hide the truth of who she was, which limited the time they could spend together. Lane didn't understand the fear that he saw in her eyes when circumstances revealed her secret. I loved the protectiveness he felt toward her and his use of her father's insistence on an engagement when he found out about them. The tension increased as Lane and Patsy drew closer to finding the truth about the train robbery. I had to laugh a little bit at Lane, whose protective instincts were aroused because Patsy wasn't at all cooperative with his attempts to keep her safe.

At the same time, sparks of another sort continued to grow between them. Both Lane and Patsy fought their feelings, trying to hold on to their reluctance to marry. Patsy was the first to realize the strength of her feelings but hid them because she knew of Lane's refusal to consider marrying again. Lane was a harder nut to crack. I loved watching the changes in him as Patsy filled the empty spot left by his family's deaths. By the time he admitted his feelings to himself, he also knew he would have to convince Patsy that his feelings for her were real. He almost didn't get that chance when their investigation took a dangerous turn. I was on the edge of my seat when Patsy ended up in the hands of the bad guy, wondering how she was going to get out of it. The resolution was exciting and satisfying in how it went down. I loved Lane's big moment when it was all over, as he found the right words to convince Patsy of his love.

One of the things I enjoyed most about the book was the way it pulled me into life in the Roaring Twenties. The descriptions of the clothing, locations, and attitudes were so vivid that I felt as though I was there. That feeling was enhanced by the liberal use of the slang of the period. I also enjoyed the tie-in of the bootleggers to the author's Daughters of the Roaring Twenties series. Now I can't wait to read Betty and Jane's stories. ( )