Note: Thank you to NetGalley, Köehler Books, and author Gabriel Rotello for the advance reader copy of this book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book.

Ah, New York City in the 1970s… It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Unfortunately, I came of age just after many of the real-life events that are noted in this historical fiction book. Still, I lived just outside of the City at the time and watched the news. I knew what was going on much more than my granddaughter does now, who is about the same age I was in 1977. That was the Summer of Sam, the Blackout, the Yankees, Punk Rock, and more. The City was in the throes of decline, and there were vacant buildings all over the place; yes, even in Manhattan. Hard to believe now, isn’t it?

The CBGB Conspiracy drops us in the middle of that in the form of our victim, Lucien Lowe, and his cabal of friends. His girlfriend, Julie, is an heiress who lives uptown but enjoys the downtown scene. His closest friend, Finn, happens to be gay and in love with him. Finn is also a heroin addict, although he’s functional. He and Lucien have had conversations about Lucien trying it, which angered Julie, and she told Finn to stay away from him. So when Lucien is found dead in his apartment from an overdose, with the needle still in his arm, who does she immediately blame?

The police rule it an accidental overdose in a shoddy investigation. When Julie confronts Finn, he gives her a solid alibi. He wasn’t with Lucien. Julie is certain someone else had to be withLucien, and she begins to ask questions. Eventually, she goes to the police with what she knows, and a dedicated detective begins his own investigation, despite being bogged down with piles of unsolved cases and the public outcry to find the Son of Sam killer.

I enjoyed The CBGB Conspiracy because I do have memories of that summer. I am also sad that I missed such a great music scene that was CBGB back in the day. That venue is featured quite a bit in the book, as you would expect. The blurring of boundaries between the artists and the audience was so incredible. Author Gabriel Rotello does a great job with what New York City was like back then. I remember in my teens shopping at Canal Street Jeans, which is mentioned here, as is Pearl Paint, which was a staple of the one artist boyfriend I had.

The book is peppered with recognizable names such as Lou Reed, William S. Burroughs, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Allen Ginsberg, Truman Capote, Roy Cohn, Steve Rubell, Andrew Crispo, Bella Abzug, Leonard Cohen, and the owner of CBGBs, Hilly Kristal. If you don’t recognize them, well, all I can say is that these were names I knew from my younger days. They fit in here exactly like I remember hearing about them. Rotello does a great job with the characters central to the mystery. Julia is depicted as a typical rich girl with little ambition who enjoys a scene where she’s really an outsider, but somehow fits in. She’s strong, like women were just starting to come into their own thanks to birth control and being able to manage their own affairs.

Poor Finn has so many things going on; it’s hard not to feel sympathetic to him. He doesn’t blame anyone for his addiction, and Julie sincerely tries to help him. It’s Finn who decides to photograph Lucien’s apartment after the police don’t really investigate the death. He’s quite bright and creative, but the trauma in his life has left him grasping for anything to ground him or provide escape. That’s what heroin is for him. When things get tough, Finn medicates himself with it. It’s telling how much he cares about Lucien that he manages to forgo the drug a number of times while he and Julie are investigating.

I really liked the epilogue too, which gave me a chance to see how life turned out for many of the characters in the story. Keep in mind that in 1977, no one really knew about AIDS and what was to come in the 1980s. In that way, The CBGB Conspiracy captures a time of innocence, in a sense.

I really enjoyed The CBGB Conspiracy, probably more than I should have. The heroin addiction storyline is not my favorite for personal reasons. However, the rest of the story is so well done that it didn’t affect me all that much. Rotello has woven an intricate mystery that really didn’t have me guessing, but it was fun to watch unravel. Yes, I figured out what happened early on since I know what happened in New York City. I felt like it was glaringly obvious, but that might be because I know so much about the City. I think people who lived through this era will really enjoy it, and for others, it can be a lot of fun.