In Sarah Tomlinson’s novel The Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers, writer Mari Hawthorn gets the writing gig of a lifetime. She’s been commissioned to be the ghostwriter of Anke Berben’s memoir. Anke Berben was a top model back in the 1960s, a style icon, and a jewelry designer. Anke also had romances with three members of the iconic rock group The Midnight Ramblers, the first being her husband Mal, who died under mysterious circumstances back in 1969. After Mal’s death, Anke moved onto Dante with whom she had a son, Odin, called Ody. And later, Anke had a dalliance with another Midnight Rambler, Jack. Being a model, muse, and paramour with three celebrated musicians makes Anke’s memoir a sure to be best-seller. And Mari is thrilled when her editor, Ezra, helps her get this ghostwriting job.
Mari wants to get the story behind the story when it comes to Anke. How did this legendary rock and roll muse capture the fancy of three men in the Midnight Ramblers? And since the tragic death of Mal back in 1969, many rumors have swirled about his unfortunate demise? Did he overdose? Did he drown? Or was Mal’s death something much more nefarious? And does Anke have anything to do with it?
Mari meets Anke and is ready to work. Anke is much older now, but her beauty has only slightly faded. At times, Anke comes across as a wee bit imperious, but Mari figures it comes with the territory. She has a lot of ghostwriting experience under her belt, so she figures prickly personalities are part of the job. And though Anke’s son Ody is a musician himself, his dreams of rock and roll stardom have been put on the back burner. At this juncture, Ody is more of his mother’s caretaker and protector, especially since Anke is quite ill and not long for this world.
In an act of unprofessionalism, Mari does something to betray Anke’s trust, and Mari is given the boot. Devastated, Mari wants to get this very important ghostwriting gig back. However, Mari is summoned by another one of Anke’s past paramours, Dante. Maybe she can help him write a memoir, and knowing Dante, it’s going to be quite juicy. And as Mari gets to know Dante (and that other past love of Anke’s, fellow Midnight Rambler, Jack), she learns a bit more about the band.
Mari also plays detective and tries to figure out how Mal died. She even purchases a now discredited book by the former driver of Rhe Midnight Ramblers hoping to get a few clues. But still, the truth evades Mari. And the former groupie/hanger-on turned handler of the Midnight Rambers, Sigrid is often a roadblock of Mari getting the real truth about The Midnight Ramblers and Mal’s death.
Mari has issue beyond her ghostwriting career, Anke, and The Midnight Ramblers. Money is a frequent worry (she often doesn’t have enough). Mari’s sister, Vivienne, is reckless party girl, and by the end of the book, you can pretty much figure out that Vivienne is making money through being a call girl. And then there is Mari’s fraught relationship with her father, former rock promoter who gambled away a fortune of his money.
The Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers isn’t a horrible novel, but it lacked the rock and roll punch I expecting. The Midnight Ramblers were supposed to be on par with icons like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. They had gold and platinum records, and many awards. Yet Tomlinson never truly conveys why the group were such rock and roll gods, and still making music decades into their career.
I also couldn’t figure out how Anke captured the hearts of Mal, Dante, and Jack. Sure, she was a model, but it would have to take more than beauty to get involved with three members of The Midnight Ramblers. Anke comes off as fairly free of any charisma or personality. She just wasn’t written in a fully-dimensional way.
And Mari is also a problem. She’s quite unprincipled. You would think someone who is a ghostwriting veteran would conduct herself in a more ethical manner. Considering Tomlinson has worked as both a music journalist and ghostwriter, she could have written characters with more oomph.
Last summer I reviewed two books about the music world-the truly awful Groupies and the vastly superior Mary Jane. The Last Days of The Midnight Ramblers isn’t horrible like Groupies, but it also doesn’t reach the excellence of Mary Jane. The Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers doesn’t rock; it stumbles. And it’s a shame.
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