Last Call at Smokey Row

by Pat Camalliere

267 pages, Paperback

Published June 14, 2025

About the author

Pat Camalliere is the author of the popular, five-star-rated Cora Tozzi Historical Mystery Series. Her debut novel, The Mystery at Sag Bridge. was published in 2015. Her second book, The Mystery at Black Partridge Woods, was published in 2016. The Mystery at Mount Forest Island was published on 3/27/20.

Pat lives with her husband in Lemont, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. She serves on the boards of the Lemont Historical Society and the Lemont Public Library District. She is a member of the Society of Midland Authors, Sisters in Crime and the Chicago Writers Association. She writes a blog about local history that can be read on her website at www.patcamallierebooks.com.

Reviews

[Ruth Chatlien · Rating 5 out of 5]

Last Call at Smokey Row is a departure for Pat Camalliere, whose previous novels are part of a series of historical mysteries that take place in Lemont, IL. Although also set in Lemont, the latest novel is more what I’d classify as a contemporary woman’s novel set in the early 1980s.

The main character and narrator, Jane Archer, is someone many people can relate to. Raised in a Catholic family, she pursued the goals she thought a good, responsible girl should: education, marriage, a suitable career for a woman—in her case, teaching high school biology. But at the age of 33, she finds herself a divorced ex-teacher, living alone for the first time in her life, working a dead-end job in a grocery store, and wondering if she has the stamina and motivation to figure out what to do next.

Invited by a coworker who participates in a pool league, Jane visits a local tavern called Sami’s. There she meets a collection of people seemingly as adrift as she is: a divorced father being bled dry by his ex, a young woman with no apparent ambition, a traumatized Vietnam vet who rarely talks, another divorced man with the burden of caring for an agoraphobic and hostile mother, and an assortment of other drunks, gamblers, bullies, and weirdos.

Her newfound acquaintances force Jane to think deeply about questions such as, “Why are some people able to find purpose in life, and why do others remain lost or even mired in past heartache?” “Am I taking too long to move forward from my recent failures?” “Do I even know what I want?” Which of us has not asked ourselves questions like these?

In time, Jane builds relationships at Sami’s, some closer than others. With the help of one of her newfound friends, she slowly begins to find a new career path and perhaps even the hope of romance.

With such a diverse mix of personalities, problems in the group are sure to bubble up. One conflict gets resolved in a way that I guarantee you won’t see coming. Through it all, Jane responds to the events around her by continuing to ask questions and to grow. Despite the large cast of characters, it is her story above all, and Camalliere brings it to a satisfying end.

[D.M. Pirrone · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re a fan of character-driven stories, you’ll love LAST CALL AT SMOKEY ROW. Author Pat Camalliere sets her tale in Lemont, Illinois, a place she knows well and clearly loves. Centered on Jane Archer, a bright and observant thirty-something in search of herself, the story takes place mainly at Sami’s Saloon, a local bar and pool hall that’s well past its glory days but still has something to offer. Jane’s quest is the framework for a colorful tapestry of human experience; the regulars she gets to know at Sami’s may not all be lovable, but every single one—the pool hounds, the drifters, the fellow searchers for someplace to belong—is unforgettable.

There’s a quiet magic to Camalliere’s writing, a vividness of place and people that draws you in and doesn’t let go. Humor, friendship, unexpected loss, and a simmering conflict that ultimately leads to a startling act of vengeance, or perhaps rough justice, are expertly intertwined by a storyteller who’s a master of her craft. Don’t miss this one.
—D. M. Pirrone, author of NO LESS IN BLOOD and the Hanley & Rivka Mysteries

[Barbara Monier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pat Camalliere’s latest book, Last Call at Smokey Row, departs from her acclaimed Cora Tozzi historical mystery series while remaining a love note to the author’s beloved geographical territory—Lemont, Illinois. The protagonist, Jane Archer, has retreated to Lemont to recover from a failed marriage and career. Relatively sheltered and limited in life experience, Jane accompanies a co-worker to a neighborhood bar, a landscape that is foreign and uncomfortable at first. Jane can’t quite figure out what draws her to keep returning to the bar, but she gradually warms to a number of the regulars. As her relationships deepen and intrigue filters in, Jane opens up to new experiences, her attitudes broaden, and she is ultimately able to find her own way forward, fully embracing a new life. Camalliere offers readers a thoughtful meditation on change, how we find and build community, and the courage to begin again.

[Mark Splitstone · Rating 5 out of 5]

In "Last Call at Smokey Row" Pat Camalliere expertly captures the world of a town outside of Chicago in the early 1980s. The details, from the music to the food to the technology, make readers feel that they're there, and it's fun to picture yourself back in that world. There are quite a few characters, but even when the character has a small role, the author manages to give the reader a real sense of their essence. The protagonist's journey from being a lost soul to leading a fulfilling life is at times heartbreaking, but in the end, satisfying. Highly recommend.

[Sandra Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a lovely and thoughtful look at the characters who find themselves drifting together at a small-town bar. Aware of it or not, whether likely to succeed or not, each one searches for what's missing in their lives. A careful, well-written exploration of how we escape our pasts and try to move forward with new people and new pursuits. Not all goes according to plan, of course, and a delicious thread of intrigue grows to a very clever ending. Satisfying at so many levels.

[Kim Savage · Rating 5 out of 5]

This thoroughly enjoyable novel explores relationships and emotions as life happens to the characters. It was a pleasure to share Jane's journey as she experienced the twists and turns that face us, often changing the trajectory of our lives. Local history and small-town community are intertwined with a well-paced storyline that immerses the reader from beginning to end.
Pat Camalliere is an outstanding storyteller who offers a well-researched historical framework for her novel.