A critical review of a mundane book.
Author: Jane Smiley
Released: December 2022
Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery
Pages: 224
Audiobook Length: 8 hours (approx.)
Narrator: Therese Plummer
Awards/Acclaim
Amazon Editor's Pick - Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Book Review
This was my first Jane Smiley book and may not be my last. I found a take on Views on Books that states this isn't Jane Smiley's best work and they found the book to be a miss too.
I couldn't get into the story. At no point was it a page-turner. The characters were flat.
The premise of the book had so much potential. Two determined sex workers team up to uncover the culprit of a string of murders in their Gold Rush town.
I expected a gritty, suspenseful, mystery filled with conflict. But, it did not deliver. The plot rambles along. On many occasions, Chekhov’s Gun is presented but never goes off.
Plot
(Publisher Description)
Monterey, California 1851: Ever since her husband was killed in a bar fight, Eliza Ripple has been working in a brothel. It seems like a better life, at least at first. The madam, Mrs. Parks, is kind, the men are (relatively) well behaved, and Eliza has attained what few women have: financial security. But when the dead bodies of young women start appearing outside of town, a darkness descends that she can’t resist confronting. Side by side with her friend Jean, and inspired by her reading, especially by Edgar Allan Poe’s detective Dupin, Eliza pieces together an array of clues to try to catch the killer, all the while juggling clients who begin to seem more and more suspicious.
"Everyone knows that this is a dangerous business, but between you and me, being a woman is a dangerous business, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise..." - Jane Smiley, A Dangerous Business
Content Warning:
Adult Themes
About the Author
Jane Smiley won the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for fiction for her novel A Thousand Acres. Between 1980 and 2022 Smiley had sixteen adult fiction novels, five nonfiction books, and eight young adult books published.
Smiley teaches creative writing at the university level.
Verdict
Score: 5/10
This novel was neither suspenseful, sexy, nor gritty.
I can't recommend this book.
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