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A Dangerous Business
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Check link for latest rating. ( 8,935 ratings, 1,350 reviews)
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
This novel will appeal to readers who enjoy historical fiction with a strong female lead, detective mysteries, and richly drawn settings in 19th-century America. Fans of character-driven narratives and stories that explore women's resilience in challenging times will find this book especially engaging.
A brilliant, evocative novel about two women, Eliza and Jean, who try to find out what happened to the young women murdered in their town, in 1850s California.
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Description
'I raced through this murder mystery' Good Housekeeping, 10 Books to Read Right Now!
'Smiley is a masterful writer' Sunday Times
'Outstanding. Her sentences are sublime' Roxane Gay
From a brilliant Pulitzer Prize-winning and best-selling author comes a rollicking murder mystery set in Gold Rush California, as two young prostitutes follow a trail of missing girls.
Monterey, 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.
Eliza and Jean are determined not just to survive, but to find their way in a lawless town on the fringes of the Wild West - a bewitching combination of beauty and danger - as what will become the Civil War looms on the horizon.
As Mrs. Parks says, '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 . . .'
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Smiley is a masterful writer, seamlessly blending historical detail with a gripping murder mystery, as noted by the Sunday Times. The novel's breezy charm and strong sense of time capture the timeless vulnerabilities women face (Mail on Sunday). Praised for its progressive, sex-positive narrative and thrilling pace, it is described as perhaps Smiley's most provocative and engaging novel yet (Shondaland), making it compelling for fans of historical murder mysteries set in Gold Rush California.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780349145464
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 10 August 2023
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Abacus
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 26.0mm
Width: 126.0mm
Height: 196.0mm
Weight: 200g
Pages: 224
Collections
About the Author
Jane Smiley is the author of numerous novels, including A Thousand Acres, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, and the Last Hundred Years trilogy: Some Luck, Early Warning, and Golden Age. She is also the author of several works of non-fiction and books for young adults. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, she has received the PEN Center USA Lifetime Achievement Award for Literature. She lives in Northern California.
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