Let's get this out of the way first, the story is an adult novel and is darkly graphic. It is a murder mystery and the setting begins at a strip club, which is vividly described. Not everyone will be comfortable with the level of detail. There is sexual content, death, psychological and physical abuse, violence, and torture. This is a new author to me and stretched my comfort zone. I did have to skim some details, which did not keep me from finishing or enjoying the mystery of the case.
The chapters alternate characters, there are quite a few names to sort as strippers have stage names. It is set near Chicago.
Detective Victor Amador is called to the scene of a serious single car accident. The car is empty. A body is found nearby and the driver is missing, both worked as strippers at the Lovely Lady. His boss is Sergeant Tony Rabideaux, a questionably crooked cop. In fact all the detectives, Pradko, Backyard, and Holly have personal baggage, X-wife, gambling, etc.
Two main characters, Samantha and Georgia, also work at the Lovely Lady. Dale is the manager with an open door policy. The story highlights several of the strippers, their families, kids, boyfriends or husbands, the patrons and other club employees. Having known women who worked at strip clubs the terminology was familiar to me.
There is a considerable list of suspects in what turns out to be a serial killer case. Everyone from boyfriend Nick, bouncer Jimmy, or even another cop is under scrutiny. The solving of the crime was interesting and kept me guessing. It was a different genre for me and a solid murder, crime, suspense story.
There are many topics mentioned in the story; race, sexual identity, accidental death of child, feminism, and male dominance, to list a few. Should leave the reader much to contemplate as to where society is today, and how much needs fixing.
Thanks to Netgalley, Marie Rutkoski, and Henry Holt and Co. for the advance digital copy of "Real Easy". These opinions and thoughts are mine alone given voluntarily.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle by Henry Holt & Company and #NetGalley for my honest opinion.

Entertaining thriller you should definitely grab if this is your genre.

Best thriller of the year so far!

When I came across REAL EASY on NetGalley, I requested instantly. It's a crime novel following multiple characters as they all deal with the disappearance of two women from a Midwestern strip club.

This is the perfect type of thriller that is so hard to find, as it seamlessly blends deep characterization with a fast plot. There is no copoganda here, either, and the vast majority of the focus is on the women who choose to be dancers and the community they build for each other.

REAL EASY isn't published until next January, but you'll want to snap it up once it's out!

Real Easy is a riveting crime thriller about a group of dancers who work at a midwestern strip club and slowly begin to disappear. The story is told from the perspective of multiple characters, including the dancers themselves, the police, the suspects, and even some of the clientele who frequent the Lovely Lady.

The writing is superb and the author does a fantastic job of making the reader feel empathy for many of the characters. At the very least, I think it would be difficult to find a reader who did not experience some form of emotion while reading the novel—be it disgust or something else. There is also the perfect amount of gallows humor to offset many of the heavier moments.

Readers should know beforehand that the story touches upon themes of sexual assault, murder, domestic violence, feminism, LGBTQ issues, race, poverty, and a few other sensitive topics.

Despite its dark tone, I thought this was a strong work of fiction and would not be surprised to see it on many best seller/must read lists when it is released next year. The concept is refreshing, the characters are well-developed, and the pacing encourages readers to devour it in one sitting.

The only potential issues I could foresee some readers having is the number of characters used to tell the story (though I enjoyed that part) and the ending (the final chapter feels misplaced or unnecessary). Regardless, I would highly recommend reading #RealEasy because it offers so much more than one would typically expect from a novel that is billed as crime thriller fiction.

I loved this book and found it a welcome approach to talking about women not often represented for their complex lives in books and in the media. Real Easy by Marie Rutoski is a tremendous adult debut from this author. I admit to a fascination with crime/thrillers and also characters with atypical, and misunderstood, professions and lives; this book involves the perspectives of exotic dancers and I felt it was done with respect for their female identity and that perhaps these women are more than their bodies/jobs (don't all women want to be seen for more than their bodies?). Some readers will not see it this way but I found the layered storytelling to offer a refreshing challenge to mindsets about strippers/exotic dancers and also addressed the inherent dangers in their lives.

The writing was strong and kept me engaged in for me a fairly fast paced crime thriller. I appreciated the clarity of the writing, the characters with depth and at times even hope despite a tough life, and that this book was clearly researched, with thoughtful details that show a writer who carers for her readers and for her characters. I think this book is going to be one that will be talked about in a lot of books clubs, I hope it is since the characters have value and are worth discussing. I am in a few mystery and thriller book clubs and chats on bookstagram and I am sure this book will be well received by many of my social media friends and my in person book club. I truly look forward to Ms. Rutoski's next book and for now will enjoy promoting this book in the coming months leading to publication.

Thank you to both #NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for providing me an advance copy of Marie Rutkoski’s latest thriller, Real Easy, in exchange for an honest review.

#RealEasy is a riveting crime thriller about a group of dancers who work at a midwestern strip club and slowly begin to disappear. The story is told from the perspective of multiple characters, including the dancers themselves, the police, the suspects, and even some of the clientele who frequent the Lovely Lady.

The writing is superb and the author does a fantastic job of making the reader feel empathy for many of the characters. At the very least, I think it would be difficult to find a reader who did not experience some form of emotion while reading the novel—be it disgust or something else. There is also the perfect amount of gallows humor to offset many of the heavier moments.

Readers should know beforehand that the story touches upon themes of sexual assault, murder, domestic violence, feminism, LGBTQ issues, race, poverty, and a few other sensitive topics.

Despite its dark tone, I thought this was a strong work of fiction and would not be surprised to see it on many best seller/must read lists when it is released next year. The concept is refreshing, the characters are well-developed, and the pacing encourages readers to devour it in one sitting.

The only potential issues I could foresee some readers having is the number of characters used to tell the story (though I enjoyed that part) and the ending (the final chapter feels misplaced or unnecessary). Regardless, I would highly recommend reading #RealEasy because it offers so much more than one would typically expect from a novel that is billed as crime thriller fiction.

How often do you get to read a mystery that revolves around the characters of a strip club and goes into the details of their lives and situations? I was intrigued by the premise and I was not disappointed. The mystery unwinds through the lives of each of the strippers and gradually we eliminate suspects and figure out who the real killer was. It is presented well though you have to work to keep track of all of the names. It's an eye-opener and worth reading if you've always wondered why any woman would work in a strip club.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

People get strippers wrong. The conventional wisdom is that they are fiercely feminist and sister supporters. In my experience, that is not true. This book is fine. Just ok.

I really enjoyed this thriller murder mystery! Much of the book is written from the perspective of strippers at a strip club, but the characters are depicted as whole people, not just their profession. I found the character who was consider "intersex" due to a medical condition especially fascinating. The book is written effectively without being overly graphic or violent.
My only critique is that I strongly believe there should have been less narrating characters. I had to put real effort into keeping everyone straight, which pulled me out of the story at times. Overall, a great concept and story that kept me reading!
Thank you to Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

REAL EASY was a fascinating read. Rutkowski turns her considerable talent to a mystery. The setting is a strip club and Rutkoski tells the story through some of the strippers and those that surround. them. The plot is suspenseful but the real star of the novel is the writing.. Her writing is sophisticated and nuanced ;and she creates whole characters, using surprising imagery and language.. Reading REAL EASY was a real pleasure.

This was a DNF for me. I thought the story line involving exotic dancers would interest me, but so far I haven’t found anything making want to continue to read.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Real Easy.

I was pleased when my request was approved because the premise sounded interesting.

This was a pretty good read. I really enjoyed the behind the scenes look at a strip club, the rapport and nuances between the strippers and their relationships with each other and the house mother.

Generally, I'm not a fan of multiple POV because it can become distracting and make it difficult to connect to a character but the method worked well here for the most part.

The author offers insight behind each character, especially the strippers; why they chose this career, the circumstances that keep some of them in this position and what eventually forces their hand to leave.

There are some cliches typical of police procedurals; one of the investigating detectives is going through a personal trauma that may hinder her ability to solve the case, and her partner is dealing with a sketchy colleague.

I didn't relate to the detectives; actually, I found them sort of slow on the uptake but as the reader I have info and clues they don't have.

I did like Samatha; she was so unique, and not because of her medical condition. I related to her as a character, her voice, her kindness and her need to be a good mother and provider.

The author did a great job of creating an original character in a difficult occupation struggling to make a family and live her life as best she could.

I look forward to the author's next book.

As a fan of Marie’s YA novels I knew I wanted to give this a try. I love adult thrillers. I love gritty stories in “seedy” places. I love the twists.
This book had that all. It hooked me from the first line.
A gritty, realistic feminist thriller that really makes you think. Hooks you from the first line and never once lets up until the finial page.
I can’t stop thinking about this book! Highly recommend.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Not sure what to make of this book. It digs into the real life struggles of a stripper. I wanted to like it, but it just wasn't for me. My apologies!

A book that drew me in revealed the life a stripper lives their world .Add in a mystery this book kept me turning through the well written story characters that come alive.#netgalley#henryholt.

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

I loved this one. Very fast paced, had me turning pages as I tore through it – I had to see how it would end. The characters were well rounded and the narrative felt believable. Gave me chills. Solid five I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

A down-to-earth and realistic view of the subculture of strippers - the choices, lives, and dangers with that way of life -