I am about 36% into this book and I just feel really lost with all of the POV switching around so much. While I was intrigued by the premise of this story and have enjoyed Rutkoski's previous novels, this one just doesn't seem to be it for me. I do like the gritty feel of the mystery but for an audiobook the POV switching is confusing me.

This is the story of a serial killer that chooses women based on their indiscretions, at least his/her definition of indiscretion. It is a good murder mystery. I did not guess who did it until close to the end, probably at the point the author intended for me to figure it out. So the author did a great job of leading you down the wrong road. That being said, I felt like she did it by having too many characters. I felt that the back story of some characters was unnecessary for the plot of the book. Ans she introduced many strange concepts, like a women who was born without all her female parts, a small insight to a possible pedophile, lesbianism, domestic abuse, child neglect, plus I think a couple more. It felt to me like she was trying to address many political sensitive subjects in one book, none of which added to the plot. Sorry, but there was just too much to what should have been a simple murder mystery novel.

Real Easy is an engaging mystery/thriller set in the 90s as dancers in a strip club are being targeted and killed. I appreciated that while some really dark things are happening in the plot Marie Rutkoski made sure to craft the characters of the strippers as fully fleshed out people, not stereotypes or just fodder for a salacious story. It made sense when I got to the end of the audiobook and there was an interview with her where she talked about the inspiration for the story coming from experiences she had herself working as a stripper.

Occasionally the book felt a bit overstuffed with different POVs. You read from the perspectives of multiple dancers, a dancer’s boyfriend and daughter, multiple detectives, the killer, men who frequent the strip club, bouncers, and more. Some of them are recurring throughout the story and some are just for one small section. Sometimes having all these different POVs felt like it was taking away from the main narrative of the story.

Overall I really enjoyed the casual diversity of the story, where the plot went, and how the mystery was ultimately solved. It definitely took turns I wasn’t expecting. This was a strong adult debut for Marie Rutkoski and I’m excited to see what she writes next for this age category.

Real Easy might be my favorite thriller published in years. I truly loved this book and Eva Kaminsky's amazing narration only added to the story. This is both one of the most unique and character driven stories Ive heard in a while.

Real Easy follows the girls at the Lovely Lady strip club. A death occurs tied to the club (don't wanna give details away as all the details surrounding the crime shocked me and the best part is uncovering the mystery yourself). The three main characters who drive the story include Samantha (or Ruby), Georgia (or Gigi), and Detected Holly Maitland. All three have a part to play in the crime and solving it.

My favorite part of this book is how each chapter has a new characters perspective so even the smallest characters are built out. This adds so much to the story as it truly helps you see the girls at the Lovely Lady as more than just their profession. You learn what drives each character from every employee and the Lovely Lady, to the killer, to the detectives.

I don't wanna spoil it but I also love how the crime is revealed and solved and with who takes the most initiative in solving it. I will say I guesses the killer a little before it was revealed but that didn't take away from the impact and how it unfolds in the book.

Overall, I cannot recommend this book enough and I know it will end up on my top books of 2022 list.

An audiobook was given by NetGalley for my honest review.

This is an intriguing must-read! Several things drew me to my latest thriller by Marie Rutkoski. I’ve never read or heard of her before and I love trying new authors; the location, I lived in a suburb of Chicago; the fact that the author wrote on personal experience; and the awesome cover. Who couldn’t love that cover!?

Samantha is one of the most fascinating characters I’ve read about in a long time. She doesn’t have an easy life, but she’s grateful for what she has, and she is a remarkable stepmother to Rosie.

The story is very character-driven and pulled me into the lives of these strippers immediately. And, of course, the serial killer helped, also. The only part I didn’t thoroughly enjoy was that it made me teary-eyed. Thrillers are not supposed to make you weepy, haha. But the story is perfect and I wouldn’t want it to end any other way.

I listened to the audiobook and the narration was wonderful. It included an interview between the narrator and author at the end that readers need to listen to. It explains how the author chose the title and is quite interesting.

A great book to wind down from 2021!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ARC. This review is my honest opinion.

#realeasy #marierutkoski #netgalley #macmillanaudio #audiobookreview #fivestarread

Had a hard time getting into the story but stuck with it and I did end up enjoying it. First book from this author but would definitely read again! Thank you NetGalley for this ARC

**This book was inspired by the author's real-life experiences working as a dancer in a strip club. If you have the audio book you can listen to her interview where she details the situations that she included in this book which occurred while she was working in two clubs.

1999
Samantha has danced for years at the Lovely Lady strip club. She has a steady stream of regulars and does quite well. She lives with her boyfriend and his daughter, Rosie. Things aren't always great, but she does well and is happy to have Rosie in her life. When another dancer appears to be on drugs, Samantha decides to drive her home. She soon realizes she is being followed and is soon run off the road. When the police show up at the scene there is only one body. A naked dead woman but is it Samantha or the woman she took home?

Holly is a Harvard educated detective with a heartbreaking back story. She is determined to solve the case along with her partner. As the follow the clues, it becomes apparent, that they are dealing with a ruthless killer.

Georgia is another dancer who is helping Holly with the investigation. She can provide insight and background which may be helpful when tracking down leads.

This story is told through various POV's and tells not only the stories of the dancers, but of the police officers as well. This is a taunt mystery which will also educate readers on some of the in's and outs of stripping and the guidelines clubs follow.

I enjoyed this audiobook and the story. I appreciated the interview with the author at the end when she shared her experiences as a dancer and what inspired her to write this book. This was a nicely paced character driven book.

3.5 stars

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

I'm a sucker for a murder mystery. This one was really an on the edge of your seat thriller.
I was 100% aware that this had to do with strippers but there was a lot of it at the beginning and I was like come on, get to the more murder-y parts! But as I finished it up, I realized that it was really necessary.
While we get the plot of the murders, we really get a lot of characters. There are A LOT of POVs, but a lot of them only have a very necessary chapter or 2. Our main characters are Samantha, Georgia and Holly. Samantha and Georgia are dancers and Holly is a detective. One of my favorite relationships in this book was between Samantha and her boyfriend's daughter Rosie. I have this same relationship with my own boyfriend's daughter and it was just really heartwarming. We get an amazing sense of who Samantha, Georgia and Holly are and that they are not just strippers or a detective. We also get a ton of other POVs. Several other dancers and several people who are looked at as being "him" who is the killer's POV.
A lot of the times, multiple POVs can get confusing. I think this story having so many POVs was absolutely crucial and so well done. We get so much insight into the club scene as well as the characters home lives. You want to trust them all, but at the same time you don't trust any of them. I really liked having the several different men's POVs because usually in the chapters before they are being considered as a suspect, and then their POV makes it seem like they absolutely have to be innocent, but you still have no idea if they did it or not. Can you really trust them?
This made it impossible for me to figure out who dun it. I enjoy being suprised so I liked that. I think the ending was so well done. There was an interview with the author at the end and it was really interesting how she decided to do the ending, who solved the mystery and why.
I definitely recommend this to any thriller lovers out there!

When Samantha, a seasoned dancer at the Lovely Lady strip club decided to give the new girl a ride home, she had no idea what she was getting herself into. The night turned deadly.

Georgia another dancer at the club is so drawn to the investigation she does everything she can to help the detective, Holly, even if that means putting herself in harms way.

We are constantly switching to different characters and different points of view throughout the book. I listened to the audio version and found sometimes I had to stop and rewind to figure out who was talking and what was going on.

I enjoyed this book. I thought the narrator did a great job. It was ballsy, different, vulgar at time, which listening to the audiobook made me blush.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan audio for this ARC.

Real Easy [out on 1/18/2022]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’ve been on a thriller kick for the last month & I think this new crime thriller release, “Real Easy,” may take the prize for my favorite. I flew through this audiobook with several gasps along the way.

Samantha works in a strip club (known there as Ruby) when she’s not spending time with her boyfriend’s daughter. She is driving one of the newbies (Jolene / Lady Jade) home one night when they wreck…and only one body is found. We dive into the minds of the nightclub patrons + employees, the dancers, and the local detectives as the race to find the missing woman begins.

I primarily liked this book because I never knew exactly what was coming next. There are lots of possible suspects with plausible motives (even if most involve just being a creepy ass man). I was kept on my toes and loved that. Secondly, each of the characters are fleshed out and have their own worries / lives / backstories going on in parallel, which helped us understand them more.

The chat with the author at the end of the audio was GREAT, especially the question about the title, because I also did not make the connection to what it meant. She said it was dual meaning: it’s a reference to how it can be easy to identify a body if they have synthetic breasts (which a lot of dancers did), but also a reference to Samantha & Rosie’s ‘real easy’ mother / daughter relationship despite not being biologically related.

I won’t give away any spoilers, but I really liked this crime whodunnit & would recommend to anyone looking for a police cat / mouse chase with a few surprises up its sleeve. I think this one would also make a fabbb limited series or movie!

This book is an amazing "Who Done It?" that I had no clue until the very end! The story follows Samantha, an exotic dancer who volunteers to take a co-worker, Lady Jade, home because she is high on drugs when they are run off the road intentionally. Lady Jade is found dead on the scene but where is Samantha? Georgia, another exotic dancer, decides to help the police to find the killer. No spoilers! I couldn't put this book down! I highly recommend it! Thanks to netgalley for the early review copy!

An interesting story told through the point of view of several characters, the different strippers of the Lovely Ladies, and the detectives trying to solve their murders. Someone is killing the strippers but who and why. There is really no evidence to follow but through careful detective work and the help of one of the strippers the crime will be solved. However, did it start before The Lovely Ladies? This one was good and interesting and didn't hint to the killer until the end.

A slow burn, multi-perspective thriller that will have you looking over your shoulder as you listen.

MV rating: 8/10
•We’re in suburban Illinois in the late 90’s, and strippers are turning up dead in the area.
•Each characters perspective reveals something new, but the pieces won’t make sense until the final chapter.
•There were a lot of loose strings that I was frustrated by throughout the story, that turned into really well thought out red herrings.
•The characters are bleak, and the ending isn’t necessarily a happy one - if you’re into mysteries where good triumphs over evil in the end, be prepared to suffer through this one.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced listener access!

A midwestern strip club where every woman works in their own best interest and wants to support their own. And then a new girl comes in and breaks through some of the toughest characters to the point where they offer some help. Then she goes missing. And is found dead. And the girl who helped her? Is missing. What happened to her and who took her and why? Does it have to do with the new girl? This book is a roller coaster and had me guessing until the very end. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

So I had a REALLY hard time following this book. I think because it's told in 3rd person present (which I loathe) and also that it's a real stream of consciousness type of story, another thing I'm not a fan of.

I was jazzed to get the ALC of this from NetGalley and the publishers, but I'm sad to say that this book is not for me. I'm glad that I had the audiobook though because if I'd had a physical copy, I probably wouldn't have even given it a shot.

This book goes well beyond the “stripper with a heart of gold” cliche to deliver a suspenseful, beautifully written story with interesting and well-drawn characters.

The story takes place primarily at the Lovely Lady strip club, home to an assortment of very interesting and multi-layered women who happen to take their clothes off for a living. I was so drawn to the very interesting, kind, and complicated character of Samantha, a beautiful stripper who is revealed to have a chromosomal abnormality. She deals with her “syndrome” (as she tells us it is called), her boyfriend’s jealousy around her job, and her deep love for her boyfriend’s child Rosie - a dream come true for her as her syndrome made it impossible to have children of her own. It has been awhile since I have been as invested in a main character as I was by Samantha, who was uniquely voiced in the book and also ably voiced and acted by the audiobook narrator.

Not a happy tale here - because someone is murdering women, and death comes to the Lovely Lady in a tragic way that really affected me. Much as I want to talk about the pivotal murder, I won’t spoil it because it was truly shocking and upsetting to me to read. With the main location of the book being a strip club with a number of unsavory patrons, there is no shortage of suspects for the murderer, who we learn has been perfecting his exceptionally creepy serial killing for awhile now.

Though we also meet Holly, the detective investigating the case, the women of the Lovely Lady are the stars of this book and I was extremely impressed by the complexity and care with which they were drawn as characters by the author, completely avoiding stripper stereotypes in favor of a cast of compelling, varied, and interesting women.

I really enjoyed being immersed in this plot and getting to know all the characters, and found Rutkoski’s writing to be more literary and thoughtful than one usually finds in this genre. Really glad to have had the chance to read this book and will definitely be reading more from this author.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this interesting and well-narrated read. 4.5 stars.

Did not finish. I liked the audiobook narrator but decided not to finish this one. I do not like thrillers with a copy/detective pov and also did not like some of the elements in this novel to keep reading it. Thank you netgalley and publisher for this early copy!

In a major departure from the YA fantasy she's known for, Marie Rutkoski brings us her adult debut in Real Easy: a procedural mystery/thriller set in the late 90's at a strip club. And it's very good. A propulsive read that keeps you interested in the serial killer mystery, while also creating characters that you come to really know and care about.

No one feels like a throwaway and each character is wonderfully nuanced. There are a lot of perspectives, so it might take some effort to get to know the cast of characters at first, but I loved how this multi-pov approach gets you inside of everyone from the killer and victims to the other strippers and the police officers working the case. And there's so much casual diversity woven throughout. Queer characters, characters of color, disabled characters and more. All done in a way that feels authentic and human. This is definitely worth a read! It's gritty but manages to have a lot of heart as well. The audio narration is great and really pulls you into the heads of the different characters. I received an audio review copy of this book via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

4.5 stars

This is my first Rutkoski read, and I will absolutely be back for more.

_Real Easy_ features the perspectives of multiple main characters, most of whom are intersectionally diverse women; already, you can count me in. Many of these characters work as dancers in an adult setting, and some of them participate in extracurricular adventures. If you are lucky enough to snag the audiobook, don't miss the interview with Rutkoski at the end in which she talks about her own experience in this line of work and how that inspired some of the contents. I already thoroughly enjoyed the novel, but that added bonus really broadened my understanding of her connection to this world.

Because of their identities and some of the folks they encounter at work, many of these characters reveal all kinds of abuses and trials that readers might expect. The publisher concluded the synopsis with the question, "How do women live their lives knowing that men can hurt them?" and this tale reveals a less diplomatic truth: women persist knowing that men WILL hurt them, and readers, here, get to see some of the ways in which that can happen: murder included.

Having just come off of a book that was especially unsuccessful because of lacking attachments to characters, I'm extra impressed with how invested I became in so many characters here. This is a testament to Rutkoski's ability to draw round characters, but it also reveals the respect given to each one, regardless of who they are and what they do.

Though they are extremely different books in several ways, I couldn't help but think of Ivy Pochoda's _These Women_ often while listening to _Real Easy_. For me, this one is a bit less gritty but no less masterful. I really enjoyed this and will be recommending it to folks who can manage this genre.

It's 1999 at the Lovely Lady strip club. Samantha takes the new girl under her wing and drives her home after she's drugged one night.

When the two girls are found dead, police jump in to investigate the club, the dancers, and the men in these women's lives.

This was supposed to be a thriller, but was delivered more like just a domestic drama. There were no shocking or gasp-worthy moments. It was a unique setting and group of characters; I don't think I've ever read anything with a similar environment. It just didn't do anything for me. I'm the writing was done well, but the plot was not worthy of being labeled a thriller.