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.

Thank you to the author and publishers for providing me with an arc of this story.

Real Easy was a fast paced thriller that follows the story of Samantha (Ruby) a stripper who in 1999 goes missing from her work place. Throughout the story the reader reads from multiple prospectives to include Samatha, Georgia (her co worker), Holly (the main detective) and several others.

While this book was fast pace it had so many characters that at one point it was difficult to remember who was who. I suggest going in with notes to write down characters names and why they are important to the story. Aside from the many characters I did find the writing to be choppy and sporadic. The writing made me put the novel down several times to take a break because it was driving me crazy.

Aside from those quirks this story was fast paced and engaging. Definitely a 4 star story once you are invested.

This book did not really work for me. I enjoyed the behind the scenes look at the strip club and learning about the personal lives of the dancers, but the many POVs became confusing and hard to follow. Definitely recommend reading this over listening to the audiobook.

Character-driven stories have typically been hit or miss for me. Thankfully, this was a huge HIT!

I loved that this mystery was set in a strip club. I found it fascinating how the author depicted club and stripper life. I appreciated that the author gave backstory to some of the strippers. This helped humanize the women and steered the reader to see past their jobs.

The story is told from multiple perspectives. Each POV added an extra layer to the story and drove it forward. I read this story in 2 days, so I had no problem following the characters. But, if you were to read this story over several weeks, I could see it becoming a little confusing. I listened to the audiobook which Eva Kaminsky narrates. Kaminsky did a solid job bringing the story to life.

I could not correctly guess the killer, which made this book even more of a page-turner! The ending wrapped up really well. I liked that all three main characters were given a wrap-up chapter.

Make sure to listen/read the interview with the author at the end. It provided great insight into why the author chose the title ‘Real Easy’ and other interesting tidbits about the story.

3.5 stars. Based on other reviews and the premise of this book, I was really excited to read this one. Unfortunately, this one did not live up to my expectations in a lot of ways. There were so many points of view, and the single narrator for the audiobook/the use of both stripper names & real names made it very confusing and difficult to follow. I also didn't find myself surprised at all by the ending-- I had my suspicions very early on and was disappointed when they turned out to be accurate. I found Rutkoski's inclusion of Samantha/Ruby having a rare chromosomal condition very interesting, and it was a wonderful added layer to to the beautiful relationship between Samantha/Ruby & Rosie. It seems that Rutkoski depicted the world of strip clubs accurately and authentically, which I appreciated. I just wish I had been captured by this plotline a bit more.

3.5 stars

A well written serial killer mystery, where the MC’s all work at a strip club. I appreciated the prose in this book, & enjoyed the suspenseful build to finding out whodunnit at the end.

[What I liked:]

•I enjoyed the writing style, both the prose & the narrative structure. This story switches between several different character perspectives, which could have been confusing or annoying, but it wasn’t for me. It didn’t feel gimmicky or unfocused, but actually added a lot of nuance to the character development & the suspense of not knowing who committed the crimes until nearly the end. It kept me guessing in the best kind of way.

•I guess technically this is historical fiction, set in the late 90’s. I was a kid then, unaware (or only vaguely) at the time of some the political references dropped in this book, but oh my goodness did this hit me with nostalgia for certain things! (Jelly bracelets, anyone?) I thought the setting & historical details were well done.

•I also found the comparisons of people from “down state” (southern) Illinois to those of the Chicagoland area intriguing, how different characters’ perceptions of each other’s accents & presumed class & educational background informed their interactions. I’m from Missouri & have relatives in nearby southern Illinois, & while it’s funny to think of ourselves/our region as having such “an accent” (yeah, I know technically everyone has an accent), we’re part of the Upland South linguistically & culturally & it was interesting to see elements of that portrayed through these various characters in this story.


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•There was a lot of great emotional nuance in the relationships between several side characters until about halfway through the book, when I feel like the mechanics of getting the mystery solved took over to the neglect of the promising character dynamics. Like, I wanted more from Victor, like why was his relationship with his mom so that he avoided her? What was Nick going through that had him (presumably) depressed & unemployed? What happened between Rachel & her ex-husband? Why hadn’t Samantha been in touch with her parents lately? What was provided was good, but there was room for more.

•The Bella & Georgia pairing felt a bit out of nowhere. Like there wasn’t much build up to it, & imo not much chemistry either, nor can I say exactly what purpose their relationship served to advance in the story. I can’t say Victor & Holly had chemistry exactly, but they did have great emotional tension going on for awhile before anything happened. Bella & Georgia getting together just…didn’t add anything compelling or necessary.

•Samantha, one of the MC’s, is in a relationship that is becoming physically abusive with hints of other types of abuse possibly having been going on for longer. I can’t say that the story straight up condoned the abuse, but it did (at least from Samantha’s POV) try to explain it away & make excuses for it. I know this is a common reaction for an abuse sufferer to have towards an abusive romantic partner so it could just be an attempt at realism, but it felt uncomfortably close to claiming “this is how our love looks like, it’s fine that our relationship involves violence sometimes”. I doubt that was the writer’s intent, but it was never addressed clearly, & the DV perpetrator was a parent of a young child & all I could think was, does he knock poor little Rosie around too?

CW: racism, sexism, homophobia, sexual violence, murder, child death, child abuse, substance abuse

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]

I have no clue how to star this book so take the 3 stars with a great salt lake.

It is the structure that has me thrown.

It is like eating something new for the first time and not knowing if you love it or want to spit it out immediately.

The flash forward and then immediately back and then changing from present to past tense in different POV was either brilliant or jarring. But I don't know which.

I do know that it took attention away from a brilliantly written book. It took my attention away to the point that I thought the killer had been revealed midway through the book. I don't mean I thought I knew who it was and was wrong. I mean I thought it was revealed.

Then when it was actually revealed, I thought maybe there were partners or multiple murderers and then had to go back and realize I misunderstood.

I would have to read another book with the same structure so that it is expected before I knew if I liked it. I respect the attempt and loved the characters, writing and ability to keep that many POVs, and time jumps in line.

It isnt that it didn't work... maybe it didn't? I don't know. I would say YMMV except I don't even know what my miles were.