For a very slow paced murder mystery? historical novel? it was difficult to attach to either the story’s plot or the characters. The best part was the setting in mid-19th century Monterey, California; the author did an outstanding job developing not just the town, but the architecture, living conditions, weather patterns, and industry of the area. The novel itself had so many loose ends that it was frustrating to have them go nowhere. I especially wanted the ghost thread to be an actual part of the plot. The ending seemed rather weak and unlikely given the tone of the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Alfred A Knopf Publishing for the ARC to read and review.

In the 1850s, during the California Gold Rush, two young sex-workers, Eliza and Jean who set out to solve the mystery of the murdered young women. This is a throwback to the classic mystery novels of the 19th century but with a modern sensibility. Definitely worth the read.

Jane Smiley is an incredible author. I wish more people read her books and knew about her. This novel will satisfy long-time and new readers of her works.

Mrs. Parks might run a brothel in Monterey, California in 1851, but what she says about women is as true today as it was then. “Everyone knows this is a dangerous business, but, between you and me, being a woman is a dangerous business.” Eliza Ripple has known that since she was eighteen. Jane Smiley tells Eliza’s story in her latest novel, A Dangerous Business. Unfortunately, this book just wasn't for me.

Eliza is from a religious family in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She had eyes for an Irishman, but, when she was eighteen, her father turned her over to Peter Cargill, a thirty-eight-year-old man. Peter hoped to make his fortune in California, so he and Eliza traveled to Monterey. He treated Eliza as his servant, insisted on sex at least once a day, and, when she began pregnant, sent her for an abortion, and then taught her to use birth control. When he was shot in a bar fight in late 1851, Eliza was relieved, not sorry.

Eliza changes her name to Ripple, and finds a job at Mrs. Parks’ house of prostitution, one of the few jobs for a woman in Monterey. Now, she studies the men who are clients, and learns to please them. But, she’s lonely until she meets up with Jean, a woman who works at a brothel for women. She and Jean share a love of reading, and when they discover Poe and “Murders in the Rue Morgue”, Eliza is intrigued with the detective Dupin.

The first of “the girls” disappears when Eliza is twenty-one. But, no one in town seems to care. Even when Eliza and Jean find another working girl’s body, they can’t get the sheriff interested in an investigation. The two women are determined to find the killer, using skills they copy from Dupin.

I’m going to admit I wasn’t as taken with A Dangerous Business as others have been. I struggled through the book, although I liked Eliza, Jean, and Mrs. Parks. I found it interesting as Eliza studied her clients, looking for a killer. The description of Monterey as a port, with sailors often in town, and the foreshadowing of the Civil War, with talks of slavery and anti-slavery sentiment were interesting. However, I felt as if all the descriptions were just stories of one day following another. There wasn’t enough action to move the story along, for me.

The blurb on the back of my copy calls A Dangerous Business “A rollicking murder mystery”. Hardly. If you’re looking for that kind of story, forget it. If you’re looking for a literary novel about a time and a place, try the book. Although I loved Smiley’s A Thousand Acres, when I read this book, it really only showed me why I seldom read literary fiction. I was bored.

I loved Jane Smiley’s A Thousand Acres and The Age of Grief—gorgeous literary meditations on family disintegration.

I also love a good mystery, so I’m happy for the chance to have read A Dangerous Business. I’m not sure all the pieces slotted together for me; perhaps this would have worked more if it didn’t follow a whodunnit plot trajectory and instead focused on the literary talents of this author, but it was a fine listen, one that kept me engaged.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

It isn’t easy being a woman, and Jane Smiley gives readers an up close look at what it would be like to be one during the Gold Rush in her novel, A DANGEROUS BUSINESS.

It’s 1851. Eliza was married at 18 to a man she didn’t particularly like, and the two moved from Kalamazoo, Michigan to Monterey, California. After he was shot to death in a bar fight, Eliza wasn’t particularly sad and turns to prostitution. She’s treated well at the brothel where she works under the watchful eye of Mrs. Parks and makes enough money to be independent. Eliza is satisfied with her life.

There is a mystery at the heart of this book: who is killing women and leaving their bodies to rot outside of town? Eliza and her friend, Jean - who has a penchant for dressing as a man so she can move more easily through society - work together to identify the murderer.

Unfortunately, I didn’t find the mystery very satisfying. What did fascinate me, however, are Eliza’s descriptions of her clients - and each becomes a suspect. Her interactions with the men are told in a detached, clinical way, which was probably the best way to endure it.

There are lots of things happening here: there’s talk of the approaching Civil War and slavery, ghosts, Eliza’s estrangement from her family and even a few fascinating mentions of a brothel that caters to women who need a rest from their husband (Jean works there), but none of these topics were explored deeply enough for me, and none of them have any bearing on the central mystery. I wouldn’t even say these topics are red herrings … they’re just sort of thrown in the story.

This book holds a lot of promise, and A DANGEROUS BUSINESS was on my TBR before I requested it on NetGalley. Unfortunately, it didn’t live up to my expectations. But if you’re into historical fiction that really makes you feel like you’re there, in a time period that isn’t extensively explored from a woman’s perspective, this is a book for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knoph Doubleday Publishing Group for the opportunity to read an eARC of A DANGEROUS BUSINESS in exchange for my honest opinion.

A descriptive look at the 1800's Monterey, California, can be found in A Dangerous Business, by Jane Smiley. Intriguing story of women in one of the oldest professions looking out for themselves and other women.

I am a huge fan of Jane Smiley's writing and her new book did not disappoint! It was different from other books of hers in that it takes place during the Gold Rush in Monterey California where strangers from all over escape to find a new life or are just passing through. Eliza, the protagonist moved with her husband from Kalamazoo to start a new life and when he ends up killed early in the book (not tragic - he was abusive) - she has to earn a living *in the oldest profession in the world. It is through her work in the brothel that she meets many itinerant men and when women end up murdered, anyone of these men could be the killer. This book is enjoyable to read because of her descriptive yet concise language. She also blends True Crime/mystery , Historical Fiction and a bit of Edgar Allan Poe to this story. I found myself wanting to keep reading and not put it down. I particularly liked the sensitivity toward the women characters in this book and especially for women who are outside the norm. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was given an advanced reader copy of this title by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.. I liked the characters in this story and the themes although I thought the storytelling was a little flat.

A quick read and listen that is interesting but stilted at times.
In 1850s Monterey, California, Liza is left a widow after her abusive husband is killed in a bar fight. She turns to the only thing she knows that will support her- prostitution. She later befriends Jean, a cross-dressing woman who also works at a brothel but one which services women instead, and they become fast friends. They have much in common, including their love of Edgar Allen Poe. When local prostitutes begin to turn up dead and law enforcement unsurprisingly doesn’t seem to care the ladies begin sleuthing on their own.
Jane Smiley, Pulitzer Prize winner for A Thousand Acres, is known for drawing from classic literature for inspiration. Poe’s Murder on the Rue Morgue comes into play here and is used by Liza and Jean as their instruction manual to solve the murders.
While Smiley’s keen grasp of language is obvious and shows particularly in her descriptions of horses and the countryside, Liza’s matter-of-fact descriptions of her sex acts were unnerving to me and I found myself skimming over them and skipping ahead in the audio. There are only so many times you can hear the word “prick” and I’m not a prude by any means. It just reads oddly.
The murder mystery plot moved so slowly I found myself getting bored. However, I did love how engaged I was in the historical aspect of the plot. There were so many interesting things going on: Liza’s travels from Kalamazoo to Monterey, the Gold Rush, prostitution (for both male and female clients), and the beginning of civil war/end of slavery/Underground Railroad.
Therese Plummer was amazing!! Loved her narration!
It wasn’t the best of Jane Smiley’s work but I will say it was definitely an adventurous experience. 3.5 stars rounded up.
Thanks to NetGalley, Knopf Publishing, and RB Media Recorded Books for the early review copies!

Dnf A Dangerous Business @ 40%. Like if a high schooler tried to write an Agatha Christie mystery. Not for me.

A DANGEROUS BUSINESS by Jane Smiley was extremely disappointing. It seems to be more a story about work (and various services provided) in a mid-nineteenth century brothel out West with a mystery as a secondary thread.

Well I just loved this book. Everything about it was delightful. Some of my favorite characters of the whole year coupled with a mystery that was compelling, believable, and interesting. This is Jane Smiley's best in my opinion, and she is prolific!

"Yes, he was like a storm system that hangs restlessly over your town, and then some event triggers a twister, and it passes through some neighborhood. Everyone wonders why the twister came to them— whether it was God or the Devil, but only the storm system knows, or doesn’t know."

After Eliza's husband is shot, she starts working at a brothel to support herself. She bonds with one of her fellow workers, Jean as they bond over shared interests like their love of Poe's works.

Women in their town of Monterrey start going missing, and then they find a body. The Sheriff seems stumped and Eliza and Jean decide to take it upon themselves to find the killer and bring him to justice.

This book is short and fast paced and I read it very quickly. The mystery aspect just fell somewhat flat for me.

Thank you netgalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for giving me an advanced review copy (oops) of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A completely unique western with prostitutes and a serial killer. Again. Here's the twist: two working girls in Gold Rush era California (one in a brothel serving only women) are the potential prey, and also the detectives! Everything about this book is solid, from the characterization, to the women's friendship, to the dialog, to the western setting. The depiction of brothels is also like nothing I have ever read and decidedly unsexy–all business, all sheer survival.. Besides being in my favorite westerns list along with "Lonesome Dove" and "The Sisters Brothers," this novel is one of my favorites of 2023 already and 2023 isn't even here yet.

It's always a great day when a new novel by jane Smiley comes out and this is no exception. It's abook that will definitely be on my top 10 of 2022. It's an atmospheric novel that takes place during the Gold Rush in Calfifornia. It has many characters but the main ones are Eliza and Jean. Eliza is a women left a widow due to an unfortunate or fortunate experience of her husband's untimely death. It is a short novel but packs enough issues for it to read like a 500 page novel. Editors take note!! I could not put this novel down. from it's first page it was like you entered a time machine and could feel yourself walking alongside each chartacter. There are very few authors that can do this but Ms. Smiley is one of them. This novel deals with women's rights, Native American rights, religious extremism, and edgar Allen Poe! Yes, it's that good a novel! It's a perfect book club pick in that it's short but pack a whole lot to talk about and it's a complete page turner. Who could ask for more. Read it! Thank you to #knopf and #netgalley for the read

Let’s start out with how one blurb called this a “rollicking murder mystery.” Rollicking? Really? Because this novel was anything BUT rollicking. I mean, it is probably the slowest moving murder mystery novel I’ve ever read, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Especially not when we’re talking about Jane Smiley, whose writing is like liquid velvet. (No wonder she won a Pulitzer.) I’m not even going to call this a cozy mystery novel, because for me, those are usually tinged with a good measure of humor. This book isn’t humorous at all, and in fact, it is fairly sad in many ways. You see, here we have two women, on their own, both working as prostitutes, one of them for men and the other for women, in the middle of the 19th century in a sea port town on the coast of California. What’s more, the town has no law enforcement to speak of, so when someone goes missing, no one seems to care. Even when these women find dead bodies, there’s only a cursory investigation into these deaths.

With all of this, it seems to me that maybe calling this a murder mystery novel might not be as accurate as it seems. If we come right down to it, these girls’ investigations are more of a backdrop to paint portraits of these women, and look into their personalities and their friendship. It is also an interesting study of mid-19th century American life, and the difficulties women on their own faced back then, especially in such remote areas of the country. Since this story is told from Eliza’s viewpoint, we also get to discover a bit about the life of sex-workers at that time. Mind you, Smiley puts Eliza into an establishment where the proprietor is not only female, but one who also makes sure her girls are clean, healthy, and safe, while treating them with respect and kindness. I’m sure that this would have been an anomaly for brothels of that era, but not one that sounds unreasonably believable, no matter how rare.

Now, just so you know, I’m actually having a hard time writing this review. You see, on the one hand, as expected, the writing here was just amazing. Smiley really knows how to use language to set up a scene, and create an atmosphere, which all evoke not only sights, but tastes and smells. I mean, I had these images in my mind of sepia tainted scenes that held throughout my reading. I could also feel mud sticking to my shoes when the weather was wet in the town. Not to mention the mixture of scents that I imagined were surrounding Eliza as she was seated in one eating establishment or another. Smiley’s prose is nothing short of magical, when it comes to that. However, on the other hand, this is hardly a story that will get your blood racing, even when the plot thickens (so to speak) and we find out “who done it.” Then again, as already mentioned, the portrait of Eliza that Smiley gives us makes the feel almost like a character driven novel, and not a plot driven one, which is usually the case with murder mystery novels.

So, how do I resolve this? Well, as far as the writing style is concerned, this would get a full 5/5 stars, if that was my only criteria. If I take in the pacing of this book, I’d have to give it only three. As for the character development, as much as I liked Eliza, I’m afraid I didn’t fall in love with her, and I also had some difficulty in picturing her face, and yet… well, more like four stars. All this averages out to a solid four stars out of five rating, and a warm recommendation to historical fiction fans (especially those who are looking for a non-world war novel that has only one timeline), as well as readers who are looking for strong female characters without any of the shackles of angsty romance stories.

Unfortunately this is going to be a DNF for me. I can’t get into the writing style and it all feels very choppy. I liked the idea of it but after 20% it’s just too slow and feels like it’s going nowhere. I wish I had better things to say.

I read once that Jane Smiley's goal as a writer was to never limit herself but to write in as many genres as she could. This didn't remind me of any of her other books (and I've read most of them), so I'd say she's succeeding. "A Dangerous Business" a mix of a mystery, a ghost story, and a feminist drama and it was a quick, interesting read.
The protagonist is Eliza, a gold-rush era woman living in Monterrey, California. Her husband dies, she becomes a prostitute to survive, and she's quite satisfied with her choice. I have to warn you that there are lots of descriptions of sexual acts in this book, but there are described in a matter-of-fact way, since Eliza is the narrator and she's simply describing her business.
Several prostitutes are murdered and it seemed that the "dangerous business" of the title is sex work but, as Eliza's employer Mrs. Parks tells her, "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." Eliza and her friend attempt to solve the murders because, (surprise, surprise) local law enforcement doesn't seem too interested.
This wasn't my favorite Jane Smiley book, but it definitely held my interest and the writing was often lovely.

This is the first book I read by Jane Smiley and won't surely be the last because I loved the style of writing and the storytelling.
It was love at first read, I loved these strong women who are on the edge, running away from abuse or finding a way to survive.
There's no moral judgement towards these women, they're well rounded and realistic. I loved the historical background and the solid mystery that kept me guessing.
This is one of the best book I read in 2022, a compelling and enthralling novel.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine