Review for Netgalley Jane Smiley –A Dangerous Business
MANY thanks to Netgalley for the Advance copy of this heartfelt offering from Jane Smiley. I typically NEVER request women's fiction, or historical fiction, however the although initially the Pulitzer prize winning author ‘s name initially caught my eye, and the description made the novel sound uniquely fascinating, and I wasn't disappointed. So far, this book this was my most enjoyable read of the year (and the year is almost over and I read 5 or more books a week). Reveiving this eARC from Netgalley was as treasured as receiving a cherished Christmas gift; 🎁 I lack the words to describe what a wonderful experience reading this book was. Ms. Smiley’s writing is magical (I have already ordered a copy of every other novel by her I could find) it was as if I not only enjoyed, but participated in a fun romp of a movie. The novel’s main character, Eliza blooms through a friendship with a new and very dear friend… As Eliza learns to appreciate Edgar Allan Poe (by revisiting the author’s works through her new friend Jean’s viewpoint) at the same time as she finds a mystery that endangers her life, and Eliza and Jean teach themselves detective skills with trial and error along the way. What a wonderful and creative story! My favorite part is that although Eliza had a tough life (in modern society we would find even ONE of the obstacles she faced insurmountable) Eliza doesn’t complain, she just does what she needs to do and move forward, a daunting prospect for a widow who doesn’t want to once again serve as nothing other than someone to feed a man (husband) service him and clean his house. In the 1800s women had precious few choices of course – refreshing in retrospect to realize that the world is basically wide open to us now. Thank you Netgalley, and more importantly thank you Ms. Smiley, I think about the characters in this book all the time, and I imagine this is the first of many historical and/or women’s history novels I will consume in the future (as an Iowa I am particularly looking forward to A Thousand Acres and the new follow-up to that Pulitzer prize winning time). Bless you – this novel was a bit like Thelma and Louise, blended with a pinch of The World According to Garp, with a Gunsmoke backdrop, ENJOY!

Eliza came to Monterey CA in 1851 as a naive young bride of an unkind man. When he is killed in a bar fight, Eliza turns to prostitution to support herself.

Eliza finds her work tolerable, the matron on the bordello is kind, her neighbors are friendly and she finds a best friend, Jean.

Eliza and Jean explore Monterey, with freedom and independence. Until they stumble upon the corpse of a murdered young woman, who was also a prostitute.

When it appears that no one is investigating the murder, the friends decide to find the killer.

I liked how Smiley had Jean and Eliza’s love of the stories of Edgar Allen Poe to guide them in their gathering of clues and analyzing men’s behavior.

But I found Eliza very simple. She was a mild and unflappable character. I think Smiley kept Eliza consistent with an average woman of the 1850s. But that’s the point. She was just meh. Her inner dialogue, her daily activities her nightly occupation were bland and mild.

The climactic scene was also bland and unfolded in an uninspiring manner.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.
I read the book and also listened to this audiobook and enjoyed both.
Narrator did a good job and I always enjoy books by Jane Smiley.

So much exposition -- it was too hard to get invested in this, so I didn't finish it.



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A Dangerous Business by Jane Smiley
Narrated by Therese Plummer (14 hrs 15 min)
Women's Fiction, Historical Fiction
Audiobook available December 6th.

"From the beloved Pulitzer Prize-winning and best-selling author of A Thousand Acres: a mystery set in 1850s Gold Rush California, as two young prostitutes—best friends Eliza and Jean—follow a trail of missing girls."

Murder, independence, and friendship are the themes of A Dangerous Business. The plot of this historical fiction is well developed. There is an interesting western setting with easy-to-follow characters. For sensitive readers, Eliza's character is very open about her customers' needs. While it is never extremely graphic, sexual acts are mentioned.

Synopsis:
After her husband was killed in a bar shortly after they arrived in California, Eliza has been working in Mrs. Parks' brothel in Monterey, 1851. Jean, a woman who works in a different brothel for women, becomes a friend of hers.

Young women suddenly disappear. A body is discovered by Jean and Eliza, sending them on a quest to find the killer. Their investigation is based on popular editions of Edgar Allan Poe's writings. Are the women going to be able to solve the crimes or will they lose their lives?

Thank you NetGalley and RB Media for sharing this audiobook with me. Your kindness is appreciated.

#ADangerousBusiness

"Between you and me, being a woman is a dangerous business, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Oh, those men would talk about how they fight Indians and wrestle cattle and climb the masts and look for justice, and indeed they do, but they do it for themselves, if you ask me. And what they want of women, they want for themselves, too."

This is the middle of the 19 century and being a woman is a dangerous business (and still is), after Eliza's husband died, she works in a dangerous business, how possibly one night men could be worse than her husband, she even can saving money and treated well.

This a little dreamy historical fiction in a small town when the first girls disappeared, no one thought a thing of it, then the second one, then the next, and still no one cared.

This is where Eliza and her friend Jean (who works in a less dangerous business for women) planned to catch a suspect!

"Gossiping was like opening a door and leaving it unlocked, you never knew what might happen..."

A short historical mystery set in the USA with dangerous women!

Thanks to RB Media via NetGalley for ARC, Therese Plummer did a great job as a narrator, I really enjoyed the audio!
Pub Date: 6 Dec 2022

This is going to sound awful, but the blurb is more interesting than the entire book. It was very bland. Mystery? Barely. Danger? None. The whole brothel thing was so whitewashed, it was ridiculous. Lovely, clean, gentlemen, kind madam, and Eliza loved her job. What?!

The writing was tedious, too. I swear, the word "said" was used at least a dozen times per page.

Therese Plummer narrates the audiobook. I normally enjoy her narrations, but it felt weird. I think it was more the book than her though.

I received an advanced audio copy.

First off, I’d like to take a minute to sing Therese Plummer’s praises. She is the 👸 of audiobook narration. While I liked this book overall, listening to Therese’s voice made the experience better.
I enjoy Jane Smiley’s books and this one walked that line between cozy mystery and tragedy with its subject matter. Being a woman is a “dangerous business” and being an amateur murder detective makes it even more dangerous!

*Thanks to RB Media and NetGalley for this advance listener copy for review.

This was an incredibly quick listen! A Dangerous Business is a mystery set in 1850s Gold Rush California as two young prostitutes try to figure out who was behind the disappearance of some girls. Smiley did not shy away from graphic language here so I was glad my kids were not in the car with me when I listened to this. While I enjoyed the characters, and the mystery, everything felt a bit easy. The narration by Therese Plummer was smooth and I enjoyed her tone, which almost sounded like a transatlantic accent.

Thank you RB Media, Recorded Books for the ALC of this one.