Scan barcode
plcbaker's review against another edition
I really wanted to like this but just could not get into it. Neither the characters nor the situation was interesting enough to keep me reading.
chuskeyreads's review against another edition
1.0
The premise of this book seemed promising, but the delivery was less than stellar. The whole thing just seemed ridiculous! I kept reading thinking that it would get better (and to see if I was right about the killer - I was), but I should've just stopped when I had the chance. Ugh!
candacesiegle_greedyreader's review against another edition
4.0
"Being a woman is a dangerous business, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise," says brothel owner Mrs. Parks. But for Eliza Ripple, being a widow seems to be less dangerous than being married, and working in a brothel has given her the financial security she never imagined. Eliza arrives in Monterey, California in 1851 with her husband who's killed in a bar fight shortly thereafter, freeing the young woman from being his servant and punching bag. There are few women in Monterey and Eliza joins Mrs.Parks' brothel, continuing to live at her boarding house and coming by in the evenings. Mrs' Parks runs a tight ship and her henchman Carlos keep the girls safe, and Eliza discovers that the likes being a prostitite. For the first time in her life she is able to make her own choices. She meets interesting people and the sex is nicer than with her dead husband. She has all day to read and explore the town that she is starting to love.
Mrs. Parks discourages the girls from becoming friends in order to keep gossip to a minimum, but Eliza makes friends with Jean, who works at a brothel for women. Jean introduces Elisa to the works of Poe, especially his early detective stories. When they find a woman dead on the beach, they apply the deduction techniques of Poe's Auguste Dupin to see if they can discover her identity and what happened to her.
Eliza is a breath of fresh air. From a suffocating religious family in Kalamazoo, she has no plans of returning and instead has decided to see what kind of life she can make on her own. Monterey is a small port and women are few, which gives them a level of appreciation they might not have otherwise. She can be curious and ask questions about where sailors have been and learn about the world. If a man is rough or falls in love with her, Mrs. Parks and Carlos will send them. away.
Where the novel falters is in the denouement, which did not convince me. There didn't seem to be enough evidence for Eliza and Jane to move on this particular suspect. It's one of those "wait . . .what??" moments. It's enough to knock off a star, but the pleasure in "A Dangerous Business" is in Jane Smiley's fluid writing and concentration on character, time, and place. There is a hint of what's to come as Eliza informs herself about slave and free states. It seems so distant, but by the end of the novel it is is front and center.
Thanks to Knopf and Netgalley for early reading of this novel.
Mrs. Parks discourages the girls from becoming friends in order to keep gossip to a minimum, but Eliza makes friends with Jean, who works at a brothel for women. Jean introduces Elisa to the works of Poe, especially his early detective stories. When they find a woman dead on the beach, they apply the deduction techniques of Poe's Auguste Dupin to see if they can discover her identity and what happened to her.
Eliza is a breath of fresh air. From a suffocating religious family in Kalamazoo, she has no plans of returning and instead has decided to see what kind of life she can make on her own. Monterey is a small port and women are few, which gives them a level of appreciation they might not have otherwise. She can be curious and ask questions about where sailors have been and learn about the world. If a man is rough or falls in love with her, Mrs. Parks and Carlos will send them. away.
Where the novel falters is in the denouement, which did not convince me. There didn't seem to be enough evidence for Eliza and Jane to move on this particular suspect. It's one of those "wait . . .what??" moments. It's enough to knock off a star, but the pleasure in "A Dangerous Business" is in Jane Smiley's fluid writing and concentration on character, time, and place. There is a hint of what's to come as Eliza informs herself about slave and free states. It seems so distant, but by the end of the novel it is is front and center.
Thanks to Knopf and Netgalley for early reading of this novel.
bookbabebloom's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
3.5
I love two female protagonists who are sex workers with an instinct to sleuth, but there wasn’t enough action moving the plot forward for me
milosimus's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
djr100's review against another edition
3.0
What a slog. Took me a week to read this….just didn’t want to pick it up to read. The characters were ok but what an uninspiring plot. Next….
caseyree's review against another edition
2.0
I really didn't enjoy this book at all, though I read it very quickly. I kept waiting for it to get better. The writing contains a lot of "and then we went here and there, and talked about this and that" which is boring as hell. I can definitely see how much research into the environment was done in writing this book, and feel like that's what ruined it for me, making it read as a dedication to Monterey, CA rather than an actual story. The characters have potential but fall short. The directions go in every direction, probably just to cover as much of the actual map of the area possible in 1851 and the ending is weird and disappointing. I feel like Jane Smiley put too much emphasis on the history of Monterey than the actual story and that it kind of felt like I was reading a rough draft or a boring short story. I don't know if it's just her writing style and definitely plan to find out with one of her other books.
There was a lot of potential here that just got wasted on geography I don't care about but that's just me. Maybe if it was a story based in Philadelphia I would have been more interested since I would love reading about the changed city streets and mapping it in my head, but oh well. Maybe it's a great read for those that hail from Monterey.
There was a lot of potential here that just got wasted on geography I don't care about but that's just me. Maybe if it was a story based in Philadelphia I would have been more interested since I would love reading about the changed city streets and mapping it in my head, but oh well. Maybe it's a great read for those that hail from Monterey.
shirleytupperfreeman's review against another edition
I read the advanced reader copy - not the kindle edition... but whatever. Anyway - I enjoyed this feminist/western/murder mystery combo. It's 1851 and Eliza, and her friend Jean, find themselves in Monterey, CA working to support themselves. The most lucrative jobs they can find involve working for madams. They both happen to work for kind bosses who look after their welfare but they also notice that some of their colleagues are going missing/being murdered. Eliza and Jean, after reading Poe, are determined to solve the murders. Smiley's writing is unusually dispassionate but I enjoyed the story. It was especially fun that Eliza is from Kalamazoo and there are many references to our fair city throughout the story. (Coming in December 2022)
hayleybeale's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars rounded up.
This historical novel, set in Gold Rush California, takes an interestingly feminist viewpoint but, for me, didn’t quite work as well as I wanted it to.
Eliza Cargill had moved to Monterey from Kalamazoo with her new, and abusive, husband. Fortunately he’s soon killed in a bar brawl and she reinvents herself as Eliza Ripple and goes to work for the kindly but slightly enigmatic Mrs Parks, at a local brothel. When local prostitutes start disappearing and turning up dead, Eliza and her new friend Jean (who works at a brothel for women) are inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s detective Dupin to investigate.
The mystery is only a small part of the novel. Much of it is concerned with Eliza’s day to day life. She lives in a boarding house, eats at local restaurants, and enjoys her independence. Her work is well-paid, and after her wretched marriage, she finds her clients to be mostly kind and pleasant. She is thoroughly, and often entertainingly, matter of fact about their interactions.
The author does a fine job of creating a believable 1850’s Monterey. She evokes the lawlessness of the time along with its flipside of freedom as Eliza roams around the streets and rides out into the mountains with Jean, a lesbian who delights as playacting as different classes of men and women. (I followed along on Google maps - a map from the time would have been a nice inclusion). One of the topics of conversation is always where people have come from, but their motives for coming to California are not quite so freely discussed which makes everyone a suspect.
While the writing is elegant and precise and the female characters are vivid, the mystery itself is a bit lame. There is little law enforcement so the women are forced to make up their own investigative techniques which seems to consist of Eliza suspecting all her clients and Jean following them around. The denouement was pretty abrupt and the resolution was not particularly satisfying. I understand that this gives a structure to the novel, but I enjoyed the quotidian sections much more.
Thanks to Knopf and Netgalley for the digital review copy.
This historical novel, set in Gold Rush California, takes an interestingly feminist viewpoint but, for me, didn’t quite work as well as I wanted it to.
Eliza Cargill had moved to Monterey from Kalamazoo with her new, and abusive, husband. Fortunately he’s soon killed in a bar brawl and she reinvents herself as Eliza Ripple and goes to work for the kindly but slightly enigmatic Mrs Parks, at a local brothel. When local prostitutes start disappearing and turning up dead, Eliza and her new friend Jean (who works at a brothel for women) are inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s detective Dupin to investigate.
The mystery is only a small part of the novel. Much of it is concerned with Eliza’s day to day life. She lives in a boarding house, eats at local restaurants, and enjoys her independence. Her work is well-paid, and after her wretched marriage, she finds her clients to be mostly kind and pleasant. She is thoroughly, and often entertainingly, matter of fact about their interactions.
The author does a fine job of creating a believable 1850’s Monterey. She evokes the lawlessness of the time along with its flipside of freedom as Eliza roams around the streets and rides out into the mountains with Jean, a lesbian who delights as playacting as different classes of men and women. (I followed along on Google maps - a map from the time would have been a nice inclusion). One of the topics of conversation is always where people have come from, but their motives for coming to California are not quite so freely discussed which makes everyone a suspect.
While the writing is elegant and precise and the female characters are vivid, the mystery itself is a bit lame. There is little law enforcement so the women are forced to make up their own investigative techniques which seems to consist of Eliza suspecting all her clients and Jean following them around. The denouement was pretty abrupt and the resolution was not particularly satisfying. I understand that this gives a structure to the novel, but I enjoyed the quotidian sections much more.
Thanks to Knopf and Netgalley for the digital review copy.