I found the topic fascinating but struggled to feel pulled into the story.

Two women, prostitutes, are searching for someone who is killing women. I wanted Eliza and Jean to feel interesting and feel pulled into the mystery but I struggled to stay engaged. I was able to push aside the brothel visits and sex talk but I never found the connection between the Poe stories and the murders Eliza was investigating. It should have been a quick read but took me days to get through. I wish I'd loved it for the interesting history it presented.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Set in Monterey, California, during the Gold Rush of 1851, A Dangerous Business by Jane Smiley follows the story of Eliza Ripple, a young widow who finds herself working in a brothel after the death of her husband.

The book's strengths include its historical setting and strong female characters, which make it an engaging read for those interested in women's history and mystery novels. However, its weaknesses lie in the pacing and the somewhat predictable plot. Overall, A Dangerous Business offers a compelling glimpse into the lives of women during the Gold Rush, even if it does not fully deliver as a suspenseful mystery.

In conclusion, Jane Smiley's A Dangerous Business is a worthwhile read for those interested in historical fiction with a feminist twist. Still, it may not satisfy readers looking for a gripping mystery.

I really wanted to like this more than I did. Having read, and enjoyed, other Smiley books I felt secure in reading this and really expected to enjoy it. It had all the things that could have made it a favorite book of mine - historical, good characters, a quasi-mystery, and all by an author I like. Sigh... it didn't make the grade.

About all I got out of this book was... sex, food and murdered prostitutes. I kept waiting for something more, but it never materialized. While not a bad novel, it just did not stand at the level that I expected.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for allowing me to read and review this book.

I have enjoyed other works by Jane Smiley, but this one missed the mark. This historical mystery is set in the Wild West of Monterey in the 1850s. After her husband is killed, Eliza works as a prostitute to attain financial independence. When young prostitutes start to turn up dead, she and her friend Jean, look for clues to solve the murders. The historical setting is interesting, but the story is slow moving and repetitive.

A Dangerous Business is a book in the midst of an identity crisis. Eliza Ripple and her friend Jean are prostitutes in a rather lawless historical Monterey, California. At once a murder mystery, a bit of a feminist manifesto, and a historical period peace, A Dangerous Business seems to be doing too much and would probably have benefited from a little more focus. The main characters' obsession with Poe and their clumsy investigation of the murders, which is marked by a strange lack of urgency, was the weakest part of the narrative.

It succeeds more as a historical piece. 1850s Gold Rush-era Monterey comes to life in Smiley's hands, with the help of Eliza's narration and the stories of her various customers. Smiley handles Eliza's line of work gently and manages to make it interesting rather than lurid. With a little more investment in her two main characters, the lackluster mystery and its investigation would hardly have been needed.

The usual superb Jane Smiley novel with a Monterey background for our heroin who not only takes care of herself after leaving home but solves a murder. A great read that sits on my shelf next to Steinbeck.

Jane Smiley has become, over the years, one of my favorite novelists. Unlike many, she never seems to write the same book twice, and her tone, pace, and setting are always a joy to watch unfold.

A far cry from her Pulitzer Prize winning novel A Thousand Acres. This one is whimsical, silly and at times cringe-worthy. It's mid 1800's in Monterey CA and two prostitutes, Eliza and Jean. Stumble upon a dead girl while out on their leisurely stroll. Because they don't work during the day. They delve into Edgar Allen Poe detective novels, learning to be amateur sleuths. These characters were not believable which disappointed me. I like reading Smi,ey and will continue to do so but this one..... meh.

⭐️/5. A Dangerous Business by Jane Smiley. I struggled to finish this Nancy Drew-esque mystery set during the Gold Rush era. Eliza was married off to a bad fellow. When he gets shot dead in a saloon brawl, Eliza isn’t broken up. She turns to prostitution as a way to make ends meet. Suddenly, other working girls are turning up dead. Eliza and her friend Jean decide to solve this crime. They walk all over Monterey trying to figure out what happened. It seemed like all they did was walk. I had zero interest in the resolution of these crimes. Ugh. #bookstagram #reading #whatiread #bookgram #books #janesmiley #bookworm #netgalley #arc #libbyapp #goodreads

A Dangerous Business by Jane Smiley is an interesting look at prostitution and crime in Monterey in the 1800’s. The characters were likeable and sympathetic. The story starts simply, but quickly becomes intriguing. After a bit, there are too many questions and the reader has been captured. Jane Smiley has produced.a story that is seductively entrapping.

Coming into A Dangerous Business as a fan of Jane Smiley's 100-year family saga, I was curious how she would approach the topic of prostitution and how women had to do one of three things to survive that era - marry well and hope, pray, wish, and wave a magic wand that he was a decent person; become a teacher even if teaching or kids were not your strong suit; or turn to prostitution and figure out a way to make life work on your own terms.

I thought she did a great job humanizing the women in the novel and even the men who visited the women. I loved this book, loved the feminist aspect and the objective manner in which women's rights and lack thereof were dealt with. I think it was brave of Smiley to tackle the subject of feminism and use prostitution as the vehicle in which to deal with women's lack of rights in the 1800s. I also loved all of the Edgar Allen Poe references!

Yes, I absolutely recommend this one...unfortunately, I think it takes a special reader to actually read this one and not be shocked or mortified by the prostitution angle.

“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..."

Jane Smiley, you are my spirit animal and I am so happy to have been introduced to your writing in A Dangerous Business.

Some authors just know how to resonate with their audience. They know exactly what it is to keep us interested and they go with it. It’s a natural talent and one that can’t be taught. Smiley. is just that, an author that is well loved amongst readers because she knows exactly what it is that we want .
A Dangerous Business was WILD!!! I loved that it took place in the 50s and I felt as though I was able to live in a different era and experience the changes that were made over time.

The expectations of women then to now is just mind blowing .

The character development was on point, the mystery was engaging and unpredictable and the writing style was fluid. This book has every key element to be a bestseller.

Kudos, to Smiley, I can’t wait to see what’s next.

Teaser :

Monterey, 1851. Ever since her husband was killed in a bar fight, Eliza Ripple has been working in a brothel. It seems like a better life, at least at first. The madam, Mrs. Parks, is kind, the men are (relatively) well behaved, and Eliza has attained what few women have: financial security. But when the dead bodies of young women start appearing outside of town, a darkness descends that she can't resist confronting. Side by side with her friend Jean, and inspired by her reading, especially by Edgar Allan Poe’s detective Dupin, Eliza pieces together an array of clues to try to catch the killer, all the while juggling clients who begin to seem more and more suspicious.

Eliza and Jean are determined not just to survive, but to find their way in a lawless town on the fringes of the Wild West—a bewitching combination of beauty and danger—as what will become the Civil War looms on the horizon. As Mrs. Parks says, "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 ..."

A promising premise set in an interesting time and landscape that is crushingly boring, boring, boring. I guess there's a truth in reveling in the quotidian details of a woman's life in this way but GOD DAMN it makes for slow reading. I came here for a murder mystery, ma'am, and you're giving me how she hangs up a damp shawl after walking in the rain and, for real, what she eats every day for breakfast. Thank you, but no.

Average. This was sort of a mystery and sort of a book about women in California in the 1850s. I was interested enough in the plot to listen to the end (audiobook) but I'm not sure I would recommend it.

Jane Smiley never disappoints. I enjoyed this story, a little different for her, and look forward to her next one!

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

Adore Jane Smiley, and very much enjoyed this flashback to 1850s Cali and the ways in which women manoeuvred to make a living and scratch out an existence in a less than kind time for them. There's a wonderful friendship at the heart of this, and a bit of a mystery. It might not all wrap up at the end, but it's a fun, educational, thought-provoking ride.

Historical fiction/“mystery”. A quick read. Focused more on the business of prostitution with some convenient plot points,

*A big thank-you to Jane Smiley, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, and NetGalley for arc in exchange for my honest review.*
Set during the Gold Rush times in Monterey, the novel presents the position women had in those times and days through rather complicated lives of two women who are clever enough to realise how dangerous it is to be a female. This knowledge allows them to survive among men, which seems to be quite an achievement.
There is a mystery behind but I enjoyed the historical background most, together with descriptions of the place, which is where the Author resides.

A Dangerous Business is a Western/mystery from a woman's perspective. Eliza is a pretty interesting character, widowed by the husband who beat her and moved her to a gold rush town, she very matter of factly becomes a prostitute. She seems fine with this and not a victim. Then as women start disappearing, she and her friend, who are learning about crime solving through reading Poe, investigate the murders and become convinced of the guilt of various clients.