As soon as I saw Jane Smiley’s book in Netgalley, I knew I wanted to read it. A historical novel, a Western mixed with some mystery? Even better! I know that whatever setting or genre she chooses, Jane Smiley writes engaging stories and characters I’ll want to follow.

This is not the first book by Jane Smiley I read. Decades ago I read A thousand acres, I tried to read the Greenlanders but didn’t finish it. I think I read Moo but I don’t remember it, and this blog has a post about Duplicate Keys. I’ve not followed everything she wrote because at one point she was too interested in horses for my taste, but she’s definitely a writer I keep on my radar.

In this novel there are also horses, and beautiful coastal landscapes, but her interest is more women: strong and independent women making choices for themselves far from the social conventions.

We’re in 1851 in Monterey, California and the story is told by Eliza Ripple, a young widow who works as a prostitute in a brothel. This is no tear-jerking sad tale of misery and exploitation. Eliza is rather satisfied of her job, her life is better and safer than when she was the abused wife of a no-good adventurer. When he died in a bar fight, she didn’t consider returning to her religious parents, who had preferred seen her married to this man than with an Irish Catholic she loved. Now, under the rule and protection of the madam, Eliza provides a service to lonely men, sailors, ranchers and has no qualms about it.

Eliza is a very likeable character, something that some readers might feel a bit weird given her sex worker status. She does not feel ashamed or victimized. She’s curious and plucky. In her free time she likes reading detective novels like those of Edgar Poe’s Dupin mysteries, but she’s also very matter of fact. The sex scenes in the book are neither heaven nor hell, it’s just part of her life.

I can’t say that the book is perfect, especially when it comes to the mystery itself. But I really enjoyed the atmosphere of Gold Rush Monterey, an unusual take on that period (with allusions to the coming Secession war) and a far cry from the clichés of the Western prostitute. And it makes me want to revisit other books by Jane Smiley.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley. I received a free copy of this book for review consideration.

A Dangerous Business is a very well written historical fiction, of what it is like for women during the gold rush in 1850's California. Eliza has been married off by her parents and her husband takes her to Monterey. When he is murdered in a bar room brawl, Eliza becomes a prostitute to make ends meet. With her best friend Jean, by her side, they try to find out why young women, mainly prostitutes are going missing. They start to watch some of the patrons visiting the brothel, as well as other suspicious characters that live near or in town.
It is a Dangerous Business is a fitting title for this story. Being a woman and a prostitute, anything could happen to you, especially in that time period. Even the law wasn't interested in finding out what happened to these women.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for allowing me to read this bo9k. I give it a 3 out of 5.

I enjoyed this book so much more than I expected to! Yes, the women work in tough jobs. I don’t want to romanticize what women who work that industry can go through. But these women, out of a lack of choices and a desperate need to take care of themselves, take control of their lives as best they can. I liked reading about Monterey over more than a century ago. I admired their grit, and their bravery in trying to solve a mystery of who is killing women sex workers when no one else seems to even care.
I would love to see these characters solving another crime together. Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book as an ARC.

This is the most literary Western I've read. Smiley takes some very dangerous business indeed- that of being a woman, or a "working" woman specifically. I love that the profession of our female lead and her best friend is integral to the story, but not the most interesting thing about them. I loved the setting of this, as the natural world is very much a part of the story. And I loved the slowly dawning intelligence of both the heroine and her friend as they apply Poe and detective novels to the very real mystery of the murders of local women. I thought the plot was slow and suspenseful without ever really being scary- this is Poe through a woman's lens for sure. I think it's actually quite brilliantly written, for all that it is so generally calm and introspective (and lots of descriptions of breakfasts and people). Four stars, though I think I will be contemplating this (and it's side stories of race and class) for some time.

"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 beautifully and atmospherically evokes Gold Rush California in Monterey in the 1850s with her rich and detailed descriptions that make you feel as if you are right there in this piece of historical fiction, set in a time of change in America, the position of women, touching on slavery, the underground railway, the coming Civil War hanging over the storytelling. Eliza Ripple had married a man chosen for her by her parents, only to find herself in an unhappy abusive marriage. So when she becomes a widow with the death of her husband in a bar brawl, she is not that upset, but she doesn't want to return to her religious family, which means that she must find the means to survive in a place and time where there are barely any choices for women.

She finds herself working in a brothel run by a kind and compassionate Mrs Parks, protected by Carlos, with most men being well behaved and considerate. After her marriage, life at the brothel seems infinitely better to Eliza, she enjoys her 'work' as she finds the much sought after financial security. There is a sense of ordinariness painted in the sexually explicit narrative surrounding the life of being a prostitute in a brothel. Eliza learns about the world through her clientele and becomes best friends with Jean, a lesbian, who sees ghosts and works in the same business but catering to the needs of women. However, darkness descends in Monterey when young women begin to go missing, there is a killer on loose, but the authorities are not interested in solving the murders, Eliza and Jean embark on their own investigation, driven both by justice and survival, they could become targets themselves.

Eliza and Jean are inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s detective Dupin who solves the brutal murder of 2 women in The Murders in the Rue Morgue, with Eliza beginning to piece together pieces of the puzzle. This is wonderfully entertaining historical fiction that I enjoyed although I think it works better at providing a great sense and beauty of the location and the characters in this turbulent period of American history , the mystery elements whilst interesting, feel less strong, particularly with the weaknesses in the resolution. A novel which I think many readers will enjoy. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

🔹 My take: 2.75/5

TW: Prostitution, Domestic Abuse

🔸The setting is in 1850s, Monterey, California. Eliza Ripple is married off at tender age of 18, against her wishes. Her husband who abuses her frequently is murdered in a bar brawl and she is compelled to work in a brothel for her survival. Eliza has a close friend Jean who is also a prostitute and she is the only one in whom Eliza confides. One day while taking a detour Eliza & Jean notice a body at the edge of the river. Several young women go missing in quick succession after this incident. Eliza gets nervous and starts suspecting her clients as few of them show killer traits. Both Eliza & Jean decide to resolve the mystery in this lawless town and work on finding the murderer.

💖 The town, the sea, the horses, the characters are so beautifully described that I actually smelt the sea and the hot pancakes when they were mentioned. Character development is also done well. I especially liked Mrs. Parks who was portrayed as a kind and considerate brothel owner unlike what we see / read in various movies / books that brothel owners are vicious.
💖 The intrigue factor was very much there which made me turn pages without taking breaks.

💔 What I did not enjoy much in the book is the mystery resolution. The thrill kept on building until 90% of the book and then everything was explained and closure done in last 10%. This was a real dampener since I wanted more insight of the killer’s mind and actions.
💔 There was a lot of mention of ghosts and spirits and I still do not understand how was it connected with the overall story so feel that novel was unnecessarily stretched.

Of all that I have heard, Jane Smiley is quite a revered author but this book fell a bit flat for me. Definitely interested in trying her other books.

Thank you @netgalley @knopfdoubleday for eARC in exchange of honest review.

Eliza was never happy married to the husband picked out for her by her parents, so when he was killed in a bar fight, she was not particularly upset. But Monterey, California in 1851 had few options for a woman, and she was a realist, so she marched down to a nearby brothel and signed up, figuring it couldn't be any worse than her abusive husband. It wasn't. And Monterey was the Wild West, so women were scarce and bad women treated better because there were few good ones to look down on them. So she was able to save money, and explore the area, rented a horse to ride, and made a best friend, Jean, who worked in a ladies' brothel. Together they read Edgar Allan Poe and when girls began to go missing and some were found murdered, they tried to think like Poe's Detective Dupin to determine who the killer might be. Because those murdered and missing girls? They were just like them. They could be next.
Eliza and Jean are quite lively and engaging. There is nothing dry in this historical fiction. The story moves quickly along from start to finish, all seen from a young, bold, intelligent girl's eyes. It's also a West we don't see often, early Spanish coastal California, with quite a mix of races, languages, professions and skills. Throw in a touch of romance and a murder mystery... what's not to like? Highly recommended. Loved every page.
My copy was an eARC given by NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Jane Smiley penning a murder mystery? Yes, please. Best known for A THOUSAND ACRES, Pulitzer winner from 1992, Ms. Smiley has long mined the truths of cultivating a life on harsh land. There's farms and mountains and horses in her stories. She does love her horses. Reading her novels is like exploding your mind through a set of thrilling, interconnected short stories that eventually coalesce into a developed plot. A DANGEROUS BUSINESS is true to form. Set in 1851, it tells the story of Eliza Ripple, a brothel worker since her husband was killed in a bar fight. All is well until dead women start turning up outside of town. Inspired by her love of Edgar Allen Poe's detective tales, Eliza scuttles her friend, Jean, to help her solve the serial murders. A delicious concept handled expertly by Jane Smiley. Highly recommended.

Based in the Gold Rush California of the 1850s, when fortune seekers, businessmen and any human who heard the word “gold” came looking for treasure, this book talks about two women with different pasts and desires, becoming friends. Eliza leaves an abusive relationship and joins the world’s oldest profession. Working in a brothel made her feel safer than she ever was in her marriage; a marker of an abusive marriage. She befriends Jean, a lesbian prostitute working in another institution and become best friends. They both enjoy the works of Edgar Allan Poe and end up using his detective character Dupin’s tricks to solve a burning mystery. Women are getting killed and there is no investigation done properly by the authorities. The two end up using their own skills to solve the mystery.

The premise has a lot of promise and potential. But the story lacked the depth as expected. The historical elements of the book was beyond perfect. But the subplots, several repeated occurrences and graphical depictions of several situations felt over the edge and lacked the purpose. This is more of a great historical fiction than a mystery.

An very interesting take on the historical gold rush day in Monterey, California.
It's 1851 and Eliza has found work at brothel after the timely death of her dislikeable husband. She makes a fast friend of Jean and the two attempt to solve the continues disappearances of women working in brothels.

The story if more a tale then a thriller or mystery, but Smiley keeps our interest with nimble prose and descriptions of everyday life in the town and its inhabitants. The story is almost too simple in some ways, and I found the time in the brothel to be a bit too simplified. I was waiting for some of the plot points to reemerge as well (ghosts, religion, family).

Smiley still includes plenty of real history in the talks of a pending civil war, the underground railroad, women's suffrage and the simple danger of being a woman. As Eliza's boss says , " between you and me, being a woman is a dangerous business . . ." If you are a Smiley fan, historical novel seeker just want to transport yourself to Cali during the gold rush, A Dangerous Business is for you.
#Knopf #KnopfDoubleday #ADangerouBusiness #JaneSmiley

Eliza, at 18, is married off by her Michigan parents to an older man who is a terrible husband. He immediately moves them to California to try his luck during the Gold Rush. Happily for Eliza, he is soon killed in a barfight. She needs to make a living and turns to working in a brothel. With a new friend, Jean, she realizes that women are being murdered in the area. Inspired by Edgar Alan Poe's detective, Dupin, Eliza and Jean investigate the murders. This is an engaging historical murder mystery that I look forward to recommending.

3.5 stars
The story revolves around the friendship of two prostitutes in mid-1800 Monterey, CA. I really enjoyed the main characters Eliza and Jean. They work at different brothels with very different clientele. Just following them around town was a treat. On one of their excursions, they find the body of a missing woman. They take it upon themselves to find the killer after the local sheriff doesn't seem to have much interest in tracking down the murderer.
I really enjoyed the historical elements of this book. It was interesting to read about life in Monterey in the mid-1800s. The friendship between the two main characters and the cast of characters the duo run into in their work and in their search for the killer was for me the most enjoyable aspect of the book. The murder-sleuthing part of the book dragged a bit and was a little anti-climactic in the end.

The whole book tells the tale of Eliza Ripple a very young widow finding her way in Monterey, California in the 1850s. In her case, prostitution.

Whilst the story revolves around some murders of girls in the same line of work, I enjoyed the book for the atmosphere Ms Smiley creates. There are elements of the Wild West with muddy streets, drab houses (some adobe), limited food choices and lawlessness.

Eliza and her friend Jean set about trying to solve the murders, and the culprit is eventually traced. But no more spoilers.

Yes, the story is a little contrived but the setting is superb.

Thanks to Net Galley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for the chance to read and review.

I love historical fiction, I love the Monterey Bay area of CA, I (usually) love Jane Smiley's fiction. This one, not so much. Set in the 1850s, Smiley tells the story of a young woman whose abusive husband is killed and, rather than return to a home she was happy to leave, she becomes one of the girls at a local brothel. Along with another "girl" (read that - prostitute) who is also a fan of Poe's fiction, she sets out to solve the mystery of why young women who are turning up dead and no one seems to care.

This has all the makings of a great mystery, but honestly I was just bored. Although the historical pieces are accurately described and portrayed, the mystery is just meh! It's true that brothels were numerous in the gold rush era of the California coast, and it's equally true that the profession was one of the few in which young women had some protection and autonomy. Eliza and Jean (her friend/companion) are well drawn, and their friendship/relationship is sometimes funny and always believable. But Smiley gets a bit too detailed about Eliza's customers and their likes & dislikes -- a little of that goes a long way, and it's not the least bit "sexy". Her descriptions of the countryside and environment around Monterey are sometimes beautiful, but often a bit too detailed and drawn out. Although the suspense surrounding the mystery builds slowly to a strong climax, by the time the killer was revealed, I was just bored and didn't really care. Not a terrible book, definitely not one of Smiley's best though. Just a shrug from me.

This story was a bit outside of my normal genre of books I prefer to read, and this is the first time I had read this author though she has been around for quite some time and has won the Pulitzer previously. In the 1850's Eliza was married off by her parents at a young age to a man who was a decade older than her. Eliza was more interested in a fellow closer to her age but her parents did not like him, largely because he was Scottish. Eliza's husband takes her off to Monterey CA, a world away from Kalamazoo MI where she had lived. Not long after they arrive Eliza's husband is killed in a bar fight, leaving her alone, with not much choice she becomes a prostitute at a local brothel servicing a couple of clients a night and finding herself financially self sufficient in a short period of time. Women start to show up murdered outside of Monterey, and Eliza and her new friend Jean (who also works as a prostitute but services women rather than men), start to casually investigate. They both share a like for Edgar Allan Poe's books and in particular his detective Dupin and use some of the descriptions on how he investigates in their own. There is little law enforcement in Monterey and what is there has no interest in resolving the deaths of the women. The mystery portion of this book consisted mostly of the women either following men they thought could be the killer (which was almost all of them) or trying to question friends/relatives of those who were killed. A good story put together very well, though I did tire of the descriptions of Eliza servicing her clients after a while. Thank you to #Netgalley and #Knopf for the ARC.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!!

When I was in high school (back in 2006) - I did a year long reading project reading multiple Jane Smiley books. I found myself interested in her work and thoroughly enjoying her books. I was excited to see the opportunity to read a Jane Smiley book.

This book follows a woman in the gold rush whose husband dies. She works at a brothel for men and makes friends with another woman who works at a brothel for women - I thought there was going to be romance between these two but unfortunately this story SLOWWWLYYY unfolds into a type of historical fiction murder mystery about the women going missing in the town.

There's a lot of details - if you are someone who enjoys historical fiction then I definitely recommend checking out this story.

It moved a bit too slow for me, but at least I finished it.

Jane Smiley's writing is always a pleasure to read. This historical mystery is a different kind of Smiley novel for me but nonetheless, an enjoyable book. Eliza and her friend, Jean, bring the 1850s to life and provide a setting for what northern California will become.

Thank you, NetGalley, and the publisher for this ARC.

I haven't read Jane Smiley in a long time and I was rather disappointed in this new title. The premise is that Eliza, who has been left a widow at the age of 20 (not a worry her husband was a beast) in Monterey California in 1851. A kindly brothel owner offers her a spot and she revels in her own money. An unknown person is murdering prostitute and she and her friend Jean set out to solve this crime that no law enforcement officer is interested in as they are only whores. I thought the plot was contrived, the characters flat and the setting not believable.

I really thought I'd love this book based on the premise, but it kind of fell flat to me. The descriptions of California 170 years ago were vivid and beautiful, but the story dragged on and was slow for me.

It is the early 1850s and the town of Monterey, California is beginning to see a steady influx of people seeking their fortune in myriad ways, whether through prospecting, ranching, or maritime activities. We meet Eliza Ripple, a young woman who has escaped her abusive marriage through the untimely death of her husband a few months earlier. Estranged from her overbearing parents back in Michigan, Eliza turns to prostitution as a means of survival. Despite the odds against it, she seems to thrive in that oldest of professions and makes some new friends along the way, including Jean, who works in a brothel catering to a female clientele and has the ability to see ghosts. When several of their industry colleagues are murdered, Eliza and Jean take it upon themselves to find the killer before they also become victims. How the friends go about solving the crimes constitutes the dramatic tension in the story.

In A Dangerous Business, author Jane Smiley offers the reader a book that can be read in several ways: it can be viewed as historical fiction that recreates a time and place long in the past, it is a tender portrait of a few years in the life a woman coming to age under some trying circumstances, and it is a murder mystery told in the gentlest of manners. While the descriptions of the northern California coast circa 170 years ago were compelling, it is the mystery angle in the novel that is particularly engaging. In a clever sub-plot, Eliza, an avid reader herself, discovers the work of Edgar Allan Poe and becomes obsessed with the sleuthing abilities of C. A. Dupin, literature’s original detective, in the story “Murders in the Rue Morgue”, which involves figuring out who committed the gruesome killing of two women. So, Smiley gives us the “meta” experience of reading a story in which the main characters are informed by the actions of a character in another story that they themselves are reading!

Overall, I found this book to be interesting and enjoyable, but not without its flaws. The tale itself is nicely structured and it is certainly well written for the most part. Although the reader gets to know Eliza and Jean quite well throughout the brief story, many of the supporting characters—particularly the men who become Eliza’s clients—are underdeveloped and serve mainly as props to move the plot along. Also, the supernatural storyline involving spectral sightings was set up at some length, but then dropped altogether before the ending; this may have been intended as another nod toward the gothic themes in Poe’s work, but the payoff here never arrived. Finally, the resolution of the mystery is something of an anticlimax for its lack of surprise, thrills, or chills. Nevertheless, A Dangerous Business is a pleasant diversion and a book that I can happily recommend.