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 Doubleday Publishing, and RB Media Recorded Books for the early review copies!