The Princess of Las Vegas

The Princess of Las Vegas by Chris Bohjalian 400 pages

 

There is nothing more exciting than getting my hands on the latest Chris Bohjalian novel.  I love to sink down into my favorite chair and enter another compelling and entertaining world that this master storyteller creates. In this outing, “The Princess is fake, but the murders are real.”

 

The main character, Crissy Dowling, is a sensation on the Las Vegas stage. In a town full of impersonators, Crissy stands out as a Princess Diana look-alike, which draws British royals fans from, all over the world. However, it’s not “The Strip,” but the seedy portion of the strip where the casinos are down on their luck, looking rundown and out of date. But the tickets to shows are cheaper, so that’s some consolation.

 

By day, Crissy lounges in her private cabana, enjoys an Adderall and Valium cocktail, eats until her heart’s content, then purges so as not to gain weight.

 

Crissy’s life is the same, day after day. That is until Betsy, her estranged sister who could be her twin, blows into town with a newly adopted daughter and a rich boyfriend. Betsy has barely made her presence known when then bodies start to pile up.

 

First, it’s the two co-owners of the Buckingham Palace Casino where Crissy pretends to be a long-dead princess. Then things start to twist and turn. The mob (What’s a Las Vegas tale without the mob?) is trying to bring cryptocurrency to Vegas, but it is not without its price tags. Sometimes I felt as if I was in a James Bond novel.

 

A lot of the action takes place around cryptocurrency that I admit I don’t understand. Therefore, The Princess of Las Vegas receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

Now comes the hard part, waiting until March 2025 when Bohjalian’s next novel is due to be released. It sounds more my cup of tea: historical fiction set during the American Civil War.

 

 

 

Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder

Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder (Book 1 in the series) by T. A. Willberg 336 pages

London 1958. The city is still trying to pick up the pieces shattered during World War II. Far below the city streets are a series of secret tunnels and passages, shifting doors and hallways, gadgets of all kinds and the home of Miss Brickett’s Investigations & Inquiries. A group of researchers, spies, agents that take on the cases that Scotland Yard cannot solve.

As the story opens, Michelle White is on duty, monitoring the letter boxes. All over London are secret receiver boxes that take letters (tips) from the streets down a six-mile pneumatic system, to land in Miss Brickett’s Filing Department, where they are read and either passed on or filed away. This night, April 11, Michelle received a letter addressed to her with only “a name, a time a place and one simple revelation.” She decides to investigate, grabbing her belongings and heading upstairs, toward the library and the locked room gate. Once inside, Michelle is murdered in a decidedly gory manner. Her body is discovered in a locked room, a la an Agatha Christie murder mystery.

Enter Marion Lane, a resourceful young woman, eager to rise through the ranks. She and her best friend, Bill, are apprentices, spending part of each day in various departments to learn what a successful Inquirer needs to know. I felt like I was on the set of “Get Smart” or a James Bond movie (without the coolness).

Michelle’s murder seems to just fade away until the last third of the novel, but all the efforts Marion and Bill have been putting forth are to solve the mystery. It’s convoluted and not very interesting. Well I will admit that the aluminum (I think) snake had cameras in its eyes and could detect movement was kinda cool in a creepy sort of way.

This is supposed to be the first book in a new series, but I’m done.  The story was interesting enough to keep me reading, but it was a slow read.  Therefore, Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder receives 3 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

Things in Jars

Things in Jars: A Novel by Jess Kidd     400 pages

Bridie (Bridget) Devine is a corncob pipe smoking Irish female known for her skills at locating people and things.   Having grown up in a life she prefers to forget Bridie was prized for her surgical skills at the age of 7 and her scientific mind that kept her from being squeamish.   Even though she meets a fellow Irshman in a cemetery who happens to be transparent she isn't afraid of him and they actually become friends.  Bridie is brought in on a case of a missing child that is rumored to be monstrously deformed and may have been taken by rabble hoping to sell her to a high society collector of oddities for a huge price.    The story is a good one and Jess Kidd is an excellent writer who draws you in from page one to the end.   I recommend this book to everyone from Middle School on up.

 - Shirley J.

The Red Lotus

 The Red Lotus by Chris Bohjalian   400 pages

He writes! He scores!  Author Chris Bohjalian hits another one out of the park!

In his twenty-second novel, Bohjalian writes of deadly pathogens that seem to mirror today’s daily headlines. If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear that he had a crystal ball that told him about the Coronavirus. It takes too long to research, write and publish a book that is somewhat related to the pandemic that has its grip on the world.

Anyway, in this taut thriller, Bohjalian takes us to Vietnam. Alexis and her new boyfriend, Austin Harper, are on a bicycle tour of the country.  Austin takes off alone one day near the end of the tour, supposedly in search of where his uncle was killed and his dad injured in to pay his respects. Alexis, an emergency room in New York City, begins to panic after several hours have passed since he was to return.

Other than the touring company and the people who have been riding alongside Alexis and Austin, no one is that concerned….at first. As the hours creep by, Alexis gets more frantic and begins to search. The police are not helpful and the Consulate doesn’t seem to have time….neither do Austin’s parents, who don’t return Alexis’ calls.

While Alexis is searching, Bohjalian turns the narrator’s attention to Austin, giving readers some insight as to what is happening with him. 

While searching, Alexis finds Austin’s energy gel packs lying on the roadside. It seems these little, innocuous packets---the size of a fast-food ketchup packet---contain a deadly pathogen that makes the Coronavirus seem like a bout of hay fever.

I didn’t always get the science behind the pathogens, but thankfully, Bohjalian provides only what is necessary to the story.  Other who get it, will appreciate the second-layer of depth he delves into.  But that didn’t stop me from loving this novel.

And now the sad part returns---waiting on the next Bohjalian novel.  Normally I would give a book I liked this much six stars, but due to the science, “The Red Lotus” receives 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

 

Echoes of Edisto

Echoes of Edisto by C. Hope Clark    246 pages

Before I start talking about the Edisto mysteries, I have to comment that I love the first trilogy author C. Hope Clark penned, the Carolina Slade mysteries. They were excellent. One of the things that I love about Clark’s books is that they can be read in any order. There may be a reference here and there to another story, but it does not interfere with the plot at hand.

And that brings me to Echoes of Edisto where “murder came in with the tide.” It’s the third book in the series. Not sure if there will be any more, but after I go back and read Books 1 and 2, I sure hope so. I know I keep hoping there will be another Carolina Slade mystery (hint, hint Ms. Clark.)

The story opens with Police Chief Callie Jean Morgan debating about going off the wagon and having to deal with a diva celebrity visiting the island. That gives way to a 10-50 call and Callie rushes to the scene.

Unfortunately, the outcome of the car-in-the-water is given away on the book jacket. It takes away from the tension of the event. But Clark pulled me back in with the next scene and the story takes off from there.

Callie must deal with the death of her officer, the almost-death of her neighbor, her burgeoning romance with one of her officers, the mother, island politics, and the fight to stay on the wagon. I was shocked that Callie would take a drink as she did several times throughout the book’s 246 pages. It was confusing, at first, to determine the relationship between her mom and dad and her neighbor’s Sarah ad Ben.

The climax is harrowing…and shocking…which makes for a great read. I found myself gasping at the turn of events and the secrets that are uncovered. I would LOVE to tell you more, but that’s as far as I can go.

I give Echoes of Edisto 4 out of 5 stars.