The Princess of Las Vegas

October 1, 2023

In the latest from the No. 1 New York Times best-selling Bohjalian, Crissy Dowling is The Princess of Las Vegas, nightly presenting her musical cabaret about the late Diana Spencer at a third-rate casino until its owner is murdered, her sister arrives in town, and organized crime waltzes down the aisle with family secrets. Prepub Alert.

Copyright 2023 Library Journal

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2023

Crissy Dowling lives and works at a second-rate casino in Las Vegas, performing in a cabaret show as a Princess Diana impersonator. She has recently ended an affair with a married senator and spends her days lounging poolside, popping pills, and researching the late princess. Her obsession with Diana has paid off, as she performs nightly to sold-out crowds and standing ovations. But Crissy's life is thrown off-balance when her estranged sister, Betsy, announces that she's moving to Las Vegas with her recently adopted tween daughter. Betsy plans to work at her boyfriend Frankie's cryptocurrency firm, but Frankie has not been completely honest with Betsy about the full extent of his business. Soon the sisters find themselves enmeshed in the world of organized crime. As people connected to the Dowling sisters begin dying under mysterious circumstances, they have to overcome their traumatic pasts and strained relationship in order to survive. VERDICT While this novel doesn't quite deliver much suspense as might be expected, Crissy and Betsy are interesting enough to keep readers engaged. Bohjalian (The Lioness) has written numerous best-sellers, so purchase accordingly to meet demand.--Anitra Gates

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2023
While the real princess of Wales was part of a family whose treatment of her was perceived as criminal, Bohjalian's Vegas lounge act, Crissy, a Lady Di impersonator, is entangled with actual crime families. His latest literary thriller, following The Lioness (2022), hits numerous touchstones of contemporary Americana: cryptocurrency, political subterfuge, celebrity worship, and interfamily rivalry. When the owners of the casino where Crissy's Diana tribute act has been a staple die within days of each other, the narrative of back-to-back suicides rings false. Crissy's suddenly uncertain world is further rocked when her look-alike estranged sister, Betsy, abruptly moves to Vegas with her recently adopted teenage daughter, Marisa. The relocation comes courtesy of Betsy's new boyfriend, Frankie, a wannabe crypto king whose mobbed-up business partners aim to take over the casino. Crissy's new romance with an enigmatic Russian businessman may jeopardize these plans, putting Crissy, Betsy, and Marisa clearly in their crosshairs. Bohjalian's lightning-speed page-turner delivers a dishy, twisty tale of suspense tempered with intriguing insights into the nature of ego, fame, and family.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Book-group favorite Bohjalian offers a full deck of irresistible elements in this novel of endangered Vegas royalty.

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January 22, 2024
Bestseller Bohjalian (The Lioness) mismatches plot and tone in this unwieldy thriller about lowlifes chasing high stakes in Las Vegas. The action centers on estranged sisters Crissy and Betsy Dowling, who are dead ringers for one another and for Princess Diana—a circumstance that launches Crissy’s career as the star of a musical about the late Lady Di at the tatty, off-the-strip Buckingham Palace Casino. Despite Crissy’s troubles—including bulimia, romantic turmoil, and pill popping—she feels fairly sanguine about her situation until a co-owner of the casino dies under suspicious circumstances. Then Betsy moves to town with her slimy new cryptocurrency exec boyfriend, Frankie, and a precocious 12-year-old foster daughter. Things spiral quickly as Frankie’s associates fast-track a scheme to turn the Buckingham into an all-crypto casino/money-laundering operation that hinges on the clueless Betsy’s resemblance to her sister. Before long, the plan goes from madcap to murderous, and Bohjalian slips in some well-calibrated satire of cryptocurrency culture. He’s less sure-footed, however, when it comes to the novel’s tone, which is curiously buttoned-up for a subject so conducive to bold treatment. Despite a blazing, Tarantino-esque climax, Bohjalian’s fans are likely to be disappointed. Agent: Deborah Schneider, Gelfman Schneider.

Starred review from January 15, 2024
A Princess Diana impersonator in Las Vegas and her estranged look-alike sister are caught in the middle of a murderous scheme to take over a casino. Crissy Dowling not only looks and sounds like Diana but has pored over every detail of her life and death for her long-running musical tribute at the Buckingham Palace Casino. Her life is thrown into turmoil when her younger sister, Betsy, a social worker, moves to Vegas from Vermont with her shady boyfriend, Frankie Limback, a mover with the cryptocurrency outfit Futurium, and adopted 13-year-old daughter, Marisa. The sisters have been on bad terms since the death of their mother, which Crissy blames on Betsy. Their stepfather, who abused Crissy as a child, has died by suicide. The untimely deaths keep coming with the supposed suicides (read: murders) of the two brothers who operate Buckingham Palace, which Frankie envisions becoming the first cryptocurrency casino. Exposed to his gun-carrying associates, Betsy wants to go back to Vermont. But Frankie and his men, exploiting her remarkable resemblance to Crissy, force her to impersonate her sister in a scheme to sully the reelection campaign of a married senator with whom Crissy had an affair--and pave the way for an ultraright congresswoman in their corner to take his place. Such plot elements can get forced (or, in the case of Crissy increasingly "becoming" Diana offstage, prematurely dropped). But the sisters' dueling narratives (and brief first-person commentaries by the sharp Marisa) make for entertaining "she said, she said" moments. And Bohjalian is very good at capturing both the dark underside of Las Vegas and the weird surface on which fake Arethas, Sinatras, and Michael Jacksons cavort. Diana goes Vegas, sort of, in Bohjalian's latest lively romp.

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