The Princess of Las Vegas by Chris Bohjalian ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

A Princess Diana impersonator and her estranged sister find themselves drawn into a dangerous game of money and murder in this twisting tale of organized crime, cryptocurrency, and family secrets on the Las Vegas strip.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

March 2024; Doubleday; 978-0385547581
audio, ebook, print (400 pages); women's fiction

Chris Bohjalian has been a must-read author for me.  He's written 23 books and most of them were five-star reviews from me.  Unfortunately, his new book isn't as good as some of his previous books.  It's still a great read but unlikable characters make the book difficult to read in parts.

Chrissy and Becky are sisters and had been very close when they were young.  Years later family secrets cooled their relationship.  They still talked on the phone but not very often plus they were on different paths in their lives.

Chrissy lives in Las Vegas and performs in her own show at one of the lesser casinos playing Princess Diana.

She loved her life in Las Vegas.  She spends most of her day in her private cabana at the pool and she uses pills and alcohol to help her get through her days.  When one of the owners of the casino is killed, she begins to worry about what will happen to her show if someone buys the casino.  That ended up being the least of her worries.  

Betsy is a social worker in Vermont.  She is serious about life and a total opposite to carefree Chrissy.  She has recently adopted a 13-year-old girl and they are working on getting to know each other.  When her boyfriend asks her to move to Las Vegas with him to work in the cryptocurrency business she decides that she's burnt out from social work and it's time to try a different path.  Chrissy was very unhappy with her sister's decision and really didn't want her living so close.  

Both women are trying to live their lives as best they can.  Chrissy loves her Diana tribute and Betsy is excited to move to Vegas and start over.  They both end up in a lot of trouble surrounded by gangsters and con men and in extreme danger.

What I liked about this book -- you can't go wrong with anything about Princess Diana.  Plus it was great to spend time in Las Vegas with both of the sisters.

What I didn't like about this book -- there was a lot of time spent on cryptocurrency, a subject that has absolutely no interest to me.  I didn't really like either of the sisters so that made it difficult to be pulled into their stories.  That said, I think that this author writes women characters better than any male writers who are currently publishing.

Overall, I'm glad that I read the book.  It's not one of Chris Bohjalian's best books but it's WAY better than a lot of books currently being published.  

The Princess is Fake.  The murders are real

Buy The Princess of Las Vegas at Amazon

Susan Roberts grew up in Michigan but loves the laid-back life at her home in the Piedmont area of North Carolina where she is two hours from the beach to the east and the mountains in the west.  She reads almost anything but her favorite genres are Southern Fiction and Historical Fiction.   

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