01/22/2024

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. (Mar.)

Bohjalian brings a propulsive vitality and a sly humor to a surprisingly moving tale....The mayhem includes murder, bribery and blackmail. The bodies pile up. But underneath it lurks a poignant story of two sisters with a tragic shared history—and a clever teenager who knows her way around a computer and might well save the day.”
—Sarah Lyall, The New York Times

“Crissy Dowling, who narrates much of Chris Bohjalian’s The Princess of Las Vegas…lives in semiregal isolation at her residency suite and poolside cabana, drifting through days 'in a diazepam haze' and nights in 'an Adderall buzz…' Crissy’s estranged lookalike sister, Betsy, reappears in her life....Have Crissy and Betsy become dangerously entangled with a criminal and deadly organization? The Princess of Las Vegas packs a lot...into its roll-the-dice plot....[An] engaging and imaginative thriller.”
—Tom Nolan, The Wall Street Journal

"Bohjalian’s latest is a fusion of contemporary malaise and eager nostalgia—not unlike Sin City itself.”
—Lauren Puckett-Pope, Elle

"Chris Bohjalian has a type. His recent thrillers are about glamorous, imperiled women who may not be trustworthy but whose senses of humor makes us like them anyway…[He] writes with verve and humor, and his depiction of a seedy, past-its prime casino feels just right…Keeps us guessing until the end.”
—Chris Hewitt, Minneapolis Star-Tribune

"Riveting... Same old same old isn't something you get from Chris Bohjalian. No ruts for this author... Bohjalian nails the seedy atmosphere of Las Vegas off the strip.” 
—Gail Pennington, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“A narrative of twists and turns focusing on family secrets.” 
—Doni Wilson, Houston Chronicle

"Subsisting on Adderall and Valium, a slim, beautiful Princess Diana impersonator makes a good living in Vegas until the day her estranged sister shows up, setting in motion a thriller that involves organized crime, unscrupulous cryptocurrency bros and shady politicians." 
—New York Times

"This literary thriller...is about many things, including cryptocurrency, organized crime and family secrets....Bohjalian's books [are] juicy but literary at the same time. They’re so smart but feel like candy.”
—WBEZ Chicago, "A Nerdette Pick for 2024"

“A twisting double helix of a mystery…The Princess of Las Vegas is two stories. One is a willies-inducing murder mystery…the other is about the folly of keeping secrets and holding grudges. Both are tight, captivating tales that balance and support each other as they unfold.”
— Jordan Adams, Seven Days

“A wonderful book....I absolutely could not put it down.”
—Anne Lamott, New York Times best-selling author of Bird by Bird

“The perfect balance of sophisticated characterization and wild, rollicking plot."
—CrimeReads

“Bohjalian excels at creating flawed and pained women, with histories that are often shocking and always revelatory. Betsy and Crissy are in the tradition of some of his best female protagonists…  Bohjalian always delivers a winner. The Princess of Las Vegas is exactly that.”
—Roberta O’Hara, Bookreporter

"A thrilling symphony of royal impersonators, teenage hackers and run-down casinos with multiple mysteries at its core. . . Bohjalian is no stranger to quirky folks in increasingly twisted situations. . . [and in Crissy and Betsy he] has created two distinctively fascinating narrators. . . The Princess of Las Vegas will leave the reader with both a yearning for Sin city excitement and a deep sigh of relief at being exactly where they are.”
—BookPage, starred

“Entertaining…The untimely deaths keep coming…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…in Bohjalian’s latest lively romp.”
—Kirkus

“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. . . Bohjalian offers a full deck of irresistible elements in this novel of endangered Vegas royalty.” 
—Carol Haggas, Booklist

"[A] well-calibrated satire of cryptocurrency culture. . .[and] a blazing, Tarantino-esque climax.”
—Publishers Weekly

"Crissy makes a living as a Princess Diana impersonator in Las Vegas, a glamorous one-woman act that masks the more unsavory aspects of her life. But when her boss at the Buckingham Palace Casino is murdered, Crissy finds herself in very real danger. Appealing both to readers obsessed with the British royals and to fans of mysteries and thrillers."
—BookBub

“Bohjalian continues to crank out stand-alone fiction that is undefinable, often crosses various genres, and is always clever and surprising....The Princess of Las Vegas satisfies on so many levels and shows once again that Bohjalian is a writer worth following no matter what he produces.”
—Ray Palen, Bookreporter

"For fans of estranged sisters, obsession, and organized crime! Crissy Dowling is living a strange and downward spiraling life: she has a one-woman show in Las Vegas playing Diana Spencer. While the fans may adore her, her addiction and life-blurring identity aren’t the healthiest. It’s only about to get worse when one of the owners of the casino is murdered, her estranged sister shows up with a boyfriend and teenage kid, her boyfriend—a separated-from-his-wife Senator— goes back to his wife, and she’s asked by the other casino owner to do a dangerous favor."
—Jamie Canaves, BookRiot

12/01/2023

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

Sounding similar and yet unique--as sisters often do--Saskia Maarleveld and Grace Experience use a tag-team approach to tell this wild tale of showbiz, double-dealing, cryptocurrency, family secrets, murder, and big dreams gone wrong. Maarleveld brings an urbane resilience to older sister Crissy, who impersonates the iconic "Lady Di" Spencer in an off-the-Strip Las Vegas cabaret. Experience creates a natural tone for younger sister Betsy, who's asked by her boyfriend to impersonate her sister impersonating Princess Di. The connecting narrative and some of the audiobook's best lines are spoken by Betsy's adopted daughter, Marisa. Experience perfectly captures the snark and vulnerability of the 13-year-old teen, who senses danger and craziness around every corner. A fun pop-culture thriller. B.P. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine

2023-12-16
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.