Real Easy

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What to expect

Three Women meets Tana French in a breathtaking crime novel that asks what it means to be a woman in a dangerous world. From New York Times bestselling author Marie Rutkoski comes a mystery with characters you will never forget.

'Very possibly the best crime fiction book since Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects ...this book is a winner, whichever way you turn it' Neel Mukherjee

It's 1999, and Samantha has danced for years at the Lovely Lady strip club.

She's not used to taking anyone under her wing - after all, between her disapproving boyfriend and his daughter, who may as well be her own child, she has enough to worry about. But when Samantha overrides her better judgment to drive a new dancer home, they are run off the road. The police arrive at the scene of the accident - but find only one body.

Georgia, another dancer, is drawn into the investigation as she tries to assist Holly, a detective with a complicated story of her own. As the point of view shifts from police officers and detectives to club patrons, the women circle around a list of suspects, all the while grappling with their own understanding of loss and love.

As they get closer to the truth they must each confront a fundamental question:

How do women live their lives knowing that men can hurt them?

A compulsive, unflinching, and unexpectedly hopeful thriller set in a midwestern strip club, told in the spirit of Gillian Flynn and Tana French.

(P) 2022 Headline Publishing Group Ltd

Critics Review

Very possibly the best crime fiction book since Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects, Real Easy is turn-your-phone-off-and-cancel-all-your-meetings gripping. But it is also so much more than that: every character is instantly alive and recognisable the moment they appear on the page; the writing is sustainedly beautiful and intelligent, at times lyrical, at others, sassy and crackling; and the psychological underpinnings are unerring, resonant, utterly convincing. This book is a winner, whichever way you turn it
Neel Mukherjee
This book blew me away. Real Easy is an electric thrill ride that takes a hard look at the high price women pay for men's desire. Rutkoski renders her characters with exquisite compassion and detail, even as the book accelerates toward an unforgettable conclusion. Gritty, glittery, and pulsing with life
Sara Sligar
With a fully-realized world, a compelling mystery, fascinating characters, and beautiful prose, Marie Rutkoski's Real Easy will capture readers and stay in their minds forever. It is absolutely unputdownable.
Jill Santopolo
Bold, compelling, brutal and brilliant. On the surface Real Easy is the kind of gritty, gripping mystery I just adore, yet it's also full of heart and hope and the most endearing characters.
Chris Whitaker
Rutkoski is that rare gem: a writer whose prose is as splendid as her plotting. The result is a taut thriller with the potency of a poem, a propulsive story at once brutal, elegant, and impossible to put down.
V. E. Schwab
This is what crime fiction should be. Authentic in tone, fearless in execution. Masterfully crafted, irresistibly readable. An instant classic.
Dom Nolan
With gorgeous prose, well-drawn characters, and crackling suspense, Real Easy is an unforgettable thriller that stuck with me long after the last page. Beneath the drum-tight plot is a brilliant examination of femininity, safety, and the roles women play. I couldn't put it down
Andrea Bartz
Authentic, gritty and moving with taut, controlled prose - a very impressive debut
HARRIET TYCE
A stunner. A feminist crime novel about a strip club and the women who work there. I couldn't put it down
Julie Cohen
Multiple narrators including dancers, their relatives, detectives, club patrons and the killer himself offer a kaleidoscopic view of a morally precarious world where male desire is a whisker away from male violence. With a cast of fully realised characters - the cops have troubles of their own, and life at the club, with its overlay of sleazy glamour, is balanced by domestic vignettes and quotidian concerns - this is a familiar story told in a way that packs a real emotional punch.
Guardian
More interested in psychology than in thrills, but always holds your gaze
The Times
A serial killer novel with a difference, avoiding sensationalism and focusing on the vulnerability of the victims
Sunday Times
A bold, female-centric thriller
Crime Monthly
A literary crime novel in the Gillian Flynn mould, with real heart and soul
Daily Mail

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