I love reading Chris Bohjalian's books. Each one is uniquely different.
The Princess of Las Vegas is about Crissy Dowling, who embodies Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales, in a Las Vegas act. Not only does she live as Diana in the act, she takes on her persona, and accent, in her life. She suffers from bulimia. She has an affair with a senator, and she works in a run-down casino, Buckingham Palace casino, which is the takeover target of a group of mobsters. So, when the owner is murdered, there is a lot of suspicion around his death.
Her sister, Betsy, a social worker, has adopted a teen daughter, Marisa, and heads to Vegas with a new boyfriend and the promise of making it rich in cryptocurrency. The sisters become involved in a high-stakes game of finance and murder.
Always an exciting read! ( )

[3.5] Having subsisted on a steady literary diet of weighty nonfiction books in previous weeks that included explorations of sociopathy, time management the neurological impacts of nature, I was overdue for some entertaining escapism. The Princess of Las Vegas fit the bill — a clever concoction of celebrity adoration, Las Vegas glitz and skullduggery that’s sprinkled with nuggets about the emerging cryptocurrency craze. Bohjalian introduces an eclectic mix of characters in a tale that is a bit predictable and incredulous in spots. What’s more, the ending was a bit of disappointment. It won’t be a book that stirs lasting memories, but it was a good choice for a breezy and enjoyable summer diversion. Devotees of the late Princess Di will especially enjoy this literary romp. ( )

Princess Diana impersonator in Las Vegas. Sister, who looks like her, is drawn into a murder plot. ( )

Too much discussion of cryptocurrency that went over my head and ruined the story line. Chris Bohjalian dwells on painting corruption in every corner of life, and sometimes the depressing episodes reek havoc with my dreams. In this story, we journey into the dark sewer of Las Vegas, and discover the crime, murder, and corruption that simmering within this glossy city. This book and the CNN series on Las Vegas expose not a glorious showcase, but a current Sodom and Gomorrah. Will Las Vegas fall into ruin? The story centers on Crissy Dowling and her Vegas show as Princess Dianna. Crissy’s sister, Betsy, and niece, Marisa, enter the picture and complicate issues. Dead men pile up. What is happening? Will Crissy, Betsy, and Marisa become the next victims? Bohjalian loves to involve death, murder, and corruption into his stories, and sometimes this is too much. The novel did not end soon enough for me. ( )

The Princess of Las Vegas, Chris Bohjalian, author; Sadkia Maarleveld, Grace Experience, narrators
Crissy Dowling is a star in Las Vegas, the gambling mecca of Nevada. It is the end of the summer of 2022, the pandemic is over, life is returning to normal. Early in the novel, the plot is hinted at when the reader is informed that “someone has been taken”, but that is pretty much all the foreshadowing they get. The reader learns that Crissy impersonates Diana Spencer, once the wife of Prince Charles, who is now King Charles. His infidelity with Camilla Parker Bowles brought heartache and tragedy to the royal family almost three decades ago. Princess Di suffered from bulimia and Crissy identifies with her because she does, as well.
Crissy is a permanent performer at the Buckingham Palace Casino where she literally becomes the Princess of Wales for her audience, an audience that is always sold out. Although it is not a first-rate hotel like the Bellagio or the Venetian, and it is not on the main strip, it holds its own; she is a major draw, portraying the princess with such perfection that people believe, temporarily, that she really is Princess Di. She has been doing it for so long, that she almost believes that is who she is, and she cannot even lose the British accent or princess persona when she is offstage.
Partially estranged from her sister Betsy, whom she believes murdered her mother, she is nonplussed when she learns that Betsy is moving to Las Vegas with her boyfriend Frankie and her adopted daughter Marisa. Which sister is at fault for their faulty relationship? Are both misinterpreting each other’s behavior? Is one more malicious? Is one more unhinged? Their childhood was competitive.
Formerly a social worker, Betsy now has a job with a company involved with crypto currency, called Futurium. It seems that it is possibly a front for laundering money since that seems to be an obvious reason to have a digital wallet in Las Vegas. In addition, there are fingerprints of the Mastaba, a crime syndicate, all over the company. It is owned by Tony Lombardo. His grandfather started the crime syndicate Mastaba, and he is now the custodian of that mob. They seem to have infiltrated many areas of business, the government and law enforcement. There are suspicions that they use strong arm methods to achieve their goals but have been unable to prove anything.
Wound tightly, Crissy gets through most of her days with a cocktail of various tranquilizers and alcohol. When the owner of Futurium, Tony Lombardo, asks Crissy to perform on his private island, assuming the arrogance of a princess, she puts him off. Tony has the reputation of a man who does not like getting rebuffed or being refused anything that he wants. Has Crissy crossed a line that will jeopardize her show or worse?
All of a sudden, a rash of supposed suicides occur in Las Vegas. The first suicide is Richie Morley one of the owners of the Casino. Then his brother Artie hangs himself. What will now happen to the Buckingham Palace? When her current heartthrob the Russian Yevgeny Orlov falls off a cliff while visiting her there, she becomes very suspicious and discovers they are all connected in some way to Futurium, the company employing her sister. She finds out that Futurium is interested in purchasing the Buckingham Palace Casino and remaking it into a more world class venue. Could the Mastaba be behind these “suicides”? She wonders if Betsy is in danger. Crissy and her sister, not even two years apart, look so much alike that they are often mistaken for twins. When her sister begins to show up in places in her stead, but without admitting she is Betsy, she wonders if Betsy is in danger? Is she being framed? Has Betsy unwittingly involved Crissy in a murder that might have mob written all over it? Is Crissy the one being framed?
The story plays out in the alternate voices of Crissy, Betsy and Marissa. There are a lot of characters, but my favorite character is the precocious Marisa, Crissy’s tech genius niece. A teenager, she is sometimes naïve, but more often, she is far more aware and mature than many of the adults. There are times when it is impossible not to suspend disbelief, because the naïveté of the sisters seems more appropriate for the previous century than this one. Although the women were raised in a rural area, they were literally not born yesterday. Both are in their thirties.
This is not Bohjalian’s finest hour, but the narrative does keep the reader engaged enough to keep on reading in order to find out how it will end. It is a bit too long, a bit too contrived and a bit too like a fairy tale, but perhaps that was the intent of the author. Princess Di had the epitome of the fairy tale life. She married her prince. Unfortunately, did not truly want to marry her, and he dishonored her. ( )