By Chris Hewitt, Star Tribune
Chris Bohjalian has a pattern. His recent thrillers revolve around glamorous, endangered women who may not be reliable but whose ability to make us laugh makes us like them regardless.
The writer of “The Flight Attendant” and “The Lioness,” stays true to form with “The Princess of Las Vegas,” whose adventure is as risky and unlikely as those of the heroines in Bohjalian’s past works. She's Crissy Dowling, who uses her resemblance to Diana Spencer in a Vegas cabaret act, singing British pop songs, sharing stories about royals, and avoiding the fact that Diana is, um, no longer alive.
A lot of improbable events occur in “Princess,” where every character harbors at least one major secret, just as significant as the flashy orb now dominating the Vegas strip: Crissy's sister Betsy is nearly identical and suddenly moves to Sin City with her unscrupulous lover. The mob seeks to take control of Crissy’s low-budget casino. Betsy has a recently adopted daughter who may not be who she appears to be. And Crissy’s former lovers include a senator who's in a tough re-election battle.
Bohjalian writes with energy and humor, and his portrayal of a run-down, past-its-prime casino feels authentic, so I was willing to accept all of the above. It also helps that Bohjalian grounds the improbabilities in something real: the dynamic between siblings who have always been rivals and who have found it easier to ignore each other than to mend their relationship after the death of their mother (for which Crissy blames Betsy).
This explains their chilly reunion, as narrated by Crissy:
“Apparently, the last year had not been kind to her — which felt right. Kill your mother and you should be cursed with sallow skin and early-onset gray hair. ‘You made it,’ I said. We embraced, and it was awkward, as if we had lost our muscle memory as siblings.”
There doesn’t seem to be much hope for the pair, especially when Crissy describes the “sadness and hurt that made us who we were.”
Similar to her predecessors in “Flight Attendant” and “Lioness,” Crissy makes frequent disastrous decisions that frustrate us, but, unlike those two, “Princess” sees Bohjalian attempting an interesting experiment that truly pays off: We’re not entirely sure if we’re meant to identify with Crissy.
As Crissy’s behavior, fueled by potent meds, becomes increasingly strange, Bohjalian hints that Betsy, who’s more practical despite the predicament she has fallen into, is the character who deserves our sympathies.
Bohjalian keeps us guessing until the end of “Princess,” at which point we’re uncertain if anyone will find much luck in the heart of this specific desert.
The Princess of Las Vegas
By: Chris Bohjalian
Publisher: Doubleday, 377 pages, $29
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