Real Easy

A mystery, resembling a spinning top of colour and character, Marie Rutkoski’s adult debut is at times flinch-worthy, and yet, propels you forward to figure out the “whodunit.” 

Set in the Lucky Lady, a strip club in a small city in Illinois, we meet Samantha/Ruby, a popular dancer – a woman who faces her own demons inside and outside of the club. Each chapter flows from one character to the next, revealing their identities and unveiling the plot. From the police detectives to the dancers, Rutkoski shows the similarities of each lifestyle – shiftwork, protocols, addictions, and “aliases,” humanizing the dancers and their profession, rather than condemning them as lewd or mere objects.

In the club, the colours appear muted – even down to the glitter – but outside the club,  pops of colour following the trail of clues…”whose black paint holds the sunset like the way dark hair can, with hints of red.”