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Jul 17, 2018StoriedLife rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
The farther into this book you read, the more disappointing it becomes. Obviously, Egan researched extensively, but then she couldn’t resist the urge to throw in unnecessary information. At the same time, her characters have no more originality than a B noir film, and her plot is packed with as many unlikely adventures as a romance potboiler. (Really? A Houdini-like escape after a crime syndicate tosses someone chained to a concrete weight off a boat?) It’s not convincing as historical fiction, with Egan pointedly making her primary characters stand out as lone exemplars of more modern attitudes about race and sexual orientation. And where was the editor, who should absolutely have insisted on deleting passages like this: “I’ll sure miss Frisco,” Roger said. “So shall I,” Eddie said. “Although it turns out only sailors call it Frisco.” “San Francisco,” Roger said, laying down the words in a voice that hadn’t fully broken yet. “She’s a hell of a town.”