Out of the Easy

Book 56 of my 2016 Reading Challenge
read from July 3 - 9

Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys

Summary (via the book jacket)
It's 1950 and New Orleans' French Quarter simmers with secrets. Known among locals as the daughter of a brothel prostitute, Josie Moraine wants more out of life than the Big Easy has to offer. She devises a plan to get out, but a mysterious death leaves Josie tangled in an investigation that will challenge her allegiance to her mother, her conscience, and Willie Woodley, the brusque madam on Conti Street. Josie is caught between the dream of an elite college and a quest for the truth in a clandestine underworld.

My Opinion
This just wasn't my type of read.  Josie put herself in situations that she struggled to get out of by lying but she had no need to lie because she'd done nothing wrong.  She was so quick thinking in some parts, like getting the college recommendation, but so naive in others, like not knowing what was going on with Patrick.  Plus, the thread for the whole book was tenuous.  Why would Josie be so obsessed with what happened to Mr. Hearne?

If I had read this book before Between Shades of Gray or Salt to the Sea, I would've wondered what all the hype was about this author because this one was just 'meh'.  Thankfully I didn't because I'm glad I didn't miss the opportunity to read both of those gems.

A Few Quotes from the Book
""That's a good hustle," I told him.
 "We both got a little hustle, don't we?" He pulled on his jacket. "But I like to think we got more heart.""