Read an excerpt from Jane Smiley's "A Dangerous Business"

Happy release day to author Jane Smiley, who released the historical mystery A Dangerous Business today.

The book follows two young prostitutes' attempts to survive in the lawless, wild world of 1850s California.

You can read an excerpt from A Dangerous Business at Literary Hub, courtesy of the author and publisher.

Smiley is best known for A Thousand Acres, which received the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and a movie deal.