A fan of Chris Bohjalian’s oddly eclectic novels, I picked up The Princess of Las Vegas at the Charlotte airport on my way to St. Croix. So I read it to the backdrop of waves breaking and sand in my toes. Set in Sin City Las Vegas, it is ostensibly about a performer who “does” Princess Diana in a casino act, and her sister who moves to Last Vegas from Bohjalian’s home state Vermont with her newly-adopted tween daughter. The umbrella over this family drama is a tale of cryptocurrency and bitcoin, of mobsters and murder, of greed and immorality. It is more a thriller than a family drama, after all, and as such, is not my favorite cup of tea. I was anxious to reach the end, as propulsive as the storyline might be. I was more engaged with the characters and their emotional plights, the sisters’ shared tragic history, and the daughter, Marissa’s, whip-smacking intelligence and energy who does her part to unravel the mystery and save the day. Fun, too, are the details surrounding Crissy’s faultless impersonation of Princess Diana. If you like thrillers and are interested in learning about cryptocurrency, then this one might be for you. Otherwise, I’d pass it by.