Dangerous Women

Starred review from August 21, 2023
De Castrique follows up 2022’s Secret Lives with a bewitching political thriller centered on 75-year-old ex-FBI agent Ethel Fiona Crestwater. On the eve of a Supreme Court decision with major implications for the lithium mining industry—which is all but certain to come down to a vote from Chief Justice Clarissa Baxter—a law clerk from the court is killed and another is rendered comatose by a bash on the head. The attacks draw the attention of D.C. police, the FBI, and Ethel, who runs a boardinghouse in her retirement but has never lost her taste for sleuthing. Employing the help of her tech-savvy, college-age cousin Jesse, Ethel—whose wealth of law enforcement connections, willingness to skirt the rules, and tendency to exploit her apparent frailty makes her a formidable foe—becomes determined to keep Baxter safe from harm. To do so, she and Jesse must navigate the nasty waters of D.C. politics and face off against a hell-bent hit man. De Castrique’s well-orchestrated plot employs multiple moving parts without leaving any loose ends, and Ethel is perfectly drawn, an endearing heroine who’s clever and capable without being preternaturally competent. Here’s hoping this badass grandma pokes her nose into more investigations soon.