Kirkus Reviews: Undercover Debutante by Charlotte Laws

Following is a book review by Kirkus...

Laws’ memoir focuses on the wild and varied situations she finds herself in while seeking her biological parents.

Undercover Debutante by Charlotte Laws

As the adopted child of an upper-class family in Atlanta, Laws (Devil in the Basement, 2018, etc.) had always felt like a “B-flat while [her] peers…had been C-sharps.” Laws’ demanding father dismissed everything that wasn’t money, and her distant mother’s suicide attempt left her in a vegetative state. The author’s quirky worldview and dark sense of humor were always at odds with her rigid, depressing childhood environment. Fleeing west as soon as she could, she moved from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. She worked as a bodyguard, a backup singer for an Elvis imitator, a maid, and a live-in caretaker in a mobile home. She encountered some of the strangest characters the West Coast had to offer along the way and found herself in a few genuinely harrowing situations that she recounts in riveting detail. In leveraging her greatest skill as a party crasher, Laws got a handle on the sprawling metropolis of LA and found pieces to the puzzle of her past. When she eventually met her biological father and heard the story of her birth, she mused to herself that, “Even as a zygote, I was on track to be a TV movie.” Questions of family and heritage come into play with each new profession and zany escapade as Laws writes of single motherhood and struggling to make it in the city of Angels. Like David Sedaris’ wry personal essays, Laws’ chapters feel like self-contained short stories that mine any given situation for personal confessions and comical observations. She does tend to veer off course, and some editing of the more tangential episodes would have made for a tighter exploration of the pitch-black comedy that is Laws’ family history. But even when the memoir strays from the primary storyline into tales of sex dungeons, glitzy celebrity parties, or dating service mishaps, Laws punctuates every moment with an extraordinary sense of comedic timing and a sharp eye for twisted details.

Turns bleak family secrets and struggles into one hilarious, witty joy ride after another.

See review on Kirkus website.

US Review of Books Recommends Undercover Debutante by Charlotte Laws

Following is a review by the US Review of Books...

In her third book, Laws chronicles her early life and search for her biological parents. Her memoir is filled with the kind of stories that are too outrageous to be fiction. Though she was adopted by a wealthy Southern family and grew up in Atlanta society, she made her way to Las Vegas as a young adult with only $500 and the determination to prove herself. Taking on a variety of jobs—including maid, actress, and private investigator, to name a few—she eventually continued her education in Southern California where she later became involved in politics and animal rights advocacy. Always at the core of her being was the question: Who are my parents?

Charlotte Laws

Laws is one of those writers who makes readers feel as if they are sitting across from her as she relates fascinating story after fascinating story. She has undoubtedly led an unusual life complete with encounters with the famous and infamous. Yet, she tells each story as if she is looking at her life from afar, not letting whatever emotional baggage she may be hauling interfere with its telling. Perhaps the ability comes from growing up as an adoptee in a life which is yours by chance rather than biology. Perhaps it comes from the many scenarios adopted children create around questions of their birth parents. Perhaps Laws is just a great storyteller who needs look no further than her own life for substance. Whatever it is, she has it. Her memoir is an entertaining and enlightening romp through her struggle to succeed. Readers will love the ride.

This book is RECOMMENDED. 

Link to the review on US Review of Books website.