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Die a Little
School teacher Lora King finds her quiet suburban life disrupted when her brother Bill, a junior investigator with the District Attorney's office, meets a woman by chance and quickly marries her. His new wife is Alice Steele, a beautiful and charming Hollywood wardrobe assistant, and although everyone else is entranced by her, Lora becomes suspicious of the inconsistencies in the stories from Alice's past.
Intrigued, Lora decides to do some investigating of her own and it's not long before she's sucked into Hollywood's seedy underbelly, where she uncovers a shadowy world of drugs, prostitution and murder—a world to which Alice is undeniably linked. And the deeper Lora digs to uncover Alice's secrets, the more her own life begins to resemble Alice's sinister past—and present.
Intrigued, Lora decides to do some investigating of her own and it's not long before she's sucked into Hollywood's seedy underbelly, where she uncovers a shadowy world of drugs, prostitution and murder—a world to which Alice is undeniably linked. And the deeper Lora digs to uncover Alice's secrets, the more her own life begins to resemble Alice's sinister past—and present.
241 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published February 8, 2005
73 people are currently reading
5751 people want to read
About the author
Megan Abbott
62 books6,327 followersMegan Abbott is the Edgar®-winning author of the novels Die a Little, Queenpin, The Song Is You, Bury Me Deep, The End of Everything, Dare Me, The Fever, You Will Know Me and Give Me Your Hand.
Abbott is co-showrunner, writer and executive producer of DARE ME, the TV show adapated from her novel. She was also a staff writer on HBO's THE DEUCE. Her writing has also appeared in the New York Times, the Guardian, Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times Magazine, The Believer and the Los Angeles Review of Books.
Born in the Detroit area, she graduated from the University of Michigan and received her Ph.D. in English and American literature from New York University. She has taught at NYU, SUNY and the New School University and has served as the John Grisham Writer in Residence at The University of Mississippi.
She is also the author of a nonfiction book, The Street Was Mine: White Masculinity in Hardboiled Fiction and Film Noir, and the editor of A Hell of a Woman, an anthology of female crime fiction. She is currently developing two of her novels, Dare Me and The Fever, for television.
Abbott is co-showrunner, writer and executive producer of DARE ME, the TV show adapated from her novel. She was also a staff writer on HBO's THE DEUCE. Her writing has also appeared in the New York Times, the Guardian, Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times Magazine, The Believer and the Los Angeles Review of Books.
Born in the Detroit area, she graduated from the University of Michigan and received her Ph.D. in English and American literature from New York University. She has taught at NYU, SUNY and the New School University and has served as the John Grisham Writer in Residence at The University of Mississippi.
She is also the author of a nonfiction book, The Street Was Mine: White Masculinity in Hardboiled Fiction and Film Noir, and the editor of A Hell of a Woman, an anthology of female crime fiction. She is currently developing two of her novels, Dare Me and The Fever, for television.
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October 18, 2021
fulfilling my 2021 goal to read one book each month by an author i love that i haven’t gotten around to reading yet
this whole monthly goal to 'read a book i've never read by an author i love' endeavor has been interesting, especially in those months where the book i hadn't read was the beloved author's debut, which was the case with this one, John Crow's Devil, and Under the Bright Lights.
for some reason, i was convinced that The End of Everything was her debut, and the handful of girlnoir books she wrote were a brief experiment with historical/genre-writing before returning to the realm over which she reigns supreme: contemporary psychological explorations of the dark underbelly of adolescent girlhood.
but no, these four books (Die a Little, Queenpin, The Song Is You, and Bury Me Deep) were how she announced her arrival on the literary scene, and although, of the four, i've only read this one and Queenpin, it's enough to know that she's stunningly good at this style, and now i wonder why she ever stopped writing these literary pulp novels. i mean, the six books she wrote after these are amazing, and she's one of my all-time favorite writers, but the fact that this book was her veryfirst is making me fall even more in love with her than i already was.
because this was outstanding. everything she is—all of her strengths and themes and fixations—all the seeds for what characterizes her later work are here, just in period costumes. in fact, there's a line in this one that pops up, in a slightly different context, in her most recent, The Turnout.
how did she manage to bang this one out of the park her first time at bat? the observations, the turns of phrase, the details, the subtext—she came into this world fully-formed, poised and collected, and unleashed this twisted web of secrets and concealment and guise that reads like the work of a much more seasoned author. it's tight and complex, and there are just layers of dark, dirty things squirming beneath this stylized, economical prose, and it's so damn precise and compact and pure.
as always, her focus is female, and it's centered around the not-so-sugar-and-spice aspects of ladyhood. in her contemporary novels, where her characters tend to be younger, it's effective because
here, set in 1950's LA, you have the juxtaposition of the blowsy, wanna-be-starlet floozy types, living fast lives at odds with the prim-and-proper housewife ideal, but those trim, coiffed, pencil-skirted ladies have secrets of their own, secrets that are just as seedy despite being so well-concealed.
sex and drugs and murder and the scrabble-and-hustle of trying to make it in a world that pigeonholes its ladies into the boring binary of naughty and nice. and then megan abbott comes 'round, sticks a knife into that seam and lets it all bleed out.
and it is glorious.
come to my blog!
this whole monthly goal to 'read a book i've never read by an author i love' endeavor has been interesting, especially in those months where the book i hadn't read was the beloved author's debut, which was the case with this one, John Crow's Devil, and Under the Bright Lights.
for some reason, i was convinced that The End of Everything was her debut, and the handful of girlnoir books she wrote were a brief experiment with historical/genre-writing before returning to the realm over which she reigns supreme: contemporary psychological explorations of the dark underbelly of adolescent girlhood.
but no, these four books (Die a Little, Queenpin, The Song Is You, and Bury Me Deep) were how she announced her arrival on the literary scene, and although, of the four, i've only read this one and Queenpin, it's enough to know that she's stunningly good at this style, and now i wonder why she ever stopped writing these literary pulp novels. i mean, the six books she wrote after these are amazing, and she's one of my all-time favorite writers, but the fact that this book was her veryfirst is making me fall even more in love with her than i already was.
because this was outstanding. everything she is—all of her strengths and themes and fixations—all the seeds for what characterizes her later work are here, just in period costumes. in fact, there's a line in this one that pops up, in a slightly different context, in her most recent, The Turnout.
how did she manage to bang this one out of the park her first time at bat? the observations, the turns of phrase, the details, the subtext—she came into this world fully-formed, poised and collected, and unleashed this twisted web of secrets and concealment and guise that reads like the work of a much more seasoned author. it's tight and complex, and there are just layers of dark, dirty things squirming beneath this stylized, economical prose, and it's so damn precise and compact and pure.
as always, her focus is female, and it's centered around the not-so-sugar-and-spice aspects of ladyhood. in her contemporary novels, where her characters tend to be younger, it's effective because
here, set in 1950's LA, you have the juxtaposition of the blowsy, wanna-be-starlet floozy types, living fast lives at odds with the prim-and-proper housewife ideal, but those trim, coiffed, pencil-skirted ladies have secrets of their own, secrets that are just as seedy despite being so well-concealed.
sex and drugs and murder and the scrabble-and-hustle of trying to make it in a world that pigeonholes its ladies into the boring binary of naughty and nice. and then megan abbott comes 'round, sticks a knife into that seam and lets it all bleed out.
and it is glorious.
come to my blog!
January 22, 2020
I am sad. I am sad that there are only four more Megan Abbott books that I haven't read, and by the end of this year (maybe even the end of this month)- I will probably have finished them all. I am trying to space them out- reading other books by other authors in between...but lately I have been failing miserably- and as soon as I finish one- I want another NOW! Yes- I am an addict. A Megan Abbott addict...
Lora King- a straight-laced school teacher, and her doting brother Bill- a junior investigator with the DA's office- have a very close relationship. Orphaned at a young age- Lora and Bill have spent their lives relying only on each other.
...but all that changes when Bill meets and falls in love with the beautiful and mysterious Alice Steele- a glamorous Hollywood wardrobe assistant with a shady past. Much to Lora's surprise- it isn't long before Bill makes Alice his wife.
Although she is a little bit jealous that this new woman is taking over her role as homemaker in Bill's life. Lora can't help being fascinated by her. And as Bill pushes the two "new sisters" to get to know one another- Lora finds herself drawn to Alice and pulled into her "other life". A life full of seedy bars, drugs, guns, loose women, and tough guys.
...and the biggest problem- is that Lora is starting to like it.
I am not a gal who reads a lot of noir- so I am far from being an expert on the subject...to me DIE A LITTLE could be called "chick-noir". The females are definitely at the forefront of this story- but if you're a guy, don't let that stop you from checking this one out... cause these dames are tougher than a nickel steak.
Lora King- a straight-laced school teacher, and her doting brother Bill- a junior investigator with the DA's office- have a very close relationship. Orphaned at a young age- Lora and Bill have spent their lives relying only on each other.
...but all that changes when Bill meets and falls in love with the beautiful and mysterious Alice Steele- a glamorous Hollywood wardrobe assistant with a shady past. Much to Lora's surprise- it isn't long before Bill makes Alice his wife.
Although she is a little bit jealous that this new woman is taking over her role as homemaker in Bill's life. Lora can't help being fascinated by her. And as Bill pushes the two "new sisters" to get to know one another- Lora finds herself drawn to Alice and pulled into her "other life". A life full of seedy bars, drugs, guns, loose women, and tough guys.
...and the biggest problem- is that Lora is starting to like it.
I am not a gal who reads a lot of noir- so I am far from being an expert on the subject...to me DIE A LITTLE could be called "chick-noir". The females are definitely at the forefront of this story- but if you're a guy, don't let that stop you from checking this one out... cause these dames are tougher than a nickel steak.
August 1, 2016
Megan Abbott’s first novel is a nifty little noir set in post-war LA. School teacher Lora King is extremely close to her brother Bill who is a police detective. When Bill meets Alice Steele he falls head over heels for her, and the two are soon married. Alice shows a tireless energy and enthusiasm for life as a homemaker that would make Martha Stewart feel like a lazy slob, but Lora finds herself becoming suspicious of her new sister-in-law after getting clues indicating that she had a shady past before meeting Bill.
It’s a great turn to have a cop in a mystery novel set during this time frame since it's a genre and era dominated by men but mainly used as a supporting character that two woman revolve around. It’s also interesting how Lora finds herself becoming intrigued with what she learns about Alice’s seedy history and starts indulging in her own wild side. The writing shows the Mighty Megan knack for getting inside the head of a conflicted person as well as making both the suburbs and seedy nightclubs come alive with a variety of characters. This is a solid start to a great writer’s career, and I particularly liked the ending.
I’m calling it 3.5 stars just because I think she did it even better in her later books.
It’s a great turn to have a cop in a mystery novel set during this time frame since it's a genre and era dominated by men but mainly used as a supporting character that two woman revolve around. It’s also interesting how Lora finds herself becoming intrigued with what she learns about Alice’s seedy history and starts indulging in her own wild side. The writing shows the Mighty Megan knack for getting inside the head of a conflicted person as well as making both the suburbs and seedy nightclubs come alive with a variety of characters. This is a solid start to a great writer’s career, and I particularly liked the ending.
I’m calling it 3.5 stars just because I think she did it even better in her later books.
July 16, 2024
Classic noir debut, strong female character. Intersting take on a crime novel. Liked it but it had a bit of slow lull in the middle.
January 20, 2013
When her brother's new wife seems too good to be true, Lora King starts poking around in her sister-in-law, Alice Steele's past, uncovering ugly things lurking beneath Hollywood's glitzy surface. Can she protect her brother before getting ensnared in the same web as Alice?
I've arrived at Die a Little, Megan Abbott's debut novel, after weaving a serpentine course through her other noir books. It sure doesn't read like a first novel. All the things I love about her later novel are there, fully-formed or very nearly so.
Die a Little is the tale of a sister trying to protect the only family she has. Her sister-in-law seemed a little dark around the edges from the start but things started sliding downhill once her friend Lois showed up. Once Lora hooked up with Standish and found the address book, things really started getting grim.
Lora's journeying through the Hollywood underbelly of disposable party girls, pimps, and drugs, was a little stomach-turning. The ending surprised me but I guess it shouldn't have, given that this is a noir book. It almost felt like a Jim Thompson book at times.
If I had to complain about something, it would be that Lora's brother Bill wasn't very developed as a character, but since Lora's investigation of Alice was the focus of the story, it didn't matter all that much.
Megan Abbott was in fine form in her debut novel, which is at least as good as her later ones like The Song is You. Four easy stars.
I've arrived at Die a Little, Megan Abbott's debut novel, after weaving a serpentine course through her other noir books. It sure doesn't read like a first novel. All the things I love about her later novel are there, fully-formed or very nearly so.
Die a Little is the tale of a sister trying to protect the only family she has. Her sister-in-law seemed a little dark around the edges from the start but things started sliding downhill once her friend Lois showed up. Once Lora hooked up with Standish and found the address book, things really started getting grim.
Lora's journeying through the Hollywood underbelly of disposable party girls, pimps, and drugs, was a little stomach-turning. The ending surprised me but I guess it shouldn't have, given that this is a noir book. It almost felt like a Jim Thompson book at times.
If I had to complain about something, it would be that Lora's brother Bill wasn't very developed as a character, but since Lora's investigation of Alice was the focus of the story, it didn't matter all that much.
Megan Abbott was in fine form in her debut novel, which is at least as good as her later ones like The Song is You. Four easy stars.
March 8, 2020
3.5 Stars
Megan Abbott is an interesting author. Die A Little is my second Megan Abbott novel and those two books could not be more different.
Last month I read The End of Everything which was a dark coming of age novel set in the 1980's(?). I really enjoyed that book it was super dark and most importantly it was well written.
Die A Little is I believe Megan Abbott's first novel and....
Wow! What a debut!
Die A Little is a classic-type of noir crime novel. Lora doesn't like her beloved brother Bill's new wife Alice and she set out to uncover what secrets Alice is hiding. Along the way Lora is pulled deeper and deeper into the seedy underbelly of 1950's Los Angeles.
Die A Little is compulsively readable. I will say that if you don't like or haven't watched or read noir in past you probably will not like this. As with most noir the plot can get convoluted and even a little confusing at times.
Overall I liked this book. I didn't rate it higher because as I said the plot got confusing and there were times when I had no clue what was happening.
If you like noir then give Die A Little a try.
Megan Abbott is an interesting author. Die A Little is my second Megan Abbott novel and those two books could not be more different.
Last month I read The End of Everything which was a dark coming of age novel set in the 1980's(?). I really enjoyed that book it was super dark and most importantly it was well written.
Die A Little is I believe Megan Abbott's first novel and....
Wow! What a debut!
Die A Little is a classic-type of noir crime novel. Lora doesn't like her beloved brother Bill's new wife Alice and she set out to uncover what secrets Alice is hiding. Along the way Lora is pulled deeper and deeper into the seedy underbelly of 1950's Los Angeles.
Die A Little is compulsively readable. I will say that if you don't like or haven't watched or read noir in past you probably will not like this. As with most noir the plot can get convoluted and even a little confusing at times.
Overall I liked this book. I didn't rate it higher because as I said the plot got confusing and there were times when I had no clue what was happening.
If you like noir then give Die A Little a try.
January 12, 2016
Almost from the start, Lora King, a Pasadena schoolteacher, thinks that something fishy is going on with her mysterious new sister-in-law. In an effort to protect her pussy-whipped brother, she begins to investigate his wife's secrets, and she finds herself uncovering a world of sex, drugs, and murder.
Given how much I enjoyed the three other books I've read by Megan Abbott, I was surprised with how disappointed I was with this one, her debut novel. I really wanted to like it more than I did, but I found the plot to be fairly unremarkable, the characters forgettable, and the book, frankly boring. I loved the idea of a bunch of dainty, sheltered, 1950's suburban wives getting caught up in the degenerate underworld of Hollywood, but the book was surprisingly delicate, too tame to really milk out its potential and be truly powerful. How awesome would it have been if Lora, this naive and innocent high school teacher, stumbled into the nasty world of a James Ellroy novel! But instead, what she stumbles into never really feels all that dangerous, more like a moderate, Decency-Code-Era movie version of the underworld. And the plot never really gave me much more than what I read in the synopsis. I hoped for more!
Given how much I enjoyed the three other books I've read by Megan Abbott, I was surprised with how disappointed I was with this one, her debut novel. I really wanted to like it more than I did, but I found the plot to be fairly unremarkable, the characters forgettable, and the book, frankly boring. I loved the idea of a bunch of dainty, sheltered, 1950's suburban wives getting caught up in the degenerate underworld of Hollywood, but the book was surprisingly delicate, too tame to really milk out its potential and be truly powerful. How awesome would it have been if Lora, this naive and innocent high school teacher, stumbled into the nasty world of a James Ellroy novel! But instead, what she stumbles into never really feels all that dangerous, more like a moderate, Decency-Code-Era movie version of the underworld. And the plot never really gave me much more than what I read in the synopsis. I hoped for more!
October 23, 2014
A terrific debut noir novel (2005)! Set in the 1950's, Lora, a schoolteacher, lives with her brother Bill, a rising star in the DA's office. Orphaned years earlier, their relationship is especially close, and each would go to great lengths to protect one another.
Their orderly life is disrupted when Bill meets glamorous Alice and after a whirlwind romance, they marry. Alice busies herself becoming the perfect 1950s housewife with a flurry of cooking, decorating, and neighborhood parties, even going so far as to teach Home Ec at Lora's school. The descriptions of life in the 1950's were spot on.
Lora gradually gets glimpses of Alice which suggests there is more to her than meets the eye. Out of a desire to protect her brother (and perhaps out of jealousy too?) she begins to investigate Alice's past life and is soon drawn into a seamy underworld.
Abbott's writing is so good and atmospheric I could literally see it played out in my mind as a movie. The mystery and suspense build slowly and Lora's character especially was intriguing as she comes face to face with her own darker side.
This is my second noir novel by Abbott and I could gobble them down like potato chips - delicious!
Their orderly life is disrupted when Bill meets glamorous Alice and after a whirlwind romance, they marry. Alice busies herself becoming the perfect 1950s housewife with a flurry of cooking, decorating, and neighborhood parties, even going so far as to teach Home Ec at Lora's school. The descriptions of life in the 1950's were spot on.
Lora gradually gets glimpses of Alice which suggests there is more to her than meets the eye. Out of a desire to protect her brother (and perhaps out of jealousy too?) she begins to investigate Alice's past life and is soon drawn into a seamy underworld.
Abbott's writing is so good and atmospheric I could literally see it played out in my mind as a movie. The mystery and suspense build slowly and Lora's character especially was intriguing as she comes face to face with her own darker side.
This is my second noir novel by Abbott and I could gobble them down like potato chips - delicious!
December 20, 2023
Megan Abbott is such a fucking rock star.
4 1/2 Darkened Stars
4 1/2 Darkened Stars
June 10, 2007
Fabulous. I devoured it in the last 2 days. Megan Abbott writes like a cross between Jim Thompson, James M. Cain and Doris Day. I think I'm going to log off now and drink a gin rickey and eat a cream puff.
August 3, 2017
It’s a hell of a debut for Megan Abbott: a female led mystery in 1940’s Hollywood with a distinctly unreliable narrator.
There’s murder, a femme-fatale and a too trusting dope of a man. But it feels like Abbott is referencing women’s films of the 1940s, as much as she is standard noir. As if she spent many an hour watching and re-watching Joan Crawford as MILDRED PIERCE, just so she could get the perfect balance between vulnerability and steel.
The plot finds a policeman, Bill, meeting cute with a girl, Alice, who works for a Hollywood studio, and the two falling madly in love. But his sister, Lora – a teacher – who he has always been incredibly (almost weirdly) close to, is both fascinated by this new addition to her family, and wary of her. Alice reveals herself to also have a teaching qualification and the two sister-in-laws end up working together, car-pooling, becoming fast friends. Alice even sets up Lora on dates. But Lora can’t lose her suspicions, and as cracks start appearing in Alice’s carefully constructed façade, Lora starts investigating.
Looking at Abbott’s bibliography, it seems an incredible eight years since Abbott last gave us one of her noir LA thrillers. And while I’ve enjoyed the books she’s given us since, it’s still a shame, as classic-era Hollywood mysteries is a genre I adore beyond reason. DIE A LITTLE is really strong on the psychology of its two female leads, but what really struck me this (my second) time of reading was how much detail she grasps of the era. Sights, smells, brand names, fashions, fads – they’re all here and utterly convincing. If it emerged that Megan Abbott had a Tardis and was frequently visiting the 1940s for research, I wouldn’t give even a slight gasp of surprise.
It’s a great debut, but of the four books she wrote with the classic noir feel, this is probably the weakest. Undoubtedly, it’s well written and has a number of great lines. But as much as I liked it, this is one of those irritating stories which relies on the major characters not sharing things you think they’d share – or asking questions you’d think they really ought to ask.
However, it’s impossible to read this and not been haunted afterwards by the thought of Lois staring at Alice, frightened and fascinated at the same time. Wanting to be her sister-in-law even as she wants her out of her life.
There’s murder, a femme-fatale and a too trusting dope of a man. But it feels like Abbott is referencing women’s films of the 1940s, as much as she is standard noir. As if she spent many an hour watching and re-watching Joan Crawford as MILDRED PIERCE, just so she could get the perfect balance between vulnerability and steel.
The plot finds a policeman, Bill, meeting cute with a girl, Alice, who works for a Hollywood studio, and the two falling madly in love. But his sister, Lora – a teacher – who he has always been incredibly (almost weirdly) close to, is both fascinated by this new addition to her family, and wary of her. Alice reveals herself to also have a teaching qualification and the two sister-in-laws end up working together, car-pooling, becoming fast friends. Alice even sets up Lora on dates. But Lora can’t lose her suspicions, and as cracks start appearing in Alice’s carefully constructed façade, Lora starts investigating.
Looking at Abbott’s bibliography, it seems an incredible eight years since Abbott last gave us one of her noir LA thrillers. And while I’ve enjoyed the books she’s given us since, it’s still a shame, as classic-era Hollywood mysteries is a genre I adore beyond reason. DIE A LITTLE is really strong on the psychology of its two female leads, but what really struck me this (my second) time of reading was how much detail she grasps of the era. Sights, smells, brand names, fashions, fads – they’re all here and utterly convincing. If it emerged that Megan Abbott had a Tardis and was frequently visiting the 1940s for research, I wouldn’t give even a slight gasp of surprise.
It’s a great debut, but of the four books she wrote with the classic noir feel, this is probably the weakest. Undoubtedly, it’s well written and has a number of great lines. But as much as I liked it, this is one of those irritating stories which relies on the major characters not sharing things you think they’d share – or asking questions you’d think they really ought to ask.
However, it’s impossible to read this and not been haunted afterwards by the thought of Lois staring at Alice, frightened and fascinated at the same time. Wanting to be her sister-in-law even as she wants her out of her life.
April 4, 2012
I picked this up on a whim, knowing nothing about it or Megan Abbott, it sat on my shelf for a while and then I started to notice a lot of love and enthusiasm for the author on GR, intrigued I figured the time was right, the planets had aligned, I would read this book.
I started to doubt the rave reviews after about 40 pages; a lot of time was spent on listing household items being bought by one of the characters which felt like an attempt to showoff all of the research that was done by the author and as a tool to differentiate this female noir from its male-centric forebears, you'd never find Marlowe or Spade talking about a Broil King by the Peerless Electric Company would you? But then something happened, Lora's voice, her journey, her transformation from quiet school mistress in to something darker, became almost hypnotic, until I found myself flipping pages faster and faster, devouring every word, heart racing, desperate to finish, to find out just what was going on, begging time to pass slower so I could reach the end before going to work.
And then when it was over, its subtle ending running in the face of other works of modern crime fiction, I drew a huge sigh of relief, its not a happy ending but its something that felt completely right for the story (and you can't say that about too many modern books.)
The comparisons to James Ellroy confused me at first but I can see where it applies, Megan Abbott isn't as vulgar and in your face brutal as the King of Sinnuendo but the psychological impact, the mileau and the dames are the same. I regularly draw comparisons to Patricia Highsmith because in my opinion she is the Queen of psychological intrigue and suspense and at times Die A Little impressed me so much that I can see similarities between the two authors, mostly in the hope that when I read more of Abbott she will develop these obvious talents in to something that might match Highsmith (or Ellroy.)
If you're on the fence, undecided, considering it, I tell you right now read Megan Abbott, don't hesitate, you can't be disappointed, the idea is incomprehensible to me.
I started to doubt the rave reviews after about 40 pages; a lot of time was spent on listing household items being bought by one of the characters which felt like an attempt to showoff all of the research that was done by the author and as a tool to differentiate this female noir from its male-centric forebears, you'd never find Marlowe or Spade talking about a Broil King by the Peerless Electric Company would you? But then something happened, Lora's voice, her journey, her transformation from quiet school mistress in to something darker, became almost hypnotic, until I found myself flipping pages faster and faster, devouring every word, heart racing, desperate to finish, to find out just what was going on, begging time to pass slower so I could reach the end before going to work.
And then when it was over, its subtle ending running in the face of other works of modern crime fiction, I drew a huge sigh of relief, its not a happy ending but its something that felt completely right for the story (and you can't say that about too many modern books.)
The comparisons to James Ellroy confused me at first but I can see where it applies, Megan Abbott isn't as vulgar and in your face brutal as the King of Sinnuendo but the psychological impact, the mileau and the dames are the same. I regularly draw comparisons to Patricia Highsmith because in my opinion she is the Queen of psychological intrigue and suspense and at times Die A Little impressed me so much that I can see similarities between the two authors, mostly in the hope that when I read more of Abbott she will develop these obvious talents in to something that might match Highsmith (or Ellroy.)
If you're on the fence, undecided, considering it, I tell you right now read Megan Abbott, don't hesitate, you can't be disappointed, the idea is incomprehensible to me.
August 19, 2012
‘...behind that knockout face of hers, she’s more like the women they see on the job, on patrol, on a case, in the precinct house. Women with stories as long as their rap sheets, as their dangerous legs...’
Megan Abbott channels the hallowed echoes of ghosts from the golden era of pulp in her depiction of a small town school teacher and her square world turned upside down by a double dose of femme fatale.
'Die A Little' provides protagonist Lora King, a cops sister, and deer-in-the-headlights school teacher, a trickle of Hollywood noir that almost drowns her sensibilities and ruins the life she's come to cherish. By contrast, Alice, Lora's sister-in-law, with her checkered past, glamour contacts and underworld ties is the kind of women who’s often spoken about in hushed tones and hand-over-the-mouth, side-ways glancing acts. She's the beauty whose surface radiates confidence and experience on the darker side of Hollywood - it’s this darker side that threatens to destroy Lora and break her family.
When a ghost materialises from the past, Alice is forced to counteract the problem by throwing Lora to the wolves – or, more aptly, a wolf, by the name of Mike - a womaniser with somewhat sinister connections to the same dark side of Hollywood as Alice and her toxic friend Lois. The triangle of mystery shrouds the innocent and collapses the picture perfect existence of Lora with each stanza deftly portraying a little-girl-lost.
Megan Abbott truly knows how to maximise the mood and draw the suspense to make seemingly miniscule acts such as a fleeting touch or a mere glimpse mean so much to the context of the story. This is a true testament to her finely crafted writing ability.
This was the second time I’d read ‘Die A Little’ and it still captivated me in a way that so few books do. A modern day noir classic. 5 stars.
Megan Abbott channels the hallowed echoes of ghosts from the golden era of pulp in her depiction of a small town school teacher and her square world turned upside down by a double dose of femme fatale.
'Die A Little' provides protagonist Lora King, a cops sister, and deer-in-the-headlights school teacher, a trickle of Hollywood noir that almost drowns her sensibilities and ruins the life she's come to cherish. By contrast, Alice, Lora's sister-in-law, with her checkered past, glamour contacts and underworld ties is the kind of women who’s often spoken about in hushed tones and hand-over-the-mouth, side-ways glancing acts. She's the beauty whose surface radiates confidence and experience on the darker side of Hollywood - it’s this darker side that threatens to destroy Lora and break her family.
When a ghost materialises from the past, Alice is forced to counteract the problem by throwing Lora to the wolves – or, more aptly, a wolf, by the name of Mike - a womaniser with somewhat sinister connections to the same dark side of Hollywood as Alice and her toxic friend Lois. The triangle of mystery shrouds the innocent and collapses the picture perfect existence of Lora with each stanza deftly portraying a little-girl-lost.
Megan Abbott truly knows how to maximise the mood and draw the suspense to make seemingly miniscule acts such as a fleeting touch or a mere glimpse mean so much to the context of the story. This is a true testament to her finely crafted writing ability.
This was the second time I’d read ‘Die A Little’ and it still captivated me in a way that so few books do. A modern day noir classic. 5 stars.
August 13, 2016
The 1950s seems to be an idealized era, full of change and promise; some would say it was a simpler time. Veterans were settling down to desk jobs, marrying, and raising families of their own. Women's fashion, technology, and the entertainment world were swerving in a new direction. Everyone seemed to be generally prospering and there was relative peace. That's the world that Lora, a twenty-something school teacher, and her brother Bill live in: a serene, quiet existence in West Pasadena.
The day Alice Steele careens into Bill's life, Lora can't help but feel that life as they know it will never be the same again. Alice has been places, knows things, and as she digs her heels into Bill's heart, she brings along friends from her old life in Hollywood and seedy Los Angeles. How bad can she be? Just you wait!
I really enjoyed this book! After finding James Ellroy's The Black Dahlia gripping but too dark for my liking, I found Abbott to be just the right balance. The female perspective was nice, but like Gillian Flynn, she doesn't hold any punches. Things get pretty gritty, so hold on your hats and short laced gloves!
The day Alice Steele careens into Bill's life, Lora can't help but feel that life as they know it will never be the same again. Alice has been places, knows things, and as she digs her heels into Bill's heart, she brings along friends from her old life in Hollywood and seedy Los Angeles. How bad can she be? Just you wait!
I really enjoyed this book! After finding James Ellroy's The Black Dahlia gripping but too dark for my liking, I found Abbott to be just the right balance. The female perspective was nice, but like Gillian Flynn, she doesn't hold any punches. Things get pretty gritty, so hold on your hats and short laced gloves!
October 7, 2024
Delightful book set in the early 1950s in Los Angeles, including death, aspects of noir and the dark side of Hollywood.
September 19, 2015
I just loved this 1950's hollywood noir thriller.
The short, fluid paragraphs capture the intensity of the story through Lora our main character whose sheltered life with her brother as companion is being threatened by his new wife Alice an enigmatic character with a shady past.
Lora is simply unable to ignore her instinct that Alice is not playing straight and risks everything to enter a world she doesn't understand to uncover the truth.
The short, fluid paragraphs capture the intensity of the story through Lora our main character whose sheltered life with her brother as companion is being threatened by his new wife Alice an enigmatic character with a shady past.
Lora is simply unable to ignore her instinct that Alice is not playing straight and risks everything to enter a world she doesn't understand to uncover the truth.
March 18, 2020
4 Stars for Die a Little (audiobook) by Megan Abbott read by Ellen Archer. This was a nice change from the typical noir murder mystery. I like that the main character wasn’t a detective. The narration was great too.
September 13, 2014
I'm surprised I haven't run across this author before. Literary neo-noir, lady-fied?? That's right up my dark, steam-filled alley! Yet somehow it was a real-life human who recommended it, which almost makes me wonder why I've wasted seven years on this website...
This is a little like James Ellroy's books about the dirty cop who's in love with his sister, only with a woman's touch. It's also a little like well-informed fan fiction that plays with the tropes and cliches of classic noir films: this novel is sort of maybe what would happen if Robert Mitchum's sappy blonde sweetheart in Out of the Past became frenemies with the Jane Greer character. The book's back flap details Abbott's education and interest in literature and film, and you can definitely see academic study underlying the cheap thrills in here, which to me isn't a bad thing at all.
The book is obviously well-researched by someone who shares my own considerable relish for mid-twentieth-century material culture. They went on a bit long, but some of my favorite parts were the catalogues of nineteen-fifties consumer products and foods:
On Bill's birthday, she spent hours making cream-puff swans shaped from what she carefully pronounced as 'pâte à chou.' For a block party, almond icebox cake and cornflake macaroons. Chow mein-noodle haystacks and fried spaghetti cookies for a neighborhood association bake sale. For a dinner party, white chocolate grasshopper pie still foaming with melted marshmallows and doused with Hiram Walker. More dinner parties with still racier items, ambrosia brimming with Grand Marnier, a fruit-cocktail gelatin ring nearly a foot high and glistening. As the parties grew more elaborate, more frenetic, bourbon balls studded with pecans and Nesselrode pie with sweet Marsala and chestnuts. Strawberries Biltmore covered with vanilla custard sauce. Baked Alaska drizzled through with white rum. Peach Melba suffused with framboise.
See, yeah, a bit long, and definitely conjures up an image of Megan Abbott hunched over vintage cookbooks delightedly taking notes... But I love that kind of thing myself, and it was fun to watch her put it to use the way she did. Her writing style is very good with material and domestic details, which made the book fun to read since that's a lot of my favorite stuff in actual old crime novels, but it's not fetishized in those because authors took those contemporary details for granted. So while the book did have that fakey Mad Men/theme-parky feel in evoking the period, that was precisely what I liked about it.
The plot and characters in the book didn't make my toes curl or anything, but I enjoyed reading it and will definitely check out more of Abbott's stuff. I understand this is her first book and I'm interested to see what she did next, since I do like the general direction where this all seems to be headed.
This is a little like James Ellroy's books about the dirty cop who's in love with his sister, only with a woman's touch. It's also a little like well-informed fan fiction that plays with the tropes and cliches of classic noir films: this novel is sort of maybe what would happen if Robert Mitchum's sappy blonde sweetheart in Out of the Past became frenemies with the Jane Greer character. The book's back flap details Abbott's education and interest in literature and film, and you can definitely see academic study underlying the cheap thrills in here, which to me isn't a bad thing at all.
The book is obviously well-researched by someone who shares my own considerable relish for mid-twentieth-century material culture. They went on a bit long, but some of my favorite parts were the catalogues of nineteen-fifties consumer products and foods:
On Bill's birthday, she spent hours making cream-puff swans shaped from what she carefully pronounced as 'pâte à chou.' For a block party, almond icebox cake and cornflake macaroons. Chow mein-noodle haystacks and fried spaghetti cookies for a neighborhood association bake sale. For a dinner party, white chocolate grasshopper pie still foaming with melted marshmallows and doused with Hiram Walker. More dinner parties with still racier items, ambrosia brimming with Grand Marnier, a fruit-cocktail gelatin ring nearly a foot high and glistening. As the parties grew more elaborate, more frenetic, bourbon balls studded with pecans and Nesselrode pie with sweet Marsala and chestnuts. Strawberries Biltmore covered with vanilla custard sauce. Baked Alaska drizzled through with white rum. Peach Melba suffused with framboise.
See, yeah, a bit long, and definitely conjures up an image of Megan Abbott hunched over vintage cookbooks delightedly taking notes... But I love that kind of thing myself, and it was fun to watch her put it to use the way she did. Her writing style is very good with material and domestic details, which made the book fun to read since that's a lot of my favorite stuff in actual old crime novels, but it's not fetishized in those because authors took those contemporary details for granted. So while the book did have that fakey Mad Men/theme-parky feel in evoking the period, that was precisely what I liked about it.
The plot and characters in the book didn't make my toes curl or anything, but I enjoyed reading it and will definitely check out more of Abbott's stuff. I understand this is her first book and I'm interested to see what she did next, since I do like the general direction where this all seems to be headed.
May 26, 2011
DIE A LITTLE is the first in a series of books frm Megan Abbott flagged somewhat unhelpfully as "modern noir". I'm not at all sure what that should imply in terms of expectation, but whatever caused it, something didn't really work about this book for me.
Leaving aside the fact that the cover is absolutely wonderful and the title is glorious, the style very atmospheric and the build up interesting (woman with a "past" who marries a cop, cop's sister smells a rat, digs), something about the delivery of this story simply flat out didn't hold my interest. I suspect part of this is because the "sister" whose viewpoint is paramount, didn't seem to fit with the noir stylings. For a while I wondered if the "bad girl" telling the story, might have helped, but ultimately I think the problem was partially the complete lack of suspense. Noir can be predictable to my mind, but it shouldn't be flat. It shouldn't drone on leaving a feeling of impatience for the damn thing to get to the point.
I suspect part of the problem really was that the focus on the sister's viewpoint isn't supported by her being a character that you can get involved with. It wasn't too long before I was forced into thinking I'd be on side of the bad girl wife, regardless of the question.
Leaving aside the fact that the cover is absolutely wonderful and the title is glorious, the style very atmospheric and the build up interesting (woman with a "past" who marries a cop, cop's sister smells a rat, digs), something about the delivery of this story simply flat out didn't hold my interest. I suspect part of this is because the "sister" whose viewpoint is paramount, didn't seem to fit with the noir stylings. For a while I wondered if the "bad girl" telling the story, might have helped, but ultimately I think the problem was partially the complete lack of suspense. Noir can be predictable to my mind, but it shouldn't be flat. It shouldn't drone on leaving a feeling of impatience for the damn thing to get to the point.
I suspect part of the problem really was that the focus on the sister's viewpoint isn't supported by her being a character that you can get involved with. It wasn't too long before I was forced into thinking I'd be on side of the bad girl wife, regardless of the question.
May 4, 2014
This is not my typical fare, and wow, I LOVED IT!!!!
Gobbled it up!
Delicious and delectable!
This book proved to me that I can and should venture out of my comfort zone.
I read this at every possible opportunity even if it meant that I could only read two pages at a time. It called to me when I was away from it.
Will write real review this coming week.
Gobbled it up!
Delicious and delectable!
This book proved to me that I can and should venture out of my comfort zone.
I read this at every possible opportunity even if it meant that I could only read two pages at a time. It called to me when I was away from it.
Will write real review this coming week.
January 24, 2025
for a first book, this is some great writing
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June 12, 2012
This is book that leaves me conflicted. Abbot is undeniably a talented writer. She has a way with phrasing and a compelling voice. The first half of this book just left me cold.
Her POV character in this book, Lora King, is a young woman in her early 20's in 1950's Los Angeles. Lora's Brother is a tough DA investigator who has just become married to a woman with a dark past. Lora attempts to get to the bottom of some things and hilarity ensues.
I am caught between what I thought of as a dreary first half of this book, and the excellent second half. The first half was filled with 50's era "Suzy Homemaker" facts and it read more like an homage to the author's research then a story. The plot moved forward at a snail's pace.
Around the middle of the book, business really starts to pick up. The plot is driven unrelentingly forward and the book ends in a manner that is satisfying if a bit pat.
I liked the book immensely from the middle on and will look for more Abbott in the future.
3.5/5
Her POV character in this book, Lora King, is a young woman in her early 20's in 1950's Los Angeles. Lora's Brother is a tough DA investigator who has just become married to a woman with a dark past. Lora attempts to get to the bottom of some things and hilarity ensues.
I am caught between what I thought of as a dreary first half of this book, and the excellent second half. The first half was filled with 50's era "Suzy Homemaker" facts and it read more like an homage to the author's research then a story. The plot moved forward at a snail's pace.
Around the middle of the book, business really starts to pick up. The plot is driven unrelentingly forward and the book ends in a manner that is satisfying if a bit pat.
I liked the book immensely from the middle on and will look for more Abbott in the future.
3.5/5
March 4, 2014
Incredibly disappointing. This book lacks any sense of time or location. It's supposed to be 1950's LA but it could easily be any other city at any other time. The characters are dull, the protagonist is pathetic. If I had a pound for every time she states she couldn't look someone in the eye then I could afford to buy a better book many times over.
The prose is very odd too. It feels stunted, almost like an early, incomplete draft at times. Sentences feel abridged. There is very little flow to the writing, it became a real effort to not let my attention wander.
A big disappointment, I love noir and was looking forward to seeing it through the eyes of a woman.
The prose is very odd too. It feels stunted, almost like an early, incomplete draft at times. Sentences feel abridged. There is very little flow to the writing, it became a real effort to not let my attention wander.
A big disappointment, I love noir and was looking forward to seeing it through the eyes of a woman.
January 21, 2016
4.5
There is something about Abbott's writing that I find strongly appealing, and it goes beyond her ability to recreate the perfect 40s/50s crime noir-esque feeling.
This is the third novel I've read by her, the second crime noir, and so far my favorite.
Reading this for me was like reading Shirley Jackson or even Flannery O'Connor. Though stylistically different, all three women had the ability to explore the darker side of human nature in a way that leaves you rooting for the bad guys, or rather not sure who the "real" good guys/bad guys are or what it means to be a good/bad guy (or in this case, girl).
There is something about Abbott's writing that I find strongly appealing, and it goes beyond her ability to recreate the perfect 40s/50s crime noir-esque feeling.
This is the third novel I've read by her, the second crime noir, and so far my favorite.
Reading this for me was like reading Shirley Jackson or even Flannery O'Connor. Though stylistically different, all three women had the ability to explore the darker side of human nature in a way that leaves you rooting for the bad guys, or rather not sure who the "real" good guys/bad guys are or what it means to be a good/bad guy (or in this case, girl).
July 26, 2013
RATING: 3.25
First book
Lora King is a straitlaced schoolteacher who shares her home with her brother, Bill, who is a police investigator. Brother and sister are very close to one another until the time that Bill meets an erotic and beautiful wardrobe assistant named Alice Steele. He falls completely under her spell, even after they marry. In every way, she is the perfect woman--physically beautiful, magnetic personality, devoted to her husband—their life together seems almost like a fairy tale. Alice soon becomes the consummate suburban housewife, ingratiating herself with the neighbors and Bill's friends by hostessing wonderful theme parties, preparing exotic menus and entertaining in high style. Set in Los Angeles in the 1950s, one might have expected to see a hint of Chandler's "mean streets".
At first, Lora and Alice are friends. Alice works to win Lora's acceptance, but Lora always has a feeling that something is amiss. When Lora dates a man who has associated with Alice in the past, she begins to learn things about Alice that are deeply disturbing. For example, she finds a picture of Alice fondling another woman's breasts on a playing card. From that point on, she begins to investigate Alice's past and discovers that she is not the woman that she has presented to Bill.
The book is touted as being a "modern noir". My hopes were high that this first novel would be a good example of that genre. There are not many female authors who write in noir well; in particular, very few contemporary female writers inhabit that territory. Unfortunately, the book didn't fit the label for me. I found it to be a study of obsessive love, in Bill's feelings for his wife and in Lora's feelings for her brother. The book was an excellent psychological study of both Lora and Alice, but it had a very small canvas. It focused on Lora's unveiling of Alice's secrets, but it didn't have a larger purpose than that. In other words, it had noir overtones but not a noir attitude.
The book does succeed as a psychological thriller. The interrelationships between the characters are very complicated and interesting. Bill is completely enamored of Alice, which leads to some surprising actions on his part. Lora is jealous of Alice but also protective of her brother which leads to some conflict in how she handles herself. At times, the relationship between Bill and Lora feels almost incestuous. Abbott reveals the dark layers of each of these characters; each of them sinks to depths that they didn't know they had.
DIE A LITTLE is an interesting and surprising book. Abbott succeeds at placing us squarely in Los Angeles in the 50s, its culture, its attitudes. Her greatest achievement is in creating 2 female characters who are so enigmatic and complex.
First book
Lora King is a straitlaced schoolteacher who shares her home with her brother, Bill, who is a police investigator. Brother and sister are very close to one another until the time that Bill meets an erotic and beautiful wardrobe assistant named Alice Steele. He falls completely under her spell, even after they marry. In every way, she is the perfect woman--physically beautiful, magnetic personality, devoted to her husband—their life together seems almost like a fairy tale. Alice soon becomes the consummate suburban housewife, ingratiating herself with the neighbors and Bill's friends by hostessing wonderful theme parties, preparing exotic menus and entertaining in high style. Set in Los Angeles in the 1950s, one might have expected to see a hint of Chandler's "mean streets".
At first, Lora and Alice are friends. Alice works to win Lora's acceptance, but Lora always has a feeling that something is amiss. When Lora dates a man who has associated with Alice in the past, she begins to learn things about Alice that are deeply disturbing. For example, she finds a picture of Alice fondling another woman's breasts on a playing card. From that point on, she begins to investigate Alice's past and discovers that she is not the woman that she has presented to Bill.
The book is touted as being a "modern noir". My hopes were high that this first novel would be a good example of that genre. There are not many female authors who write in noir well; in particular, very few contemporary female writers inhabit that territory. Unfortunately, the book didn't fit the label for me. I found it to be a study of obsessive love, in Bill's feelings for his wife and in Lora's feelings for her brother. The book was an excellent psychological study of both Lora and Alice, but it had a very small canvas. It focused on Lora's unveiling of Alice's secrets, but it didn't have a larger purpose than that. In other words, it had noir overtones but not a noir attitude.
The book does succeed as a psychological thriller. The interrelationships between the characters are very complicated and interesting. Bill is completely enamored of Alice, which leads to some surprising actions on his part. Lora is jealous of Alice but also protective of her brother which leads to some conflict in how she handles herself. At times, the relationship between Bill and Lora feels almost incestuous. Abbott reveals the dark layers of each of these characters; each of them sinks to depths that they didn't know they had.
DIE A LITTLE is an interesting and surprising book. Abbott succeeds at placing us squarely in Los Angeles in the 50s, its culture, its attitudes. Her greatest achievement is in creating 2 female characters who are so enigmatic and complex.
May 12, 2019
She wasn't just a B-girl, she was carrying the whole ugly world in her eyes.”
― Megan Abbott, Die a Little
review to follow.
Luscious is the word that comes to mind.
I read this because I found it on Goodreads. So glad I joined this site.
So I have read several of Abbott's books with "Dare Me" being my favorite, so far at least.
I happen to like my books dark. And I love Noir. I also love Noir movies. And then there is this: the cover.
The COVER ART on this..I did not wan t to even read one page at first..just stare at this exquisitec cover. Covers matter..ALOT!
But in terms of the book..maybe I have just read to much domestic Noir and seen to many Noir films. I mean..honestly..I did not love it. The first part of it was really draggy and yes I did skim. Alot.
But it picks up. I LOVE the gritty nature of Die a Little. The imagery the book creates is captivating.
But the story really isn't. I guess I expected something a bit more unpredictable and in places, honestly yes, I skipped over or skimmed because some parts were dull.
But here is something else: this book..it is a movie waiting to happen. Assuming it has not happened already.
You see the book ..the images..before you while reading it. It's all there..and I have a feeling I would LOVE the film version of this. Very much. Has it been made into a film yet? Because it would be a damn great one.
I do not say that to often but Abbott is a very visual writer. And this book strongly reminded me of a film called "House of Games", the ultimate Noir film. If you have not heard of it, watch it or read Roger Ebert's review of it. He captures it perfectly.
So that is what I imagine this material could look like on screen. It is viv id and as dark as an alley way at midnight. It just took an awful long time to get going.
I would give it 3.5 stars. I think this might be a book I need to read again. If you like Noir yes read it. This is one that is best read at night, with a glass of wine, listening to the night sounds outside your house or apartment or wherever you live.
And someone needs to turn this into a film.
― Megan Abbott, Die a Little
review to follow.
Luscious is the word that comes to mind.
I read this because I found it on Goodreads. So glad I joined this site.
So I have read several of Abbott's books with "Dare Me" being my favorite, so far at least.
I happen to like my books dark. And I love Noir. I also love Noir movies. And then there is this: the cover.
The COVER ART on this..I did not wan t to even read one page at first..just stare at this exquisitec cover. Covers matter..ALOT!
But in terms of the book..maybe I have just read to much domestic Noir and seen to many Noir films. I mean..honestly..I did not love it. The first part of it was really draggy and yes I did skim. Alot.
But it picks up. I LOVE the gritty nature of Die a Little. The imagery the book creates is captivating.
But the story really isn't. I guess I expected something a bit more unpredictable and in places, honestly yes, I skipped over or skimmed because some parts were dull.
But here is something else: this book..it is a movie waiting to happen. Assuming it has not happened already.
You see the book ..the images..before you while reading it. It's all there..and I have a feeling I would LOVE the film version of this. Very much. Has it been made into a film yet? Because it would be a damn great one.
I do not say that to often but Abbott is a very visual writer. And this book strongly reminded me of a film called "House of Games", the ultimate Noir film. If you have not heard of it, watch it or read Roger Ebert's review of it. He captures it perfectly.
So that is what I imagine this material could look like on screen. It is viv id and as dark as an alley way at midnight. It just took an awful long time to get going.
I would give it 3.5 stars. I think this might be a book I need to read again. If you like Noir yes read it. This is one that is best read at night, with a glass of wine, listening to the night sounds outside your house or apartment or wherever you live.
And someone needs to turn this into a film.
March 8, 2014
This is a great book, and I don't know how I have missed Megan Abbott until now.
'Die a Little' was first published almost ten years ago but I stopped reading at one point to check that it wasn't actually a novel from the 1950's that had maybe been re-published at this later date.
Another reviewer here on Goodreads, Michelle, nails it with perhaps the best one-liner I have seen in a review: Megan Abbott's writing is a mixture of "Jim Thompson, James M Cain and Doris Day".
Lora King is a Doris Day, a Grace Kelly, a Tippi Hedren:perfection at arm's length, never dirty, never tempted - or so it seems until, when Lora's 'too good to be true' brother is nudged from his pedestal into the arms of the mercurial Alice Steele, the ice-queen Lora's lovely life is jolted by Alice's chaos and she comes out fighting, blood red in tooth and claw.
"She only smiles in return, and in her smile I can see nothing, not a stray flicker of fear or anger or anything at all. But what I know is this: There's a reason she's wearing this blankness, this mechanical look stripped of her heat, energy, her intermittent chaos. There's a reason she's wearing this face. And I'm the reason."
Through Lora's eyes Abbott cranks the tension seamlessly, pulling the reader one way and then another; is this Lora the reliable narrator I thought she was? Will this all end in some paradigm twisting climax that betrays the reader? No, Abbott is better than that, she tempts and rewards like a torturer but the plot is solid and satisfying - and yet this book doesn't rely on only a slippery plot of mystery and intrigue. The writing itself is a joy and, with the cruel final twist and the characters' voices lingering after the last page, this is a definite 5 stars. If nothing else, it is worth reading if only so you may appreciate Michelle's one-liner - "Jim Thompson, James M Cain and Doris Day".
October 30, 2014
Eh. I appreciate what the author was trying to do, because it's something I'd like to try and do someday: capturing that vintage noir feeling somehow. But it just felt like an imitation all along, and a shallow one (press quotes have harped about how this is a very vintage L.A. crime book, but there's zero L.A. about it except for the dropping of the right restaurant names. And it's set in the 1950s but you only know because you're told early on. There's no real sense of place here). And the style was just not for me. A lot of unnecessary trains of thought and wordiness for the sake of being wordy--which, I mean, Chandler went on wordy tangents, too, but they were incredibly clever all by themselves. The prose really lacked rhythm and I couldn't get into it, which is such a disappointment.
Moral of the story: if I'm craving mid-century noir fiction, I'll go to mid-century noir authors.
Moral of the story: if I'm craving mid-century noir fiction, I'll go to mid-century noir authors.
October 8, 2013
This is not the kind of book I like. Stuffed with details like garishly tinted photos of table spreads in turn of the century cookbooks, endless descriptions of social events and brand name objects; women's details. So believe me when I say this book is stunning, that this author could do anything and I would trail along behind her lapping up words like a hopeless puppy.
Halfway through I started to become worried that she wouldn't be able to pull it off; that the mystery or the answer or the ending could never be enough to justify the black edge of suspense that builds through the acceleration of those spinning details. Oh, but it is, she does, and she does it so apparently effortlessly and perfectly.
Halfway through I started to become worried that she wouldn't be able to pull it off; that the mystery or the answer or the ending could never be enough to justify the black edge of suspense that builds through the acceleration of those spinning details. Oh, but it is, she does, and she does it so apparently effortlessly and perfectly.
January 14, 2008
Good times. Had this nice domestic noir vibe to it and felt reminiscent of good ol' Mildred Pierce. The Song Is You was definitely a more polished novel, but this showed me that Megan Abbott knows how to have fun with the hardboiled genre. Word to your sultry 1950s mom and her voile nightgown, yo.
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