Paperback, 192 pages
English language
Published June 5, 2007 by Simon & Schuster.
A young woman hired to keep the books at a down-at-the-heels nightclub is taken under the wing of the infamous Gloria Denton, a mob luminary who reigned during the Golden Era of Bugsy Siegel and Lucky Luciano. Notoriously cunning and ruthless, Gloria shows her eager young protégée the ropes, ushering her into a glittering demimonde of late-night casinos, racetracks, betting parlours, inside heists, and big, big money. Suddenly, the world is at her feet -- as long as she doesn't take any chances, like falling for the wrong guy. As the roulette wheel turns, both mentor and protégée scramble to stay one step ahead of their bosses and each other.
I feel like this was a very very good noir/crime/thriller novel, but totally underscored that that's not my bag. I can imagine recommending it to a lot of people
I picked up this book after reading a great review from an incredibly reliable source here on Goodreads. I'm really glad I did. This book is unbelievably good. Megan Abbott's prose is as hardboiled as it gets yet highly crafted so that each sentence reads with just the right amount of punch. The story has all the elements of surprise, inevitability, and more profound notions of character you could ever want from a novel. There were more than a few scenes in Queenpin that made me turn to whoever was sitting next to me (okay it was usually just Bean) just so I could say out loud how awesome a certain passage was, or else just make an "exclamation face" and go back to reading. It's the kind of book that invites a sort of "did you see that?" reaction. Perfect noir. Perfect summer read. Give yourself an "exclamation face" …
I picked up this book after reading a great review from an incredibly reliable source here on Goodreads. I'm really glad I did. This book is unbelievably good. Megan Abbott's prose is as hardboiled as it gets yet highly crafted so that each sentence reads with just the right amount of punch. The story has all the elements of surprise, inevitability, and more profound notions of character you could ever want from a novel. There were more than a few scenes in Queenpin that made me turn to whoever was sitting next to me (okay it was usually just Bean) just so I could say out loud how awesome a certain passage was, or else just make an "exclamation face" and go back to reading. It's the kind of book that invites a sort of "did you see that?" reaction. Perfect noir. Perfect summer read. Give yourself an "exclamation face" and buy this book.
