Bury Me Deep: A Novel [Bargain Price] [Paperback]

Megan Abbott (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 7, 2009

In October 1931, a station agent found two large trunks abandoned in Los Angeles's Southern Pacific Station. What he found inside ignited one of the most scandalous tabloid sensations of the decade.

Inspired by this notorious true crime, Edgar®-winning author Megan Abbott's novel Bury Me Deep is the story of Marion Seeley, a young woman abandoned in Phoenix by her doctor husband. At the medical clinic where she finds a job, Marion becomes fast friends with Louise, a vivacious nurse, and her roommate, Ginny, a tubercular blonde. Before long, the demure Marion is swept up in the exuberant life of the girls, who supplement their scant income by entertaining the town's most powerful men with wild parties. At one of these events, Marion meets -- and falls hard for -- the charming Joe Lanigan, a local rogue and politician on the rise, whose ties to all three women bring events to a dangerous collision.

A story born of Jazz Age decadence and Depression-era desperation, Bury Me Deep -- with its hothouse of jealousy, illicit sex and shifting loyalties -- is a timeless portrait of the dark side of desire and the glimmer of redemption.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Edgar-winner Abbott (Queenpin) explores gender inequality and its sometimes tragic results in her well-crafted fourth crime novel, inspired by the true story of Winnie Ruth Judd (aka the Trunk Murderess). In 1931, Marion Seeley, a young woman whose husband has gone abroad on undisclosed business, secures a clerical job at the Werden Clinic in the capital of an unnamed Midwest state. From a veteran nurse, Louise Mercer, Marion learns that doctors have been misbehaving with the clinic's nursing staff. Marion becomes involved with Joe Lanigan, a close friend of the doctors and a reliable source of entertainment and money for the often cash-strapped nurses. When Louise and Ginny Hoyt, Louise's roommate, confront Marion about her relationship to Joe, the women get into a heated argument that leads to murder and a startling predicament for Marion. Readers should be prepared for a lot of backstory before the pace picks up and hurtles to a shocking ending. (July)
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Review

"Word for word, pound for pound, Megan Abbott delivers more than any writer I know. Her influences appear to range from Hollywood Babylon to Theodore Dreiser, but her work transcends pastiche and homage. Bury Me Deep extends an already jaw-dropping winning streak, showcasing Abbott's gorgeous prose and clear-eyed empathy. She is simply one of the most exciting and original voices of her generation." -- Laura Lippman, New York Times bestselling author of What the Dead Know

"Working once more...from a true crime... Edgar-winner Abbott brings the era to life...Her nearly stream-of-consciousness narration is direct and powerful...her prose carries an urgency that brings hard-boiled crime fiction kicking and screaming into the modern age. Abbott takes readers on a wild thrill ride with an utterly believable and strangely sympathetic heroine." -- Kirkus, Starred Review

"In [Bury Me Deep] Abbott turns the stuff of sensational confession magazines into a rich meditation on the unclouded depths of the soul." -- Carl Rosen, New York magazine

"[F]abulous characters, delectable plotting, a unique story and a steamy yet gossamer setting....A stunning work of fiction, it is Abbott's love for her central character that makes Bury Me Deep so accessible and so far away at the same time. Imagine Hammett wrote Daisy Buchanan and not Fitzgerald. And you are Gatsby... so close and yet so far away. This is Bury Me Deep." -- Ruth Jordan, Crimespree

"Edgar-winner Abbott...explores gender inequality and its sometimes tragic results in her well-crafted fourth crime novel...that leads to murder and a startling predicament...Readers should be prepared for...a shocking ending." -- Publishers Weekly

"[S]omething for everyone: true crime (it's based on a notorious 1930s trunk murderess' case), plus it's a women's story with noir embellishments. It has tough times, drugs, and pandemics. It screams 'today!' -- only retro. Done in that rat-a-tat delivery that...can't miss. Recommended heartily for fans of Edgar Award-winning Abbott's retro-noir crime fiction." -- Library Journal

"In a word: amazing. In more words: Megan Abbott, who has never delivered anything less than an excellent novel, exceeds expectations and takes a very bold and very necessary step forward both in the quality of the prose, the development of her characters and especially in portraying how obsession seeps into the very soul of people, transforming them into their worst nightmares all too easily. Just read this book. And then tell many others to do so as well." -- Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind

"Megan Abbott's virtuoso fiction [is comparable] to the great James M. Cain....Bury Me Deep is literary fiction that happens to include a crime...beautifully wrought...[Abbott is] an author destined to be a leading writer of her generation." -- W.E. Reinka, Mystery News, FIVE STARS

"[A] cunningly fictionalized...exquisite book, told in delicate, shimmering prose that heightens the nightmarish quality of the story. Megan Abbott is often compared with James Ellroy...but her writing is far more economical and focused, and her sensibilities are feminine to the core. This is noir mystery writing at its very best." -- Tom and Enid Schantz, The Denver Post --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; Original edition (July 7, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416599096
• ASIN: B003E7EU0C
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #421,720 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

MEGAN ABBOTT is the Edgar-winning author of the novels Die a Little, The Song Is You, Queenpin and Bury Me Deep, which was nominated for six awards: the Edgar Award, Hammett Prize, the Macavity, Anthony and Barry Awards and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Her writing has appeared in Wall Street Noir, Detroit Noir, Best Crime and Mystery Stories of the Year, Phoenix Noir, Storyglossia, the Los Angeles Times Magazine, The Believer, Queens Noir and the LA Noire Anthology.

Her upcoming novel, The End of Everything, comes out in July 2011.

Born in the Detroit area, she graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in English Literature and went on to receive her Ph.D. in English and American literature from New York University. She lives in Queens, New York City.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Stick With It, It Definitely Picks Up..., July 24, 2009

By 

Mercedes L. Johnmeyer "The Most Happy" (Summerville, SC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bury Me Deep (Kindle Edition)

I have read both Ms. Abbott's previous Noir's, 'Die a Little' (which is my absolute favorite), and 'The Song Is You' (also very, very good). I had high hopes for this book, but was somewhat disappointed upon starting it. The first 30% of the story seemed rushed and disjointed. I didn't feel as though I was getting to know the characters, and people and places jumped around so much it was hard to keep things straight. I almost gave up on it. I'm so glad I didn't.

This story is based loosely on the real life crime tale of Winnie Ruth Judd (a.k.a. The Trunk Murderess) in the 1930's. However, don't think you can just head on over to Wikipedia, read the story of Winnie Ruth, and think you have Ms. Abbott's novel all figured out (I made this mistake, but it made the ending all the more enjoyable). Ms. Abbott has altered the actual events into a 'What would have happened if...' , and it makes for a riveting story. Marion Seeley does not meet the same fate as her real life counterpart, and some key players involved in the crime and Marion's life, have a very different ending to their stories as well.

While the beginning of this novel frustrated me, the rest more then made up for it. Overall, I absolutely recommend this. I am not a regular fan of dark novels filled with sex, drugs and murder, but Megan Abbott is one of the ONLY authors of this genre that I always keep an eye out for. While her style of writing may take a little getting used to, she has a way of pulling you right into the seedy side of a long-past era of glitz and glamour.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truth is stranger than fiction..., August 5, 2009

By 

J. Langolf (Mesa, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bury Me Deep: A Novel (Paperback)

but sometimes fiction fills the gaps that truth leaves behind.

Not just another one of those tawdry tales of victims and vice, filled with complex characters and more shades of gray than all the dark hours before dawn. A thread of lurid truth, expertly woven absolutely gives this absorbing novel its feeling of authenticity. Painstaking research and darkly poetic language make this a touching and tragic story that I simply could not put down. Megan Abbott is absolutely one of my favorite finds of the last few years and she certainly scores again with Bury Me Deep.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I like Megan Abbott; I did not like this book, October 24, 2009

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P. Johnson (Illinois) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bury Me Deep: A Novel (Paperback)

In the last six months I have been trying to read all of the GREAT hard-boiled/noir writers. Megan Abbott was a wonderful discovery, and her two novels "The Song is You" and "Die a Little" were both fantastic reads. Five Stars, read these two books, you will love them.

I had similar expectations for "Bury Me Deep", but found that it Bored Me Deeply. Others have stated that the first third of the book is back story; I would say that more than half of the book is back story. The narrative reads like a teenage romance novel in which a young girl breathlessly telling us about her first love.

Between the 100+ page set-up, the annoying "breathless" style, and a disappointing ending, I cannot recommend the book. Megan Abbott's previous writing was better than this book-- much, much better. Sorry Megan; your other books were gripping page-turners. In this book, I just did not like your main character Marion.