Queenpin: A Novel [Paperback]

Megan Abbott (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 5, 2007

By the author of Dare Me and The End of Everything

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 parlors, 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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Edgar-finalist Abbott (Die a Little) delivers a sharp, slender, hardboiled tale of a protégé's schooling by a notorious, been-there-done-that moll. The first time the unnamed 22-year-old female narrator lays eyes on Gloria Denton, her first thought is I want the legs. The setting is the Club Tee Hee, an indeterminate Las Vegas–L.A. nowhere where the kid is doing the mobbed-up books, and Gloria comes in every few weeks to count Jerome's vig. The kid absorbs very entertaining lessons in how to dress, move, behave, and how to pick up, transport and distribute payoffs and winnings—until she falls for sweet-talking gambler Vic Riordan. Abbott is pitch-perfect throughout: Gloria Denton, still turning heads in her 40s, is as hard a moll as any, and the kid is a beautiful combination of foil and tool as she strives to emulate her role model. The collision, violent and inevitable, rips away the facade of glitz and glamour, and leaves their low-end edifice starkly exposed.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Working from her story in the anthology Damn Near Dead (2006), noir's reigning crown princess delivers a royally entertaining rumination on toxic female friendships set in the harsh neon underbelly of early-1960s Las Vegas. The tale of an avaricious assistant to a Virginia Hill-style Mob courier unfolds so cinematically it's difficult not to picture it onscreen--perhaps pitched as The Grifters meets Casino, with Sharon Stone and Scarlett Johansson under the leering direction of Quentin Tarantino. "Gloria's girl," they call her when she's corralling payoffs from casino managers, fixing odds at the track, and doling out pad money to the cops. But she's out for a glorious score, and the taste of a gem heist she sets up only makes her ravenous for more. It's too bad that head for nasty business is paired with a body built for even nastier sin--and a heart foolish enough to go out to Vic Riordan, a self-destructive gambler nearing his final spin of the wheel. It'd be nice to get a better glimpse of her motivations, but this is a sleek, slick, seductive treat. Frank Sennett
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 180 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; Original edition (June 5, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416534288
• ISBN-13: 978-1416534280
• Product Dimensions: 0.5 x 5.5 x 8.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #493,822 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

MEGAN ABBOTT is the Edgar award-winning author of six novels, including Dare Me, The End of Everything and Bury Me Deep. Her writing has appeared in Detroit Noir, Queens Noir, Phoenix Noir, New York Times and Los Angeles Times Magazine. She is the author of The Street Was Mine: White Masculinity in Hardboiled Fiction and Film Noir and editor of A Hell of a Woman, a female crime fiction anthology. She has been nominated for awards including the Steel Dagger, the LA Times Book Prize and the Pushcart Prize. Currently, she is working on the screenplay for her novel, Dare Me, soon to be a major motion picture.

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.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous Noir October 2, 2007

By Gayle

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Die A Little is still my favorite, but this book is a sleek dark rocket. I could not put it down. When my husband read Die A Little, he said he loved it, and would read anything else Megan Abbott wrote, but that he wished James M. Cain had done a pass over it. He got his wish in this book. Lean and mean, but still displaying Abbott's own poetic voice, Queenpin is a knockout noir, taut and twisted, neon surface glitter hiding subterranean depths.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Noir Has A New Fan! March 26, 2008

By Sue Ann Jaffarian

Format:Paperback

I have never read much noir, but "Queenpin" was recommended to me by Christa Faust, who wrote the wonderful and gritty "Money Shot," which I also loved.

"Queenpin" blew me away. From the opening line, Abbott takes you into the depths of her main character's mind, heart and soul and holds you hostage for the entire book.

I echo the comment made by another reviewer here: I want to read a prequel featuring Gloria Denton!

I'm hooked!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Meg Abbott proves that women can be as tough (and as weak) as men October 10, 2009

By Elizabeth Ray VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

A young and naive bookkeeper/accounting student is taken under the wing of Gloria Denton, a long-time mafia player who is looking for a protege. The narrator becomes Gloria's girl and trusted apprentice. Unfortunately, she falls for Vic, a losing gambler who owes money to the wrong people - people who are associated with her employer. Ultimately she must choose between Vic and Gloria.

Queenpin takes a stereotypical hard-boiled plot and turns it upside down - the women in Megan Abbott's world are ruthless, but one is ultimately brought down by a sexy loser. Abbott's writing is concise, and the story she tells is dark and violent enough to stand with her male noir counterparts.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb revival of a gritty genre February 22, 2008

By James F. Stone

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I've read all three of Ms Abbott's novels now. She is a quick read and will not strain your brain. However, her recollection of the time about which she writes is a delight. She also writes in a manner tough enough to invoke early Spillane and his peers (if he has any). The switch to dangerous females in lead roles is also quite fun. I read a lot of modern mystery writers, i.e. Fairstein, Scottoline, Barr, Henry, Stabenow, Graves, etc and Megan Abbott's perspective is refreshing. Her writing is crisp and moves along very nicely and easily holds the reader's attention. Give her a try; you won't regret it. Just remember, if you are looking for complex plot structure and deep detailed character development, go elsewhere. This is about scheming and action. Delightful to read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great noir read October 17, 2012

By Book Nympho

Format:Paperback

I picked this book up because I've been wanting to read a noir style novel for some time now. I was also drawn to it because the main characters are female which seems to be rare in this genre.

Abbott's writing is excellent and quickly pulls you into the story and the world. As you read the concise language and wording makes you feel of that era. I found myself hearing the characters in voices similar to 1940s black & white noir films. The way they spoke was perfect without being too exaggerated or phony.

The main character is a young woman who is drawn to this shadowy world and can't resist its allure. She is taken under the wing of Gloria Denton and is a fast learner. But then she meets a man who even she knows is trouble but she's helpless to resist him. Although she's clever, she can't seem to untangle herself and it's like watching a car crash in slow motion because you know it won't end well.

Still the reading experience was amazing and I really enjoyed having a glimpse into that world. Abbott does such a great job of creating the atmosphere and showing all the characters without revealing too much. I can't wait to read more books like this and pretty much anything else Abbott has written.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Strong Noir, Major Talent August 11, 2007

By Michael P. Maslanka

Format:Paperback

Abbott's novels each have a strong structure, typical situations but imbued with a noir sensibility---the first, the love of brother and sister, the second, how a man lives with the evil he does, and the third, a mentor/mentee relationship between an older and a younger woman. In her latest she pulls offf two neat tricks. The first is a murder passage. Easy way out? Rely on blood and gore and not language. She goes the language route, which takes real talent. It is a chilling passage. The second is writing about how a female goes weak for a male bum. Writing about sex without detailing the act is talent. Looking forward to her next.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Better and better with every book February 7, 2008

By Jeff VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Ms. Abbott's novels have progressively become faster paced and more darkly plotted. Although short of the break necked pace of a later James Ellroy work, Queenpin moves with flash and verve through a world of shadowy characters. Another reviewer has commented accurately that there is solid thinking behind her plots in every book and there is no exception to that observation here.

What is unique is the concept of a 'Queen-pin' as opposed to a 'Kingpin.' Although the Queenpin initially is drawn as a caricature, we learn more about her history as the plot advances. Although she never becomes a full person, she is real enough for the purposes of the book.

Especially interesting is Abbott's portrayal of the power of sex in this book. Seen here, sexual need is indistinguishable from the lure of hard drugs to an addict. More uniquely, the women crave it more than the men. This makes for striking juxtapositions compared to a conventional noir novel.

Abbott's ability to describe violence has also progressed. Despite the title of her first book, it was not that violent. The violence in 'The Song is You' was more often implied than described in detail. Queenpin throws any squeamishness over its shoulders, yielding nothing to her male noir peers.

You can read her works in any order, as the stories are not at all interconnected. However, I'd suggest reading in chronological order. It reminds me of a fast forward video clip of a beautiful floor blossoming. We can only hope she is working on her fourth novel now.