Customer Reviews

Queenpin: A Novel

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

I can't remember how I first came across Megan Abbott's name but I'm so glad that I did. There is no-one like her writing today, and this is definitely up to her highest standards. The period detail is wonderful, and so too are the characters, especially the way the main character develops through the story. The writing reminds me of Raymond Chandler, James L. Cain and other classic noir writers, but without it being (as so many books are) a pale imitation of those masters. Megan Abbott has her own voice and style, and I guarantee that anyone trying one of her books will want to read them all.

I am, in large part, a fan of long, sprawling, adventurous types of stories. Maybe it's because that constitutes the bulk of what I read that I'm so impressed by a hardboiled, pulp-type novel done well: because it manages to pack so much into so little space.

Coming in at a mere 180 pages, Queenpin by Megan Abbott is a frightening, violent, atmospheric little book that really won't let you go. You can finish it in an afternoon... and honestly, if you've got the free afternoon I don't see why you'd have it any other way.

The major virtue of Queenpin, in its way, actually reminds me a good deal of Walter Mosley's Devil In a Blue Dress. Each book somewhat co-opts the style of older crime novels, but adds an element that wouldn't really have been explored fairly in most books from the original time period. (Race in Mosley's tale, the role of women in Abbot's.) This serves to give each book a sort of modern spin on things, but not to the point of feeling shoe-horned in. Nothing's worse than when an author's work screams: "Look at my strong female characters! Aren't they great?!"

The female leads in Queenpin aren't one-note femme fatales, but they are as believably tough, crooked, strong, frightening, and weak as any male character. The unnamed lead character/narrator even finds herself prey to the same kind of ruining lust as a male noir lead.

Essentially, that main character finds herself taken under the wing of high-up female criminal who's been around since the 20's, (the book is set roughly in the early 60's) where she gets her requisite taste for the high life, etc. Then, she goes and falls for the wrong man. It really is the classic setup with the genders reversed, and she's never even really that dedicated. She recognizes Vic Riordan for what he is-a pathetic chiseler, the kind of sap that she suckers day in and day out, but she can't keep away from him anyway. Unreasoning lust works that way, and it certainly doesn't come across any worse than (again) the mail noir leads who go to the ends of the earth for the same thing.

Then, while it's telling the basic noir story (and telling so very, very well, by the way) it gets to where the end would normally be... but only halfway through the book. It's riveting.

Queenpin is a classic crime novel ride through and through. Twists, turns, gore, dealings, and a lot of dry wit. The major characters are fleshed out surprisingly well in very little space, and the author evokes old masters without losing her voice (although she may come close a few times). It plows forward on the strength of its characters, instead of unbelievable twists, and comes all nice and wrapped up in one of the best covers this side of Hard Case Crime. All in all, one of the better short, dirty, inner-monologue-laden hardboiled books that you can get your hands on for a few days.

Once again, i met up with Ms Abbott...and was TKOd right out of the box....but it didn't hurt, not one bit. The narrative tension...the period detail..the cold-as-ice women and wastrel men...the broken bones...the blood..the mayhem...the "heat"....are all here in spades. Three times lucky, i guess.

A crash course in Grifting 101, under the tutelage of the legendary Gloria Denton, leaves our wide-eyed heroine bewitched, bothered, and bewildered...and craving the ever-elusive MORE. Things go seriously awry when Miss Wide Eyes falls hard for a rotten, unlucky (but gorgeous) gambler. In an effort to save his sorry ass and pay off his Vig...a plot is hatched to relieve La Denton of some cash...bloody murder follows. After our girl's wounds heal she decides to turn heel...turn her coat...and rat the Queenpin out to the coppers....more bloody death follows, toot-sweet. The newly freed Bird hies off to greener pastures..only to meet a Character from the recent past, who offers her the chance of a lifetime..the chance to become a Queenpin, herself...talk about Fate. what kind of Luck is that?

5 Stars (oh, hell, make it a double)

No way this isn't the best modern take on our founding fathers ever printed. If Ellroy sells one copy of his new one, MA should sell a thousand. I am stunned by this woman's talent. Let's hope she never runs out of balls and ink.