Saturday, March 06, 2010

Bury Me Deep by Megan Abbott

by

Title: Bury Me Deep
Author: Megan Abbott
ISBN: 9781416599098, Simon & Schuster, 2009
Genre: Historical Thriller
Rating: A

First Line: Thrill parties every night over on Hussel Street.

It's 1931 in Phoenix, Arizona. Young wife, Marion Seeley, has been left in town while her doctor husband travels to work in Mexico. She has a job as a clerk in a clinic, and she soon falls under the spell of a nurse who also works there. Louise and her roommate Ginny love to party, and slowly but surely they seduce Marion from her strict upbringing and from the promises she made to her husband. It's been months since Marion has heard from her spouse, and handsome Joe Lanigan is right there smiling at her every night when she attends her friends' parties.

Marion's life is about to change forever.

Abbott loosely based her novel on the case of Winnie Ruth Judd, with which I'm familiar. I was surprised by how quickly I left my prior knowledge behind and how totally caught up I became by this story. The author did an excellent job of making me feel as though I were in Depression-era Phoenix without overdoing on either the details or the slang. Normally if I'm aware of the inspiration for a book, that story will stick in my mind and influence my thinking. Not so with Bury Me Deep. This is Abbott's own tale, and my thoughts of Judd went right out the window. I'm definitely looking forward to reading Abbott's other books.

[Source: Purchased from The Poisoned Pen.]
at Saturday, March 06, 2010
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5 comments:

  1. I am so glad you also liked this one!

    I don´t read much noir and hardly ever true crime, but I was completely absorbed in this fantastically written novel.
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  2. Cathy - I agree with Dorte. This really was a terrific book. I was captured right from the beginning, and very glad you liked it, too.
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  3. Needless to say, I was very happy to read you enjoyed it. Thanks for reviewing it!
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  4. I'm a sucker for books that are inspired by true stories. This sounds like a good one.
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  5. Dorte-- It is indeed a very well-written book. There have been too many times when I've been familiar with the story a book is based on, and the book isn't "good enough" to rise above my memories of the original. Bury Me Deep made me totally forget about Winnie Ruth Judd.

    Margot K-- I was particularly impressed with the way the author transported me to another time and place without "showing off" her knowledge of facts and language. There's a very subtle line that many authors cross. Abbott didn't, which makes her writing all the more powerful.

    Patti-- You're welcome! I have to edit the review because it doesn't say what I wanted it to. I should know better than to write a review in the wee hours of the morning and post it, instead of proofreading it after getting some sleep!

    Kathy-- It is. Very good!
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