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NEWS:

Bury Me Deep Nominated for  LA Times Book Prize, Edgar and Hammett Awards

Bury Me Deep Year-End Picks and Top Ten Lists

Dark Family, a reappraisal of V.C. Andrews in The Believer

Profile in The Detroit News

"Death Becomes Them" in Newsweek

Bury Me Deep is an IndieBound Notable Book: Great Reads from Booksellers You Trust

Interview in Barnes & Noble Review.

Interview in Mystery News

Die a Little
Going Hollywood


About the Covers

Bury Me Deep
Now in bookstores
 

NEW! Bury Me Deep is a Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist.

Bury Me Deep Nominated with Walter Mosley, George Pelecanos, Jedediah Berry and Ace Atkins for 2010 Hammett Prize by International Association of Crime Writers

Bury Me Deep Nominated for 2010 Edgar Award by Mystery Writers of America!

Bury Me Deep chosen as one of 2009's Top Crime Novels by the Los Angeles Times,  Detroit Free Press, the Victoria Advocate/Washington Olympian, Barnes and Noble Review, Book Reporter, Detroit News


Author Rebecca Godfrey interviews Megan Abbott in the Barnes & Noble Review.

Listen to Megan discuss the novel on Book Talk

A story of tabloid desire and
the darkest of crimes ...


 

"The narrative of Bury Me Deep has a dreamlike quality that mirrors the hazy existence of its protagonist. Marion often seems to be floating through life, and Abbott captures that feeling with the ethereal nature of her prose. . . . This is top-notch retro- noir."

—David Montgomery, The Chicago Sun-Times

 

"An exquisite book, told in delicate, shimmering prose that heightens the nightmarish quality of the story. Megan Abbott is often compared with James Ellroy, whom she admires greatly, 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

 

"Abbott's giddy prose and dialogue zigzag from flowery to slangy, but she's always in control. While there's no real comparison to Fitzgerald, Bury Me Deep is reminiscent of The Great Gatsby in its uncanny scenes of drink and drugs. They were so powerful that I had the impression I was myself intoxicated."

—Adam Woog, The Seattle Times

 

"If you have never read the work of Megan Abbott, do yourself a favor and get a copy of Bury Me Deep right now. In this, just her fourth novel, she has already established herself as one of the great mystery writers working in America today and is on her way to becoming a bestselling author.  Bury Me Deep is not just a fine mystery. It is an American novel, filled with humanity and a thirst for justice. We are going to be enjoying the work of Megan Abbott for decades to come."

—Tom Callahan, Bookreporter.com

 

"Nobody combines historical fact with bravura fiction the way Megan Abbott does. . . . All three of Abbott's books have been nominated for an Edgar Award; she won one for the much-praised Queenpin. She deserves another for Bury Me Deep. And it's definitely a must-read for anyone who wants to see one of the best crime writers around perform her magic."

—Dick Adler, The Barnes and Noble Review

 

"Bury Me Deep is a compelling, almost hypnotic piece of work, one sure to garner Abbott even more attention. Reminiscent of the works of Raymond Chandler and James Ellroy, Bury Me Deep is another jewel in the crown of one of the reigning monarchs of modern noir."

—Hank Wagner, Mystery Scene

 

"Many readers already compare Megan Abbott's virtuoso fiction to the great James M. Cain. That comparison is sure to become more common thanks to her brilliant new novel, Bury Me Deep. Bury Me Deep is literary fiction that happens to include a crime. . . . [Abbott is] an author destined to be a leading writer of her generation."

—W.E. Reinka, Mystery News (five stars)

 

"In this novel based on the true-life case of the 'Trunk Murderess,' Abbott turns the stuff of sensational confession magazines into a rich meditation on the unclouded depths of the soul."

—Carl Rosen, New York Magazine (included in the list of "What to Read This Summer")

 

"Working once more (as in The Song is You, 2007) from a true crime, the infamous Brighton Trunk Murders of 1934, Edgar-winner Abbott brings the era to life, inhabiting the 'bright-eyed and twitchy-tailed' party girls in all their enthusiasm and desperation. Her nearly stream-of-consciousness narration is direct and powerful, straight from Marion’s addled and passionate brain. As such, it is full of repeated phrases: 'It was like a saber lain before. It was a saber, a gauntlet, somehow.' But for all the classic-noir simplicity, such as the use of repetition rather than elaboration for emphasis, 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."

—Starred Kirkus Review

 

"Get me Bette Davis on the blower, and make it snappy," says the old producer. "This property by Abbott is made-to-order for her. . . . VERDICT It has to end with Kleenexes all 'round and something for everyone: true crime, 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 Bette has a lock on, it can't miss."

—Bob Lunn, Library Journal

 

"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

 

"Abbott is a retro original, and her reimagining of the true story of Winnie Ruth Judd, the Trunk Murderess, is a frothy mix of character, plot, and period detail. As good-girl Marion finds what she is really capable of, her psychological portrait is as carefully imagined as the nightmarish world that lurks beneath the community’s caring façade. . . . [Y]ou’ll want to bury yourself in Bury Me Deep."

—Keir Graff, Booklist

 

"Edgar-winner Abbott 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)."

Publisher's Weekly

 

"Megan Abbott has written three novels. All were nominated for Edgar Awards and the third, Queenpin, won. Haven't heard of her? Read this terrific novel and find out why you should have."

—Margaret Cannon, The Toronto Globe and Mail

 

"[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 Magazine

 

"Bury Me Deep is an incredible period piece and a stunning noir novel that examines a moment of history we all thought we knew from a different and fascinating perspective. Abbott's pitch perfect storytelling pulls the reader into a dark and unsettling world, and her clear love of her source material combined with deep research shines through, resulting in a novel that is immersive, addictive and darkly beautiful."

—Russel D. McLean, Crime Scene Scotland

 

"The twists and turns of the plot are as clever and unexpected as anything Raymond Chandler dreamed up. And when I came to the end, closed the last page and glanced at the alarm clock which read 4:00 a.m., Marion’s story seemed completely inevitable and true. The works of Paul Bowles came to mind. I can offer no greater praise than that."

—Jonathan Woods, 3:AM Magazine

 

"Once again, Abbott has crafted an unforgettable story of characters who must suddenly deal with the darkness that overcomes their lives. And Bury Me Deep joins her other books as instant classics of contemporary noir fiction."

—Alan Cranis, Bookgasm

 

 

Bury Me Deep is loosely inspired by a famous crime that scandalized the country. In October 1931, a railroad employee at the Southern Pacific Train Station in downtown Los Angeles noticed something leaking from a passenger trunk. Inside, he found the bodies of two young women. The trunk's owner was a young doctor's wife, Winnie Ruth Judd, en route from Phoenix. The two women were her best friends.

A media sensation, the case captivated the country, with tabloids dubbing Mrs. Judd the "Velvet Tigress," the "Blonde Butcher" and, most famously, "The Trunk Murderess." To many, the case appeared open and shut. But the truth, as always, is far more complicated.

 

 

 

Below, Megan Abbott talks about Bury Me Deep and the real-life case behind at Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale, with author Theresa Schwegel

 

 


Winnie Ruth Judd (left), accused "Trunk Murderess"
Agnes LeRoi and Sammy Samuelson (above), her alleged victims.
 

For further reading on the Judd case, there are two excellent books:

The Trunk Murderess by Jana Bommersbach (1992)
Winnie Ruth Judd: The Trunk Murders, by J. Dwight Dobkins and Robert J. Hendricks (1973)

To learn more about the case, visit the following:
Crime Library
Phoenix New Times coverage
Murder & Mayhem: The Strange Saga of Winnie Ruth Judd (an Arizona Historical Foundation exhibit)
A brief documentary

Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: July 2009
ISBN-10: 1-4391-0105-1
ISBN-13: 978-1-4391-0105-6

Price: $13.00
Order it or buy it in July at one of these wonderful independent bookstores:
Square Books (Oxford,MS)--signed copies available
Aunt Agatha's (Ann Arbor, MI)
Murder by the Book (Houston, TX) --signed copies available
Poisoned Pen (Scottsdale, AZ)--signed copies available
Murder on the Beach (Delray Beach, FL)
Dead End Books online --signed copies available
Partners and Crime (New York, NY)
The Mystery Bookstore (Los Angeles, CA)--signed copies available
Book Carnival (Orange, CA)--signed copies available
Mystery One Bookstore (Milwaukee, WI)
Mysterious Bookshop (New York, NY)--signed copies available
Mysteries to Die For (Thousand Oaks, CA)--signed copies available
M Is for Mystery (San Mateo, CA)--signed copies available
Seattle Mystery Bookstore (Seattle, WA)
Book Em Mysteries (Pasadena, CA)
Independent Mystery Booksellers Association

and many more! (If you are a bookseller, please send an email )

Also available on Powells and other online book retailers, including Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
And available as an e-book at retailers everywhere.