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mcf's review against another edition
4.0
An intense, technically accomplished read in which Abbott smoothly eases her language into an earlier time, making it convincing without feeling contrived or slipping into easy linguistic or cultural stereotypes. Impressive.
ridgewaygirl's review against another edition
5.0
In the early 1930s, Winnie Ruth Judd was arrested in Phoenix, Arizona, accused of murdering two women and then shipping their bodies to Los Angeles is leaky trunks.
Bury Me Deep is a reimagining of the Judd story, keeping only the barest facts, but inhabiting the Phoenix of the 1930s, when it was a haven for the tubercular and in the summer the women and children moved up to the mountains and the men remained behind to work and take summer girlfriends. Megan Abbott writes dark crime novels that read like feminist versions of Chandler and Ellroy and this one is no exception. Her protagonist is a version of Winnie Ruth Judd with an excess of cunning and fortitude.
Bury Me Deep is a reimagining of the Judd story, keeping only the barest facts, but inhabiting the Phoenix of the 1930s, when it was a haven for the tubercular and in the summer the women and children moved up to the mountains and the men remained behind to work and take summer girlfriends. Megan Abbott writes dark crime novels that read like feminist versions of Chandler and Ellroy and this one is no exception. Her protagonist is a version of Winnie Ruth Judd with an excess of cunning and fortitude.
dantastic's review against another edition
3.0
Marion Seeley is left in Phoenix by her doctor husband as he goes to Mexico to kick his smack habit. Marion gets a job at a hospital and falls in with two other nurses, Ginny and Louise, and soon falls under the spell of a friend of theirs, Joe Lanigan. But Joe's intentions are anything but honorable.
First of all, I love Megan Abbott's writing. She's like James Ellroy only not so exhausting, and her noir books could easily be made into 1930's era films. However...
... I've read three of her books and Bury Me Deep was easily the least enjoyable. It's only 225 pages but not a lot happens until the last 70-80. Sure, things really break loose after that but until then, the book moves about as quickly as a snail under the influence of Nyquil.
That being said, it's not a bad book. Megan Abbott's writing shines and the relationship between Lanigan and Mrs. Seeley was pretty well done. I was as taken in by Lanigan's sob story as Marion was. When things started coming unglued, I couldn't put it down. Too bad the rest of the book was so well-glued.
Seriously, if the rest of the book had been as good as the last 70-80 pages, this would be nearing five territory. Like I said before, the glacial pace really wrecked things for me. Marion wasn't all that interesting either, for that matter.
In conclusion, it's not a bad book but it's definitely not Abbott's best. It's a solid 3 though.
First of all, I love Megan Abbott's writing. She's like James Ellroy only not so exhausting, and her noir books could easily be made into 1930's era films. However...
... I've read three of her books and Bury Me Deep was easily the least enjoyable. It's only 225 pages but not a lot happens until the last 70-80. Sure, things really break loose after that but until then, the book moves about as quickly as a snail under the influence of Nyquil.
That being said, it's not a bad book. Megan Abbott's writing shines and the relationship between Lanigan and Mrs. Seeley was pretty well done. I was as taken in by Lanigan's sob story as Marion was. When things started coming unglued, I couldn't put it down. Too bad the rest of the book was so well-glued.
Seriously, if the rest of the book had been as good as the last 70-80 pages, this would be nearing five territory. Like I said before, the glacial pace really wrecked things for me. Marion wasn't all that interesting either, for that matter.
In conclusion, it's not a bad book but it's definitely not Abbott's best. It's a solid 3 though.
ccil541's review against another edition
3.0
I would have given this 3.5 if I could. It was a worthy read and I'm glad I read it once, but boy, I am not sorry to be through with the heroine's purple prose.
Abbott tried to write this in the style of the period, which I like as a stylistic choice, but I swear, Marion Seeley shares some DNA with Bella Swan. She surrenders to a man, which I get was a big deal back in the day, but I really didn't need 5 chapters bemoaning her weakness. It made the book drag - I almost stopped reading in part 2. Though I'm glad I didn't.
Once the real action starts, once Ginny starts getting jealous, then it got worth reading. The plot moved quickly, which works for me. And once the bad stuff started going down, I felt a lot more empathetic to Marion - maybe it's just my own limitations in my impatience for period heroines, but I couldn't stand it. But confronting murder, betrayal, dismemberment, that's going to terrify most people. That's going to send most people into paroxysms of fear and despair. It felt much less like the Perils of Pauline and much more like a proper thriller. I liked the end. I liked the twist. If the first parts were tighter this would have been 4 or 5 stars.
I don't know. It was a decent book, worth my time, but the style was extremely offputting.
Abbott tried to write this in the style of the period, which I like as a stylistic choice, but I swear, Marion Seeley shares some DNA with Bella Swan. She surrenders to a man, which I get was a big deal back in the day, but I really didn't need 5 chapters bemoaning her weakness. It made the book drag - I almost stopped reading in part 2. Though I'm glad I didn't.
Once the real action starts, once Ginny starts getting jealous, then it got worth reading. The plot moved quickly, which works for me. And once the bad stuff started going down, I felt a lot more empathetic to Marion - maybe it's just my own limitations in my impatience for period heroines, but I couldn't stand it. But confronting murder, betrayal, dismemberment, that's going to terrify most people. That's going to send most people into paroxysms of fear and despair. It felt much less like the Perils of Pauline and much more like a proper thriller. I liked the end. I liked the twist. If the first parts were tighter this would have been 4 or 5 stars.
I don't know. It was a decent book, worth my time, but the style was extremely offputting.
littlemascara's review against another edition
4.0
Like every other Megan Abbott book, I couldn't put this down, and the poetry she adds to her noir stories brings beauty to the darkest souls. All the same, while I wouldn't call the characters thinly drawn by any means, Marion's naivete about her friends and the men in her life didn't quite work for me.
bookswithlukas's review against another edition
1.0
DNF...This is advertised as a sort of crime noir novel, but I got half way through and no mystery had been introduced. Instead, I just got a lot of talk about how unhappy the MC is in her marriage. The writing style was also different to Abbotts 'Dare Me', and while I liked her style for that, I can't say the same for this one.
tscott907's review against another edition
4.0
An intoxicating, twisty crime story. The streak of true crime that runs through this book only serves to make you read faster — to swallow the book in long gulps — and I loved that experience. Very different from most of Abbott’s work, but carries all the trademarks her readers know and love. I really adored this book.
becka6131's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't enjoy this as much as the other two female noirs of Abbott's, but it deserves at least four stars for sheer effort. Every page is crackling with tension and detail. Can't doubt her talent.