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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN num: 9781416534280
ISBN number: 1416534288
Label: Simon & Schuster
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 192
Printing Date: June 05, 2007
Publishing house: Simon & Schuster
Sale Popularity Level: 172140
Studio: Simon & Schuster
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Product Description:
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.
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Rated by buyers -
Megan Abbott is great. This is the second book by her that I've read and while QUEENPIN isn't, in my estimation, quite up to DIE A LITTLE, I think she's definitely establishing herself as a distinctive writer of noir. Her distinction is that she really gets into the portrayal of femmes fatale. The two books I've read so far are both narrated by a femme fatale and have to do with the relationship between femmes fatale. Therefore, her books are bound to have a far stronger appeal to the lady readers than noir ordinarily does. However, I strongly recommend her books to guys too. This one has to do with a young woman keeping the books for a sleazy nightclub who's taken under the wings of an older woman who's deep in the mobster world. The result is both an intense bonding and intense rivalry. Megan Abbott is following in the footsteps of James Cain with more than a little Raymond Chandler influence and she's sure enough worth checking out by the fans of both classic noir writers.I hope Hollywood discovers her books and does justice by them.
Rated by buyers 
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I gave this author a second try (I previously read 'The Song Is You') because she gets such rave reviews for writing noir, and also because strong female protagonists in noir are extremely rare. Unfortunately, I wasn't any more fond of this book that I was of the other one. I never do get that delicious chill of wicked characters swimming through a ruthless underworld. That IS what is happening in this book, but I just never got that tiny frisson (sometimes of fear, sometimes of revulsion) that I get when I read really good noir (Cain, Chandler, et al); the book feels like the author was taking boxes from aisle one and cans from aisle two in the Shop Noir Supermarket. She created a sketch of a story, populated it with the necessary number of flawed characters, had them be bad in chapters X and Y, and killed them in chapters T and Z. The prose isn't bad, but it feels rigged for how noir is supposed to sound as opposed to how the characters really think and feel and talk. I can see why Abbott's books are liked by others, but for me this one seems too obviously contrived, too much pain-by-numbers (yes, I meant to leave out the T) to get me emotionally involved. It's like I'm trying to read Chandler through a fogged window. And the little trick of the lead character seeming to have no name, it's been done.
The one thing I do like about Abbott's books is the terrific retro cover art. I'm almost willing to keep buying the books just for the great artwork.
Rated by buyers -
OK, I really enjoyed Abbot's very first mystery romp, rating it five stars (Die a Little: A Novel), but that might have been beginners luck. This sophomore slump is barely worth the trees sacrificed to print it.
Abbott lays on the Mike Hammer slang so thickly that it almost rings like parody, except for the earnest naivety in the story line that assures me that the author is playing the story straight, not for laughs. Nothing new here, except for the small twist of a female first-person narrator doing small bag jobs for her mid-level female (queenpin, get it?) boss. The dialogue and action read almost as if written by numbers from a "how to write a mystery" correspondence course.
I'm disappointed; the very first mystery was so well-crafted and smart that Abbott stood fair to be a new star in the hard-boiled business. This derivitive effort did not impress. I see on Amazon there is a new addition to Abbot's oeuvre (The Song Is You: A Novel); I'll give her one more chance.
Rated by buyers 
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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!
Rated by buyers -
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.
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