Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
129th out of 308 books
—
201 voters
Bury Me Deep
by
Megan Abbott (Goodreads Author)
By the author of Dare Me and The End of Everything
In October 1931, a station agent found two large trunks abandoned in Los Angeles’s Southern Pacific Station. What he found inside ignited one of the most scandalous tabloid sensations of the decade.
Inspired by this notorious true crime, Edgar®-winning author Megan Abbott’s novel Bury Me Deep is the story of Marion Seeley, a...more
In October 1931, a station agent found two large trunks abandoned in Los Angeles’s Southern Pacific Station. What he found inside ignited one of the most scandalous tabloid sensations of the decade.
Inspired by this notorious true crime, Edgar®-winning author Megan Abbott’s novel Bury Me Deep is the story of Marion Seeley, a...more
Paperback, 240 pages
Published
July 7th 2009
by Simon & Schuster
(first published June 30th 2009)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
895)
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...more
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...more
It’s a real pity that Megan Abbott wasn’t pitching stories on the Warner Brothers lot in the Thirties or Forties, as she could have created numerous great vehicles for a Bette Davis or a Joan Crawford. With her there we could easily have had a dozen Mildred Pierces.
Tough, edgy, but with enough melodrama to supply material for a woman’s picture, ‘Bury Me Deep’ is an excellent crime throwback to the depression. It’s Arizona 1931 and a receptionist, whose husband has left temporarily on a foreign t...more
Tough, edgy, but with enough melodrama to supply material for a woman’s picture, ‘Bury Me Deep’ is an excellent crime throwback to the depression. It’s Arizona 1931 and a receptionist, whose husband has left temporarily on a foreign t...more
BURY ME DEEP, Megan Abbott
2009, noir, historical, based on true crime. Nice young woman in 1931 Phoenix abbandoned by her husband, falls in with a wild crowd' once awakened to the good times possible she enjoys herself rather a lot, but eventually must pay for it - and she's not the only one.
Minister's daughter, young and innocent Marion Seeley has gone and married herself a rotter, a drug addict who drags her down with him as he slowly loses control over his desires. Attempting one last chance...more
2009, noir, historical, based on true crime. Nice young woman in 1931 Phoenix abbandoned by her husband, falls in with a wild crowd' once awakened to the good times possible she enjoys herself rather a lot, but eventually must pay for it - and she's not the only one.
Minister's daughter, young and innocent Marion Seeley has gone and married herself a rotter, a drug addict who drags her down with him as he slowly loses control over his desires. Attempting one last chance...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Bury Me Deep is inspired by the notorious 1931 ‘trunk murders’ crime. It follows certain factual aspects of that story to frame the narrative, but the story itself is fiction and the ending is substantially different. There is plenty to like about the book, but the real strengths for me are the prose, the pace, the character development, and the plotting. Abbott is clearly something of a wordsmith and the prose is very nicely written. The pace is even and relenting, where it could have been rush...more
This is a very interesting novel. Based on a true story about bodies found stuffed in a trunk in a train station in LA in 1931, this book is written something like William Faulkner and something like Theodore Dreiser. The language is a headlong rush from beginning to end. The story is one of weak wills and weaker morals. Three nurses meet. Two wordly and one innocent who slowly sinks under the weight of being alone and lonely. Marion Seeley, the innocent, quickly loses her way after her husband...more
Abbott's prose is well worth your time. It most reminded me of Shirley Jackson's _The Haunting of Hill House_, honestly. When I mentioned this on Twitter, Abbott replied that she LOVES Jackson's work, and it was a big influence on her. I don't mind when people's influences show, not when they are lovingly borrowing with the skill Abbott displays here.
The story is a typical noir-crime, with drugs and affairs and lesbians and corrupt officials. Yet it's *how* the story is told that is compelling....more
The story is a typical noir-crime, with drugs and affairs and lesbians and corrupt officials. Yet it's *how* the story is told that is compelling....more
Jun 07, 2009
Patti
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Those who like dark stories, or noir
Recommended to Patti by:
Kathy F
Megan Abbott is such an amazing writer! She always takes you directly to the time period she's writing in, and you feel you are there as the story unfolds.
This title, due out in July, takes place in Arizona, in 1931, as Mrs. Marion Seeley is left behind there by her husband so that the dry air can heal her consumption. Her husband, a doctor with licensing problems due to drug addiction, goes to work in Mexico for a mining company as their doctor.
Marion befriends a coworker, Louise, and Louise's...more
This title, due out in July, takes place in Arizona, in 1931, as Mrs. Marion Seeley is left behind there by her husband so that the dry air can heal her consumption. Her husband, a doctor with licensing problems due to drug addiction, goes to work in Mexico for a mining company as their doctor.
Marion befriends a coworker, Louise, and Louise's...more
I think my feelings towards the work of Megan Abbott have been made pretty clear in the past, but in filling this gap in my reading I feel exhausted and disappointed. Generally I can't praise her or her noir writing skills enough but today I don't have a huge amount of pleasant things on my mind.
This is the reimagining of a true story, 1931's Trunk Murderess case, it seems perfect for an Abbott noir and she does so much right with it. The tale of Mrs Seeley, abandoned by her drug-addicted doctor...more
This is the reimagining of a true story, 1931's Trunk Murderess case, it seems perfect for an Abbott noir and she does so much right with it. The tale of Mrs Seeley, abandoned by her drug-addicted doctor...more
Megan Abbott reimagines the true story of Winnie Judd, the infamous 1931 "Trunk Murderess" of Phoenix, Arizona. In Abbott's fictional account, an attractive young woman named Marion Seeley, is left alone by her husband, a doctor, who is going to Latin America temporarily.
Marion gets a job at a medical clinic and is befriended by two party girls, one of whom is a nurse at the clinic where Marion works. Marion soon falls under the influence of the women who supplement their income by entertaining...more
Marion gets a job at a medical clinic and is befriended by two party girls, one of whom is a nurse at the clinic where Marion works. Marion soon falls under the influence of the women who supplement their income by entertaining...more
I really, really liked this book, and when I have time I'd love to add a more detailed review.
This book has fast paced dialogue, witticism, period slang, and a life of it's own. While reading you are shown the innocence of Mrs. Seely and the way her knowledge of the world is changed little by little as she becomes friendlier with Louise and Ginny. Some readers may immediatley pick up on the predator/prey relationship Louise has with Marion Seely, will see the grooming of a woman who had been sh...more
This book has fast paced dialogue, witticism, period slang, and a life of it's own. While reading you are shown the innocence of Mrs. Seely and the way her knowledge of the world is changed little by little as she becomes friendlier with Louise and Ginny. Some readers may immediatley pick up on the predator/prey relationship Louise has with Marion Seely, will see the grooming of a woman who had been sh...more
This is the second book I've read by Megan Abbott, and after reading it I again have to praise the great Duane Swierczynski for introducing me to her work.
"Bury Me Deep" is a noir novel inspired by the true life case of Winnie Ruth Judd, who was dubbed "The Trunk Murderess" by the press after she was linked to two trunks containing the mutilated bodies of her friends.
Abbott takes many details of the case and uses them to tell the story of Marion Seeley, a women left by her husband to find her ow...more
"Bury Me Deep" is a noir novel inspired by the true life case of Winnie Ruth Judd, who was dubbed "The Trunk Murderess" by the press after she was linked to two trunks containing the mutilated bodies of her friends.
Abbott takes many details of the case and uses them to tell the story of Marion Seeley, a women left by her husband to find her ow...more
Bury Me Deep is a hard-hitting femme noir about Marion Seeley, a young nurse whose husband, Dr. Seeley, is away on business. In his absence, Marion is befriended by two swinging and raucous dames, Ginny and Louise, who draw Marion into their lifestyle of all night parties, booze, drugs, and the prominent and irresistible, “Gentleman” Joe Lanigan. What follows is Abbott’s version of the true crime case of Winnie Ruth Judd, the “Trunk Murderess” aka the “Blond Butcher” that, in 1931, left the coun...more
Fictionalized story based on Winnie Ruth Judd, who was convicted of murdering two women in 1931, and who was nearly hanged for it. Abbott reimagines the story, as if things turned out a bit differently.
In 1931, Marion Seeley is left in Phoenix while her heroin-addict doctor husband is working in Mexico. While working in a clinic, she falls under the influence of two co-workers who are little more than prostitutes who entertain some the town leaders. Seeley is very innocent, almost too innocent,...more
In 1931, Marion Seeley is left in Phoenix while her heroin-addict doctor husband is working in Mexico. While working in a clinic, she falls under the influence of two co-workers who are little more than prostitutes who entertain some the town leaders. Seeley is very innocent, almost too innocent,...more
Megan Abbott is a terrific writer, and I look forward to reading her other novels. It seems her novels are period noir pieces (except for her most recent, The End of Everything, which is set in the present day). Bury Me Deep is set in 1931, and is Abbott's reimagining of the true crime case of Winnie Ruth Judd, the "Trunk Murdress". In this novel, Winnie becomes Marion Seeley, a young woman abandoned in Phoenix by her doctor husband. He has drug addiction problems and has gone to Mexico. He is l...more
This story is based on an actual event but Megan Abbot decided to change the outcome of her story.
It’s 1931 and Marion Seeley’s husband is a doctor with a drug addiction. In order to work, he must go to Mexico and provide medical assistance to poor miners. He feels it’s too dangerous for her to go to with him, so he leaves her in Phoenix, where she works for a local doctor as a transcriptionist.
Marion befriends Louise, an outgoing nurse, and her roommate Ginnie, who is suffering from tuberculosi...more
It’s 1931 and Marion Seeley’s husband is a doctor with a drug addiction. In order to work, he must go to Mexico and provide medical assistance to poor miners. He feels it’s too dangerous for her to go to with him, so he leaves her in Phoenix, where she works for a local doctor as a transcriptionist.
Marion befriends Louise, an outgoing nurse, and her roommate Ginnie, who is suffering from tuberculosi...more
I picked this up out of the bargain rack at Borders (one of my splurges where only 1/3 of the books tend to be quality) and was thrown deep into the pit of noir and darkness that this novel conveys. Marion is a sheltered, young, and naive doctor's wife left alone in Arizona while her husband, who no longer has a working medical license, practices medicine in Mexico. She falls into a friendship with two women who are a bit licentious and then ends up embroiled in an affair with a local businessma...more
Iinspired by a true crime in 1931, this very dark tale is set in Phoenix. Naive young wife Marion Seeley is left behind to work at a clinic by her junkie doctor husband, who goes to work in Mexico for 3 months. Marion is excited by the reckless abandon her new friends Louise and Ginny exhibit at their house parties, and she spends more and more time with them. Marion does not recognize the corruption of her new circle of friends, nor the danger of being attracted to ladies man Joe Lanigan. As sh...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
An absolutely unique experience. Like William Faulkner writing pulp fiction. The juxtaposition of practically poetic writing of an absolutely lurid story -- by turns tittilating and nauseating but always captivating -- without the usual preciousness, empathy or sentimentality was a little confusing at first but once I got into I got WAY into it. Feels more like a true crime novel than IN COLD BLOOD. The last 50 pages were a total surprise. At first I didn't think the ending was emotionally satis...more
After reading Queenpin and this one, I'm a lovestruck fan of Megan Abbott. Super entertaining, provocative, dark, sweet . . . massively sexy about stuff that if she spelled it out in detail, I'd just be like BARFORAMA! but instead she just makes you feel the all-consuming bigness of wanting someone or something to just obliterate everything else so you'd do absolutely anything for them or it. Abbott knows how to mention the unmentionable as just . . . unmentionable so you get the feeling of out-...more
As everyone writes a short synopsis of the book, I will forgo doing that. The author takes you back to 1931 easily. With the dialect, the discription of the clothes, every day life & most importantly how women were treated in that era. Well, we have come a long way baby.
My heart ached reading how Marion dealt with her life as it unfolded. Her naivety of the world. Her total entrapment by a womanizer. Marion was a sad heroine who I had great empathy for. I could really see the events unfoldin...more
My heart ached reading how Marion dealt with her life as it unfolded. Her naivety of the world. Her total entrapment by a womanizer. Marion was a sad heroine who I had great empathy for. I could really see the events unfoldin...more
A big thumbs up. Far from the ordinary crime novel, and the writing is gorgeous. To know that it's based on a true story is just the cherry on the sundae. This story of small-town innocent, Marion Seely, who becomes caught up in a world of illicit drugs, easy sex and bathtub gin, spins on dreamily until Marion finds herself the fall woman in two murders. Marion wakes up with a snap! and so do we. The underbelly of small-town America is revealed as we see the true faces of the upright Knights of...more
This book had all the makings of a real page-turner: Love,sex,lies,jealousy,murder.. but for some reason it fell flat with me. Perhaps its because I'm not very familiar with the genre of noir and all of its idiosyncrasies. I had a difficult time getting used to the author's voice as the prose was written as though it was coming from a person living within the jazz age with all of the colloquialisms that go along with that era. That being said, I still finished the book in a couple of days and on...more
This didn't knock my socks off the way Abbott's first two books did, but there's a lot going on in this book that kept me ripping through the pages. Though not literally, I don't do that to library books.
There's quite a bit of sexual obsession that consumes the main (heterosexual female) character that reminded me of parts of Abbott's previous novel, Queenpin. I think what I like most about this book is that Abbott gets down a lot of period detail circa 1930, an era she's not touched on in her p...more
There's quite a bit of sexual obsession that consumes the main (heterosexual female) character that reminded me of parts of Abbott's previous novel, Queenpin. I think what I like most about this book is that Abbott gets down a lot of period detail circa 1930, an era she's not touched on in her p...more
BURY ME DEEP is a stunning piece of noir. Megan Abbott effortlessly brings the reader into 1930's Phoenix and into the parties and excesses. The questionable morality of the time and place is shown to us through the prim and proper eyes of the focus character as we see her, in her loneliness and despair; react, accept, then bend, bend and ultimately break as she comes into her sexual awareness. All too soon, sex and sin becomes, somehow, darker and then darker still.
A stunning work. Painful and...more
A stunning work. Painful and...more
I really enjoyed Megan Abbott's book 'Queenpin' but I didn't find 'Bury Me Deep' nearly as satisfying. Abbott based this on a true crime of 1931 and she writes the book in a 1930s flowery style. She does a great job with the characters and evoking 1931 Phoenix (there were people living in Phoenix in 1931? yikes) but sometimes her writing got in the way of my enjoyment of this book. But, I'd still recommend Megan Abbott's books - they're interesting and it's great to read thrillers with interesti...more
I saw this recommended by a book list and thought why not - it's not my typical book.
I'm glad I did pick it up... it was interesting read about the now forgotten but once tabloid-fueled case of Winnie Ruth Judd, the "Trunk Murderess" or "Blonde Butcher" as the papers christened her. The case was right out of film noir. Her dialog is straight out the thirties with great attention to the phrasing and choice of words.
I was so intrigued by the lawlessness of the 30's, I found myslef caught up in the...more
I'm glad I did pick it up... it was interesting read about the now forgotten but once tabloid-fueled case of Winnie Ruth Judd, the "Trunk Murderess" or "Blonde Butcher" as the papers christened her. The case was right out of film noir. Her dialog is straight out the thirties with great attention to the phrasing and choice of words.
I was so intrigued by the lawlessness of the 30's, I found myslef caught up in the...more
Bury Me Deep is a fictionalized account of the true crime story of the "Trunk Murders" in Los Angeles in 1931. Everyone has little pockets of history that fascinate them, eras that resonate with you and make you believe in reincarnation or the possibility that you were born in the wrong time or would have better fit in or enjoyed some other epoch. The Roaring Twenties and early Depression have never been one of those for me. Sure, I like Chicago and The Grapes of Wrath as much as the next person...more
This is a complex tale based on a true crime of the early 1930s. I can best describe it as noir turned on its head with a female character lead into the depths by a male fatale. Abbott's writing is great, classic gritty Americana, complete with bluegrass/blues lyrics tossed in. It's impossible not to sympathize with Marion as she spirals into the depths. I wanted to give this book five stars, but while I really liked it, I didn't love it. I can't quite put my finger on why though. Maybe it's tha...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Megan Abbott is the Edgar® award-winning author of the novels The End of Everything Queenpin, The Song Is You, Die a Little, Bury Me Deep and her latest, Dare Me (July 2012).
Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, Salon, the Los Angeles Times Magazine, The Believer, Los Angeles Review of Books, Detroit Noir, Best Crime and Mystery Stories of the Year, Storyglossia, Queens Noir and The Spee...more
More about Megan Abbott...
Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, Salon, the Los Angeles Times Magazine, The Believer, Los Angeles Review of Books, Detroit Noir, Best Crime and Mystery Stories of the Year, Storyglossia, Queens Noir and The Spee...more
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
Jun 09, 2012 03:36pm
Jun 09, 2012 05:44pm