"You'll Never Win a Battle with a Well Read Woman" - Part 2

Alright all you voracious Rockabilly readers. I'm on a personal mission to make sure that the importance of the good old fashioned "novel" doesn't slip between the cracks on your iPad.  ;)

And with that said, I've got another recommendation that I think you ladies (and gents) will LOVE, love, love.

The cover alone makes me want to slip into something sexy and pull out the pearls. But all covers aside, let's take a deeper look at this intriguing novel.

Let me just start by saying, this author has utterly stolen my heart. Her name is Megan Abbott, and she writes outstanding noir fiction with a modern twist. Her grasp of the rough & cynical yet sweet like honey dialect of the era is remarkable. The men are hardcore, and the women even more so.
My dear friend, Betsy, recommended her to me a couple of years back, and I've now read all of her books, most recently finishing "Die a Little."


Her suspenseful depiction of 1950's Hollywood drama, call girl rivalry, narcotics use and grisly murder is truly gripping.


In one passage she paints the image of a sinister woman in a way that literally gave me goosebumps...

"As she moves across the room to greet me, I feel a hard chill drag down my spine. Can I really do this, be here, see them? It is as though time has slowed to a hypnotic crawl as she makes her way toward me, the silk of her cheongsam shushing, her feet, in wooden sandals, making no sound on the thick carpet, her head lowered like a good geisha. 

Then, as she approaches me, her darkly lined lids rise and she looks at me and in that look ... In that look, perhaps for the first time since I've known her, she conceals nothing. 
Her gaze - filled with rage, terror, shame, ugliness and still, her keen beauty - scissors through me, and I feel I have been gored." 

- (excerpt from "Die a Little" by Megan Abbott)  

Her stories are tough, witty and extremely entertaining.
I finished this one in 3 days on my daily subway ride to work.
I promise you, this is a page turner you won't want to put down.

So there you have it. No more excuses. I've given you two books, through 2 posts, that a Rockabilly woman shouldn't be without. More to come. :)

And never forget the famous quote ...

"You'll never win a battle with a well read woman." 

Nothing could be more true, as far as I'm concerned!