Megan Abbott’s debut novel Die A Little is set in 1950’s Hollywood underbelly. Lora’s brother Bill is an investigator who marries Alice, a girl with a mysterious past that she still holds onto. Lora slowly unravels who she is.
I listened to the audiobook on the basis that Abbott was an award winning author and this was her debut novel. She now has sixty three books out according to Goodreads, predominately crime.
The story moved along and developed at a decent pace transitioning from more domestic to crime as it did. It was more literary than commercial, but not overly. The settings and atmosphere felt lived in for the reader. The writing was consistently strong. I did feel that some of the character’s observations reiterated what could have been understood by the reader, but it was not often nor a long dump or blatant telling.
All in all a good story and characters ending with no right or wrong.
Ross Raymond Nunamaker 