Die A Little by Megan Abbott

I understand this is Megan Abbott's debut novel, but it certainly doesn't read like one.  It reads like the best of the classic LA or Hollywood noir stories, perhaps something by James M. Cain.  Ms Abbott has the perfect style for this sort of story: minimalistic, meaning there are many layers of subtext and mood but she never really comes right out and explicitly describes the seedy nature of what's happening.  But as a reader, you still completely understand what's happening.  Pretty cool.

The story takes place in 1950's Hollywood where Lora King, a young teacher in a school for girls is slowly dragged into the dark underbelly (is that an overused phrase or what?) of the Hollywood sex and drugs scene.  Her brother, a young district attorney, marries a gal with whom he has just been involved in a car accident.  She seems a little too good to be true which leads Lora to start nosing around.  Every door she opens leads a little further toward her understanding of that underworld and, somehow, she must find a way to protect her brother, and herself, from the "noirness".

A host of supporting characters make this a very colorful story but it is the author's ability to convey the texture of each scene that makes this one a keeper.  And this is her first novel?  I'm adding more of her stuff to my TBR shelves right now.

I listened to the audio version of this novel and I have to say, the narrator, Ellen Archer, was awesome! Her voices for each of the characters had just the right flavor.  Sometimes audio book narrators can get in the way of the book, become a sort of barrier between the author and the listener but Ms Archer is an example of one that enhances the overall experience.