The So Blue Marble, Dorothy B. Hughes
The So Blue Marble, Dorothy B. Hughes
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The So Blue Marble

Author: Dorothy B. Hughes

Narrator: Gabrielle de Cuir

Unabridged: 7 hr 40 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Skyboat Media

Published: 08/19/2014

Synopsis

An actress finds herself caught between her ex-husband and a pair of murderous twinsAt the age of twenty-four, Griselda Satterlee has already lived two lifetimes. A star of the silver screen, she gives up Hollywood after a year and moves to New York to become a designer. While her ex-husband, Con, is out of town, she is staying in his apartment. Walking back one night, she meets two cheerful young men who want to go home with her—and won't take no for an answer.David and Danny are twins, and they are the most beautiful men Griselda has ever seen. They are also the most dangerous. They want something from her: a lustrous blue marble, which they insist is in Con's apartment. Though they leave without hurting her, Griselda knows that next time, they won't be so amiable. To save herself, she must discover the secret of the marble—a secret with death at its core.

About Dorothy B. Hughes

Dorothy B. Hughes (1904–1993) was a mystery author, award-winning poet, and literary critic. She published fourteen novels, the best known of which are In a Lonely Place and Ride the Pink Horse. Both were made into successful films. Her work had a major influence on other mystery writers of the postwar era, and the movies they inspired remain among the most respected of their genre. She was especially influential on the next two generations of female mystery writers. In the early 1950s, she largely stopped writing fiction, preferring to focus on criticism. She reviewed mysteries for the Los Angeles Times, New York Herald Tribune, and other papers and earned an Edgar Award for Outstanding Mystery Criticism. In 1978 the Mystery Writers of America presented her with the Grand Master Award for literary achievement.

About Gabrielle de Cuir

Gabrielle de Cuir is a Grammy-nominated and Audie Award-winning producer whose narration credits include the voice of Valentine in Orson Scott Card’s Ender novels, Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Tombs of Atuan, and Natalie Angier’s Woman, for which she was awarded AudioFile magazine’s Golden Earphones Award.  She lives in Los Angeles where she also directs theatre and presently has several projects in various stages of development for film.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Bill

Because I love old noir, like women who write hard-boiled fiction, and remember with pleasure two of her later books (Ride the Pink Horse, In a Lonely Place) and the movies made from them, I decided to read all or most of Dorothy Hughes, starting with her first book. Now though, after reading the So......more

Goodreads review by Dave

“Danger is sweet.” [This reminded me of all the American Winter Olympic ads where athletes admit they are hooked on fear, they need it, they crave it. Thrill rides, thrillers, horror movies and books, create emotions many people seem to need. This whole book is about fear, it's on every page, though......more

Goodreads review by Bev

The So Blue Marble (1940) was the debut novel for Dorothy B. Hughes. It is a bit thriller, a bit noir, and just a tad bit off-the-wall. The protagonist is Griselda, former actress, current fashion designer for the rich and famous in the glittering world of Hollywood. She has come back East for a res......more

Goodreads review by David

Apparently this was my 2021 beach book - minus the beach.  I got to around the halfway point when it suddenly dawned on me: This book - with its preposterous air - is rather hilarious, really. Can noir be funny? *This* oddly funny? I mean, even with dead bodies and everything?  I'd read two other book......more

Quotes

“[Hughes’] novels are carefully crafted pieces, ahead of their time in their use of psychological suspense and their piercing observations about class and race. She was among the best.” Walter Mosley, New York Times bestselling author

“You will have to read [The So Blue Marble] for yourself, and if you wake up in the night screaming with terror, don’t say we didn’t warn you.” New York Times Book Review

“Extraordinary…[Hughes’] brilliant descriptive powers make and unmake reality.” New Yorker

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