Megan Abbott is an American writer specializing in crime fiction. She is the author of six novels and editor of A Hell of a Woman: An Anthology of Female Noir. Enjoys late night tours of famous murder scenes.
 

“I’ve always been drawn to stories about people who are trapped, and who trap themselves. Frequently people who’ve been pushed to the margins, for one reason or another. And that notion of feeling imprisoned by circumstances or one’s own desires and drives is so fundamental to noir, so I guess I come to it in a roundabout fashion. Its themes — obsession, desire, greed, temptation — are so primal and so eternal that they yield endless permutations. And there is a glamour to it, to the tantalizing, fearless descent. I love going down those dark tunnels … In many ways, it strips away all the trimmings and sheen and filigree of civilization and shows us what we really are, light and dark. We often think of crime fiction as showing people at their worst, but it also exposes much of our buried courage and resilience. The way dire situations can bring out surprising strength.”

— Megan Abbott