Queenpin (2007) Signed First Edition Reference

Queenpin was published by Simon & Schuster in 2007 and won the Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original. The novel is a period noir — set in an unnamed American city evocative of mid-twentieth-century Las Vegas or Miami — following a young woman who becomes the protégée of Gloria Denton, a glamorous female crime boss who mentors her in the business of bookmaking, loan-sharking, and violence. The student’s inevitable betrayal of her mentor provides the narrative’s driving tension.

The Book

Abbott’s achievement in Queenpin is the creation of a female-centered noir that feels neither derivative of male noir conventions nor artificially imposed. The power dynamics between mentor and protégée are rendered with psychological acuity, and the glamour of the criminal world is presented as genuinely seductive rather than simplistically condemned.

First Edition Identification

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, New York Publication date: 2007 Format: Trade paperback original

Signed Copy Market Values

• Signed first edition: $75–$200
• Inscribed copies: $100–$300
• Unsigned first edition: $15–$40

The Edgar Award and Abbott’s growing reputation support values. As a paperback original, condition is important — fine copies are worth significantly more than read copies.