The So Blue Marble

Griselda Satterlee, Book 1

By: Dorothy B. Hughes

Narrated by: Gabrielle de Cuir

An actress finds herself caught between her ex-husband and a pair of murderous twins.

At the age of twenty-four, Griselda Satter lee 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 mets 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.

©2014 Dorothy B. Hughes (P)2014 Skyboat Media

The so blue marble

Very interesting story. this mystery had me confused til the end of the book! I lost sleep staying up so late to finish the book.

All in all, this is a nice 40s noir crime story.

The So Blue Marble is the MacGuffin—you don’t really know what it is, but it doesn’t really matter. There are a group of charming psychopaths after it, and they’re willing to terrify or kill anyone in their way. The story is not nearly as terrifying as the characters are terrified. And the bad guys are not nearly as charming as the characters are charmed. Lots of characters are killed, though. All in all, this is a nice 40s noir crime story.

Enjoyed this!

I liked this story. Twin psychopaths... of course I had to listen to it. There were reviews about the speed in which this was read stating it was too slow... I liked the speed and the voice of the narrator. It gave it some drama. There were also comments about how none of the characters were likable and I agree. But I don’t think the author wanted you to like them. It was a matter of... which characters are most unlikable and which are the least unlikable of the entire lot? The book was written 1940 which is why I listened to it. If you need a break from modern authors, this might be a good choice. Ride the Pink Horse from the same author was also good.

Got bit tedious after a while.

An excellent noir, but its formula gets a bit redundant as the heroine gets inti and out from the same jam. It is also hard to identify with her whiny, self-sacrifying stance.

Okay, slow moving

I listened to this audiobook a while back and I think I enjoyed it more the first time. While the writing is good, and the premise intriguing, the story itself is pretty slow moving. This one doesn’t at all live up to Dorothy B. Hughes’ later work, Ride The Pink Horse which, in my mind, is truly great and should be considered an American classic.

If You Liked Strangers on a Train…

Though completely different than Patricia Highsmith’s masterpiece, this earlier story is driven by the same dynamic: an innocent person made the unwilling co-conspirator of a psychopath. Or, in this case, two psychopaths.

The marble, its Maltese Falconesque legend, the characters sucked into its orbit, and the overall quality of the writing—including some blindingly vivid similes—create a palpable, unnerving tension. It’s hard to believe this is Hughes’ first effort in the genre. And as if that wasn’t enough, Gabrielle de Cuir’s performance makes everything darn near perfect.

Okay thriller

Disappointing crime story with clueless characters trapped in situations that a sane person would have avoided. I never cared about any of the spoiled and stupid members of the upper class who filled the story.

Dorothy B Hughes really is the queen of noir.

Gabrielle de Cuir did so well with this. The plot moves fast, so definitely be alert for this one. Hold onto your hat and enjoy the show.

Boring and repetitive ! Also the readers voice could be irritating at times at Tim

Boring and repetitive and the readers voice was irritating at times . Very unrealistic and disappointing