Also, I would like to thank Esmond Harmsworth, who braved all sorts of tempests and was willful enough to force the multiple revisions. And to Elisabeth Schmitz, who oversaw the final product with care and intelligence.
Praise for A Carnivore’s Inquiry:
“Murray is a mesmerizing writer who uses succinct, evocative language with the precision of a pointilist.”
“Though A Carnivore’s Inquiry has any number of scary (not to mention stomach-churning) moments, the novel’s real appeal lies in Katherine’s erudite, mordant humor…. Beneath both the humor and the horror lies a scathing indictment of American values. Katherine, with her ceaseless hunger, serves as a gorgeous, freaky metaphor for that clichéd American dream of having it all.”
“Compelling, maddening, hilarious… remarkable.”
“Stylish, chilling, highly literate psychological thriller.”
“Why is this book, full of murder, loneliness, and insanity, so darn funny? That’s the genius of this oddly wonderful and engrossing second novel by Murray. …The plot itself is tight and fast, quirky and dangerous.”
“Mesmerizing… Murray paces her psychological thriller with consummate control, keeping the reader enthralled through subtle suggestion and a scattering of grisly details. But the author has a darker purpose. More than the story of one deranged woman’s obsession, the novel and its brilliant subtext hint at the ways American society devours the weak, while building a case for a blood hunger in human nature. …Readers will be hooked by Murray’s classy treatment of her sexy-sinister subject matter.”
Also by Sabina Murray
The Caprices
Slow Burn
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 by Sabina Murray
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review. Any members of educational institutions wishing to photocopy part or all of the work for classroom use, or publishers who would like to obtain permission to include the work in an anthology, should send their inquiries to Grove/Atlantic, Inc., 841 Broadway, New York, NY 10003.
Published simultaneously in Canada
Printed in the United States of America
FIRST GROVE PRESS PAPERBACK EDITION
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Murray, Sabina.
A carnivore’s inquiry / Sabina Murray.
p. cm.
eBook ISBN-13: 978-1-5558-4703-6
1. Young women—Fiction. 2. New York (N.Y.)—Fiction. 3. Mexico—Fiction. 4. Maine—Fiction. 5. Murder—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3563.U787C37 2004
813′.54—dc22 2003064615
Grove Press
an imprint of Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
841 Broadway
New York, NY 10003