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Collected Millar: The Master at Her Zenith: Vanish in an Instant; Wives and Lovers; Beast in View; An Air That Kills; The Listening Walls
Five acclaimed novels from the Golden Age of Suspense, including the Edgar Award-Winning Novel Beast in View
Introduction by Tom Nolan
In 1950s America the men are back to work and the women are home raising a new generation. The war is over and the boom is on. Everyone is happy. It is to this myth of the perfect American family that novelist Margaret Millar applied her scalpel.
This volume includes five of Millar’s novels of the 1950s, among her best-known works of literary suspense as well as some of the most compulsively readable, please-leave-a-light-on thrillers ever put to paper.
VANISH IN AN INSTANT (1952)
In this classic noir tale of blurred guilt and flawed innocence, a cynical lawyer uncovers the desperate lives of a group connected only by a gruesome murder.
WIVES AND LOVERS (1954)
A sincere and compassionate novel about the complications of married life, and the love, loathing, pain, loyalty, disappointments and friendship that grow out of a marriage.
BEAST IN VIEW (1955) – Winner of the Edgar Award for Best Novel
Hailed as one of the greatest psychological mysteries ever written and winner of the 1956 Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for Best Novel, Beast in View remains as freshly sinister today as the day it was first published.
AN AIR THAT KILLS (1957)
When Ron Galloway never arrives at a boys' weekend fishing retreat, it becomes increasingly clear that something terrible has befallen him. Was he a victim of his own lust? Or of someone else's greed?
THE LISTENING WALLS (1959)
In this suspenseful masterpiece about corrupted love, Rupert Kellogg's wife, Amy, goes missing after an ill-fated trip to Mexico—and Rupert becomes the focus of a paranoid investigation.
Introduction by Tom Nolan
In 1950s America the men are back to work and the women are home raising a new generation. The war is over and the boom is on. Everyone is happy. It is to this myth of the perfect American family that novelist Margaret Millar applied her scalpel.
This volume includes five of Millar’s novels of the 1950s, among her best-known works of literary suspense as well as some of the most compulsively readable, please-leave-a-light-on thrillers ever put to paper.
VANISH IN AN INSTANT (1952)
In this classic noir tale of blurred guilt and flawed innocence, a cynical lawyer uncovers the desperate lives of a group connected only by a gruesome murder.
WIVES AND LOVERS (1954)
A sincere and compassionate novel about the complications of married life, and the love, loathing, pain, loyalty, disappointments and friendship that grow out of a marriage.
BEAST IN VIEW (1955) – Winner of the Edgar Award for Best Novel
Hailed as one of the greatest psychological mysteries ever written and winner of the 1956 Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for Best Novel, Beast in View remains as freshly sinister today as the day it was first published.
AN AIR THAT KILLS (1957)
When Ron Galloway never arrives at a boys' weekend fishing retreat, it becomes increasingly clear that something terrible has befallen him. Was he a victim of his own lust? Or of someone else's greed?
THE LISTENING WALLS (1959)
In this suspenseful masterpiece about corrupted love, Rupert Kellogg's wife, Amy, goes missing after an ill-fated trip to Mexico—and Rupert becomes the focus of a paranoid investigation.
576 pages, Paperback
First published September 13, 2016
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About the author
Margaret Millar
122 books177 followersMargaret Ellis Millar (née Sturm) was an American-Canadian mystery and suspense writer. Born in Kitchener, Ontario, she was educated there and in Toronto. She moved to the United States after marrying Kenneth Millar (better known under the pen name Ross Macdonald). They resided for decades in the city of Santa Barbara, which was often utilized as a locale in her later novels under the pseudonyms of San Felice or Santa Felicia.
Millar's books are distinguished by sophistication of characterization. Often we are shown the rather complex interior lives of the people in her books, with issues of class, insecurity, failed ambitions, loneliness or existential isolation or paranoia often being explored with an almost literary quality that transcends the mystery genre. Unusual people, mild societal misfits or people who don't quite fit into their surroundings are given much interior detail. In some of the books we are given chilling and fascinating insight into what it feels like to be losing touch with reality and evolving into madness. In general, she is a writer of both expressive description and yet admirable economy, often ambitious in the sociological underpinnings of the stories and the quality of the writing.
Millar often delivers effective and ingenious "surprise endings," but the details that would allow the solution of the surprise have usually been subtly included, in the best genre tradition. One of the distinctions of her books, however, is that they would be interesting, even if you knew how they were going to end, because they are every bit as much about subtleties of human interaction and rich psychological detail of individual characters as they are about the plot.
Millar was a pioneer in writing intelligently about the psychology of women. Even as early as the '40s and '50s, her books have a very mature and matter-of-fact view of class distinctions, sexual freedom and frustration, and the ambivalence of moral codes depending on a character's economic circumstances. Her earliest novels seem unusually frank. Read against the backdrop of Production Code-era movies of the time, they remind us that life as lived in the '40s and '50s was not as black-and-white morally as Hollywood would have us believe.
While she was not known for any one recurring detective (unlike her husband, whose constant gumshoe was Lew Archer), she occasionally used a detective character for more than one novel. Among her occasional ongoing sleuths were Canadians Dr. Paul Prye (her first invention, in the earliest books) and Inspector Sands (a quiet, unassuming Canadian police inspector who might be the most endearing of her recurring inventions). In the California years, a few books featured either Joe Quinn, a rather down-on-his-luck private eye, or Tom Aragorn, a young, Hispanic lawyer.
Sadly, most of Millar's books are out of print in America, with the exception of the short story collection The Couple Next Door and two novels, An Air That Kills and Do Evil In Return, that have been re-issued as classics by Stark House Press in California.
In 1956 Millar won the Edgar Allan Poe Awards, Best Novel award for Beast in View. In 1965 she was awarded the Woman of the Year Award by the Los Angeles Times. In 1983 she was awarded the Grand Master Award by the Mystery Writers of America in recognition of her lifetime achievements.
Millar's books are distinguished by sophistication of characterization. Often we are shown the rather complex interior lives of the people in her books, with issues of class, insecurity, failed ambitions, loneliness or existential isolation or paranoia often being explored with an almost literary quality that transcends the mystery genre. Unusual people, mild societal misfits or people who don't quite fit into their surroundings are given much interior detail. In some of the books we are given chilling and fascinating insight into what it feels like to be losing touch with reality and evolving into madness. In general, she is a writer of both expressive description and yet admirable economy, often ambitious in the sociological underpinnings of the stories and the quality of the writing.
Millar often delivers effective and ingenious "surprise endings," but the details that would allow the solution of the surprise have usually been subtly included, in the best genre tradition. One of the distinctions of her books, however, is that they would be interesting, even if you knew how they were going to end, because they are every bit as much about subtleties of human interaction and rich psychological detail of individual characters as they are about the plot.
Millar was a pioneer in writing intelligently about the psychology of women. Even as early as the '40s and '50s, her books have a very mature and matter-of-fact view of class distinctions, sexual freedom and frustration, and the ambivalence of moral codes depending on a character's economic circumstances. Her earliest novels seem unusually frank. Read against the backdrop of Production Code-era movies of the time, they remind us that life as lived in the '40s and '50s was not as black-and-white morally as Hollywood would have us believe.
While she was not known for any one recurring detective (unlike her husband, whose constant gumshoe was Lew Archer), she occasionally used a detective character for more than one novel. Among her occasional ongoing sleuths were Canadians Dr. Paul Prye (her first invention, in the earliest books) and Inspector Sands (a quiet, unassuming Canadian police inspector who might be the most endearing of her recurring inventions). In the California years, a few books featured either Joe Quinn, a rather down-on-his-luck private eye, or Tom Aragorn, a young, Hispanic lawyer.
Sadly, most of Millar's books are out of print in America, with the exception of the short story collection The Couple Next Door and two novels, An Air That Kills and Do Evil In Return, that have been re-issued as classics by Stark House Press in California.
In 1956 Millar won the Edgar Allan Poe Awards, Best Novel award for Beast in View. In 1965 she was awarded the Woman of the Year Award by the Los Angeles Times. In 1983 she was awarded the Grand Master Award by the Mystery Writers of America in recognition of her lifetime achievements.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 19, 2017
This is Volume 3 of the Soho Syndicate re-edition of Millar’s collected works. Recognized by Mystery Writers of America as a Grand Master, praised by a diverse range of mystery writers, from Agatha Christie (“Very original”) to H. R. F. Keating (“No woman in twentieth-century American mystery writing is more important than Margaret Millar”), Millar was very popular in the 1950s but had fallen off the radar by the 1970s.
I was in high school then and discovered her by accident in our town’s public library. I’d worked my way through Agatha Christie’s entire opus by the time I was thirteen and moved onto the hard stuff, beginning with the classics: Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, James M. Cain. I liked the movies made from their books, The Thin Man, The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, Double Indemnity. But, let’s face it, those guys didn’t have much use for women and I didn’t find their world particularly congenial, however much I admired their writing.
But there were Millar’s books, nestled up against theirs, and her female characters were so compelling. Not femme fatales, but not innocents, either. They were intelligent, observant, they had a sense of humor, but not the wise-cracking type (much as I enjoyed the repartee of Nick and Nora Charles . . .) Some were married, rarely happily. Some were divorced. Some were single women trying to find their place in the world, falling in love with the wrong man, with a married man, but that didn’t make them home wreckers like Elizabeth Taylor in BUtterfield 8.
In fact, Millar’s heroines had more in common with the characters in noir films based on novels written by women. Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca or Vera Caspary’s Laura: truly chilling mysteries that depended more on psychology than on detective work for their resolution. They weren’t just puzzles to solve; they weren’t so much about crime, really, as about longing and frustration. They made you think differently about life.
I write noir stories from a woman’s perspective that don’t conform to the conventions established by the hardboiled male writers. It’s not all mean streets and cynical loners and double-crossing dames. Rediscovering Margaret Millar, I realize how she marked me, as a mystery writer, emboldening me to create a vulnerable heroine who comes to know her own strength in the course of her travels.
Thank you, Ms. Millar.
I was in high school then and discovered her by accident in our town’s public library. I’d worked my way through Agatha Christie’s entire opus by the time I was thirteen and moved onto the hard stuff, beginning with the classics: Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, James M. Cain. I liked the movies made from their books, The Thin Man, The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, Double Indemnity. But, let’s face it, those guys didn’t have much use for women and I didn’t find their world particularly congenial, however much I admired their writing.
But there were Millar’s books, nestled up against theirs, and her female characters were so compelling. Not femme fatales, but not innocents, either. They were intelligent, observant, they had a sense of humor, but not the wise-cracking type (much as I enjoyed the repartee of Nick and Nora Charles . . .) Some were married, rarely happily. Some were divorced. Some were single women trying to find their place in the world, falling in love with the wrong man, with a married man, but that didn’t make them home wreckers like Elizabeth Taylor in BUtterfield 8.
In fact, Millar’s heroines had more in common with the characters in noir films based on novels written by women. Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca or Vera Caspary’s Laura: truly chilling mysteries that depended more on psychology than on detective work for their resolution. They weren’t just puzzles to solve; they weren’t so much about crime, really, as about longing and frustration. They made you think differently about life.
I write noir stories from a woman’s perspective that don’t conform to the conventions established by the hardboiled male writers. It’s not all mean streets and cynical loners and double-crossing dames. Rediscovering Margaret Millar, I realize how she marked me, as a mystery writer, emboldening me to create a vulnerable heroine who comes to know her own strength in the course of her travels.
Thank you, Ms. Millar.
October 3, 2020
These five works show Millar to be a brilliant mystery/suspense writer. I've reviewed them all separately, and they're all four or five stars. She really deserves to be more widely read.
Note that the bad reviews of this book complain about the small print size, not the content of the works themselves. The print is indeed small. That, combined with large pages and narrow margins makes reading hard on the eyes.
If you're OK with that, I would absolutely recommend you buy this book. You get several great novels for an excellent price.
If you can't deal with small print, consider buying some of the titles individually. Most have recently been reissued. Here's a rundown:
Vanish in an Instant is the earliest of the novels and feels the most dated. If you like vintage 1940s/50s detective stories (or movies), this is a solid and competent example, though not stellar.
Wives and Lovers is the only title in this volume that's not a mystery. It's more of a slice-of-life portrait of society in Santa Barbara, CA in the mid 1950s, and in my opinion, it's a work of superb literary quality.
Beast In View won the Edgar Award for best novel in 1956, and deserved it. Readers who grew up on Gone Girl and Fight Club can thank Millar for pioneering some of the plot twists they enjoyed in those later works.
An Air That Kills is a suspenseful mystery about the disappearance of a man who may or may not have had good reasons to disappear. It shines mostly for its vivid characters and social setting.
The Listening Walls, about a woman who disappears after the death of her friend, may be the most suspenseful title in this volume. This one also stands out for excellent characterization and the ability of a master storyteller to keep her readers off balance and guessing throughout.
Note that the bad reviews of this book complain about the small print size, not the content of the works themselves. The print is indeed small. That, combined with large pages and narrow margins makes reading hard on the eyes.
If you're OK with that, I would absolutely recommend you buy this book. You get several great novels for an excellent price.
If you can't deal with small print, consider buying some of the titles individually. Most have recently been reissued. Here's a rundown:
Vanish in an Instant is the earliest of the novels and feels the most dated. If you like vintage 1940s/50s detective stories (or movies), this is a solid and competent example, though not stellar.
Wives and Lovers is the only title in this volume that's not a mystery. It's more of a slice-of-life portrait of society in Santa Barbara, CA in the mid 1950s, and in my opinion, it's a work of superb literary quality.
Beast In View won the Edgar Award for best novel in 1956, and deserved it. Readers who grew up on Gone Girl and Fight Club can thank Millar for pioneering some of the plot twists they enjoyed in those later works.
An Air That Kills is a suspenseful mystery about the disappearance of a man who may or may not have had good reasons to disappear. It shines mostly for its vivid characters and social setting.
The Listening Walls, about a woman who disappears after the death of her friend, may be the most suspenseful title in this volume. This one also stands out for excellent characterization and the ability of a master storyteller to keep her readers off balance and guessing throughout.
June 20, 2017
This is one of six large volumes restoring the work of Canadian Margaret Millar to print (although not sadly as Kindle books). Millar was one of the greatest 'domestic suspense' writers of the 1950s. She began by writing in a more hardboiled style, but by the time of this volume she's hit upon a very specific style; her heroines are housewives in seemingly perfect domestic arrangements that gradually reveal seething and sinister undercurrents. This collection of five novels is unwieldy but worth the effort, the odd title out being 'Wives and Lovers', which is a (then) contemporary look at marriage. The other four are suspense novels, the gem being 'Beast In View', whose heroine is being harassed by threatening phonecalls from a supposed friend.
Each of the other noir tales involve loneliness, guilt, paranoia and corruption of some kind, all logically constructed so that their leading characters are slowly enveloped in tightening webs of deceit. Murders are covered up and children go missing, but how much worse is each situation made by the actions of the narrator? We're often unsure whether to trust the heroines.
Millar is very worthy of rediscovery, and her best books feel remarkably fresh.
Each of the other noir tales involve loneliness, guilt, paranoia and corruption of some kind, all logically constructed so that their leading characters are slowly enveloped in tightening webs of deceit. Murders are covered up and children go missing, but how much worse is each situation made by the actions of the narrator? We're often unsure whether to trust the heroines.
Millar is very worthy of rediscovery, and her best books feel remarkably fresh.
June 22, 2017
Love her characters and their sense of humor! Great mysteries also...
July 25, 2019
I expected to enjoy these more than I did. I got a bit fed up of mad women behaving in a wildly irrational fashion which seems a bit of a staple of noir fiction of the period. I had hoped that as the author was a woman there would be less of that. However the stories are well-written. I felt that "The Listening Walls" was the best one.
September 28, 2019
I read the first story of this collection and realized this was not a style of writing I enjoyed reading. DNF
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews