Sleep with Strangers

Jim Sader Mystery #1

by Dolores Hitchens

This American murder mystery in the tradition of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, focuses on the chilling story of private eye Jim Sader's attempt to pursue his lonely trail down California's mean streets. She has also written "Sleep With Slander".

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Classics, Noir, Detective, Crime

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1955

About the author

Julia Clara Catharine Dolores Birk Olsen Hitchens, better known as Dolores Hitchens, was an American mystery novelist who wrote prolifically from 1938 until her death. She also wrote under the pseudonyms D.B. Olsen, Dolan Birkley and Noel Burke.

Hitchens collaborated on five railroad mysteries with her second husband, Bert Hitchens, a railroad detective, and also branched out into other genres in her writing, including Western stories. Many of her mystery novels centered around a spinster character named Rachel Murdock.

Hitchens wrote Fool's Gold, the 1958 novel adapted by Jean-Luc Godard for his film Bande à part (Band of Outsiders, 1964).

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sleep With Strangers is the first of two novels in Hitchens’ James Sader private eye series. Originally published in 1955 and now being republished by Library of America, Sleep With Strangers showcases Hitchens’ talents as a crime writer. Set in Long Beach, California, Hitchens familiarity with the area is evident in the oil derricks dotting the hills, the bars off Pine Street, the stately houses on the bluffs, and the amusement park on the Pike. They are still pumping oil around Signal Hill, but mostly it’s now hidden from view. The Pike is long since torn down. The farms in Garden Grove have given way to endless acres of cookie cutter suburban ranch homes. But sometimes the wind still blows from the sea and, if you squint a little, you can see the Long Beach of 1955 that Hitchens knew so well.

Sader has a partner and their paths certainly cross in this novel, but mainly Sader seems to be on his own, plying his trade in endless bars and muddy oil fields. Sader is an older detective, not as spry as his young partner. Nor as attractive to women. Sader isn’t quite a man about town. His romance with alcohol is in the past and he knows now that one drink is like a ten-story drop. Introspective, brooding, cynical, but overall decent, except perhaps for one episode when he finally admits how bad he has it for his client, Kaye Wanderley, and what he would do to keep her safe.

It opens with a rainstorm blowing in from the sea and à slender blonde woman, gray eyes, and a lot of Rhinestone jewelry is about to hire Sader to find her missing mother. Kaye Wanderley is the woman. Her mother, Felicia, suffered, Sader later observed, from that problem that plagues the rich — having the money to buy everything they could ever want and finding that it still doesn’t make them happy: “I shouldn’t come back here any more, Sader thought. I’m getting to feel at home in a crazy kind of way. I’m beginning to get the idea you could sit in one of these piles surrounded by your stuff, and feel as miserable as if you were broke. Maybe more so. It might be frustrating to have money and to find out it really wouldn’t buy just what you wanted.”

Sader starts poking around the people Felicia knew and keeps coming up empty. Meanwhile, his partner has another missing person’s case, seemingly unrelated, but crossing similar ground. The missing both seemed to cross paths with the same people, but they are from different sides of town, from paths that shouldn’t cross.

Much of the novel might seem a bit plodding to those used to constant action, but Hitchens skillfully sets the stage, creating such sad characters and a constant sense of bad weather in sunny Southern California.

You know it’s going to be a tragedy from the first page as the bitter melancholy meanders through the story. You just don’t realize how no one will leave unscathed from this storm.

[Janelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good old fashioned detective thriller from 1955. Jim Sader is a private eye asked to investigate a missing woman by her daughter Kay (who speaks in “breathless murmurs”!). His partner Dan is investigating a missing husband, coincidentally both cases went missing on the same day. I enjoyed the writing and the set up of the mystery, clues are revealed and they don’t always add up. The whole thing is rounded up in a satisfying way. It is dated, some of the descriptions certainly wouldn’t been seen these days but it doesn’t detract from an entertaining read.

[Carla Remy · Rating 3 out of 5]

From 1955.
I think Dolores Hitchens is a great writer, and I have enjoyed some of her books a lot. This was a classic detective story, with a typical (male) detective, Sader (and she wrote one more with him, Sleep With Slander). I don't know, it just bored me. Like, it was good, but I just wasn't into it.

[Sarah-Grace (Azrael865) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is a very well written classic hardboiled detective mystery. I did not realize, until I read the preface, that this story was originally published in 1955. I was pleasantly surprised. Delores Hitchens deserves more attention than she has received for her writing. The whole time I was reading, I was reminded of James M Cain and other authors of this type of fiction from that era. Delores Hitchen's story telling is just as good. The story kept me guessing from start to finish. I will be looking to read the second book in this series and the other works of this author.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this e-ARC and Library of America for revisiting this unknown classic.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

As has been widely noted in the hardboiled community, this is an excellent classic P.I. novel. Detective Jim Sader of Long Beach, California, makes a sharp study in male mid-life crisis (probably a somewhat worse experience in the Fifties, when 40 was our 55). All that keeps this novel from five-star status is that the solution to the mystery is not strongly related thematically to the other concerns of the story.

[Ben Loory · Rating 4 out of 5]

He seemed drowning in a terrible tide which lashed from him the last vestiges of youth. Kay's clinging arms, her young freshness, offered no foothold in that current. He'd been young once, yes; but that was over. It was really and finally over. The bitter truth was that he was now a tired man with gray in his hair, with the beginning of a stoop, and no amount of frenzy or cunning, no wishing, or of forcing his love upon the girl, could bring back that which had gone forever.

There must be a time like this in everyone's life, he thought numbly. When all your illusions go down the drain. When you see at last what you have lost. When you reach out for someone like Kay and feel the barrier you never knew was there, the wall made of years.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first of only two novels featuring PI James Sader and was originally published in 1955. This edition comes with useful biographical information and an assessment of the writer by Steph Cha.

I found it revelatory. The writing is strong, supple and finely-nuanced. The characterisation vivid even with minor players and shows an eye and ear for the telling detail. The setting, Long Beach in California leaps out, its sounds and smells keenly-depicted.

I read this in one sitting as I found it gripping and involving. It is only bettered in my reading this year by its successor, "Sleep with Slander".

4.25 stars. Highly recommended as a must-read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital review copy.

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nifty work of South California hardboiled PI goodness, in the vein of Ross Macdonald’s Archer novels. The plot is intricate and sad. I wish Dolores Hitchens had written more of these.

[Rahel Charikar · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Sleep with Strangers" by Dolores Hitchens is a taut and gritty noir novel that plunges readers into the seedy underbelly of Long Beach, California, in the 1950s. Private eye Jim Sader takes center stage in a case that begins as a simple missing persons investigation but soon evolves into a complex web of intrigue involving oil, real estate, and the darker elements of the city.

Hitchens skillfully crafts a suspenseful narrative, weaving together multiple layers of mystery and deception. The plot unfolds with precision, keeping readers on the edge of their seats as the enigma deepens with each turn of the page. The author's portrayal of the 1950s setting is vivid and atmospheric, capturing the essence of a time when corruption and shady dealings lurked beneath the surface of seemingly ordinary lives.

Jim Sader is a compelling protagonist, navigating the treacherous waters of a case that becomes increasingly convoluted. The dialogue is sharp and evocative, reminiscent of classic noir storytelling, and Hitchens' writing style effectively conveys the gritty and hardboiled atmosphere of the genre. The novel maintains a relentless pace, ensuring that the suspense is sustained throughout.

The exploration of themes such as oil, real estate, and the corrupt side of urban life adds depth to the narrative, elevating it beyond a typical detective story. The layers of intrigue contribute to the complexity of the plot, and readers will find themselves drawn into the tangled web of secrets and deception.

While "Sleep with Strangers" may not be a conventional whodunit, its strength lies in the portrayal of a morally ambiguous world and the flawed characters that inhabit it. Hitchens delivers a noir experience that is both immersive and thought-provoking. The novel's reputation as one of Dolores Hitchens' best works is well-deserved, and readers who appreciate suspenseful and gritty detective fiction will find much to enjoy in this gripping tale.

In conclusion, "Sleep with Strangers" is a captivating and skillfully written noir novel that stands out for its suspenseful plot, atmospheric setting, and well-drawn characters. Dolores Hitchens' mastery of the genre is evident in this work, making it a recommended read for fans of classic detective fiction and gritty mysteries. This four-star review reflects the novel's ability to captivate and engage readers in a suspenseful journey through the shadows of 1950s Long Beach.

[Thomas Kiley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first book by Dolores Hitchens (and also my first noir book from the era) that I have read. Sleep with Strangers is Hitchens' first of two books with Jim Sader, her prototypical male noir lead. He struggles with alcoholism (which I actually though was an impressively executed characterization in the book) and tries to engage romantically with numerous suspects. In this book, Sader has two missing persons cases assigned to him. The first comes from Kay Wanderley, whose mother has gone missing a few days prior. The second is for Mr. Ajoukian, Jr., the heir to an oil fortune. Sader and his partner Dan (who calls Sader "Papa" 15 times in the book and I found it weird every time) investigate these two cases and uncover their interactions with the fortunes and class conflicts that oil has created in the growing city of Los Angeles.

The book took a while for me to get going, but eventually it picked up as secrets were revealed and bodies begin to show up. Having read more modern thrillers similar to this book, there was nothing truly surprising, but the book was a quick and enjoyable throwback. There were some uncomfortable moments related to the time period (one character was partly Asian, and there were numerous references to her "Oriental" or "slanted" eyes whenever she appeared). Also, the quote "'It's okay,' she answered, the first slang he'd heard her use." Nice to learn the work okay used to be slang. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for more noir fiction or an easy entryway into older detective fiction. Even with its problems, Hitchens wrote a fun thriller and snapshot of a bygone era.

Thanks to NetGalley for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

[tortoise dreams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sleep with Strangers, featuring P.I. Jim Sader, is similar to some classic hard-boiled detective novels, with a plot similar to The Big Sleep and the name of the client, Miss Wanderley, oddly similar to femme fatale Miss Wonderly from The Maltese Falcon. Set in Long Beach, California (as opposed to L.A. or San Francisco), Sader is a mid-life, dry alcoholic, world-weary as Marlowe but not quite as tough as Spade. On the other hand, he falls in love more easily. His investigation into a missing socialite includes baby pigs, shady real estate transactions, oil wells, several people who lose their temper quite easily, a generous number of murders, and the requisite number of beautiful women. Engaging, compelling, with plenty of twists and turns, Sleep with Strangers has a few too many coincidences but that's par for the course and doesn't louse up the story. Hitchens also adds a psychological underlay unusual in tough guy detecting. Though P.I. Sader is actually more soft-boiled than otherwise (he loses his only fistfight), but that, his fatal flaw, and a mid-life crisis make him all the more interesting. This is a highly readable detective novel by the prolific Dolores Hitchens (1907-73) who's better known (under the pseudonym D.B. Olsen) for her "cat" series featuring little old lady sleuth Rachel Murdock, beginning with The Cat Saw Murder (1939). Sleep with Strangers is a reprint by The Library of America, as is the second and final Jim Sader mystery, Sleep with Slander (1960). Too bad there weren't more. [4★]

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

A compelling murder mystery. I was definitely hooked by the time we heard about "...and under [the blanket] showed a scrap of something else that looked like wet fur" (page 9). What a way to pull in the readers!

This was published in 1955, and it definitely shows. Luckily, most of it is unintentionally hilarious! The main character, Sader, chain smokes more than a man in a Chesterfield ad! He must positively stink of tobacco. And naturally, like any old school private eye, he's an alcoholic.

My favorite line is when we are first introduced to Sader's business partner, Dan on page 16.
"The wife's good looking?"
Dan puckered up and whistled in reply, a tribute to the many perfections of Mrs. Ajoukian. "I could describe her in detail, but you might think I wasn't a gentleman," he summed up. 😂😂😂

There is also some stereotypical racial references, particularly with the Ajoukians and Tina Griffin. Although, this author does seem to point out people's eyes quite frequently. Kay's gray eyes, Tina's exotic eyes, Margot Cole's blue eyes, etc. We never hear the end of it!

The part that made me do a double take is when Sader straight up socks Kay Wanderley right in the jaw for seemingly no reason! He had just informed her of her mother's death, and she wanted to see the body. Well, our narrator didn't want to have her gray eyes see her mother's body full of oil, so naturally he punches her lights out. Like...what? It was so out of a left field. In fact, that was his first encounter with violence in the book!

It gets worse when Sader convinces himself that Kay murdered her mother and Ajoukian Jr! I guess she was just too hot to resist, because he kidnaps her and drives her out to Nevada to escape the police. He proceeds to sexually assault her, then half-heartedly promises not to do that again. So much for trying to save her innocence! 😬 We then find out that she in fact, did NOT kill her mother. I guess Kay is as naive and inexperienced as Sader thinks, because she forgave him on both of these occasions rather quickly and even helps him figure out the guilty party. Like, girl...what are you doing?!?!

Sader snaps out of this eventually, justifying his behavior on getting older and the hotties in their twenties would rather be with someone their own age. I mean, people get a midlife crisis, but not kidnap, sexually assault, and plan to elope with a girl who you think murdered three people midlife crisis! Geez Louise!

"He'd had some crazy plans back there, he thought. Marrying Kay, taking her to Mexico. On what?" (Page 231)
On what, Sader!? That's the last question you should be asking yourself! How about where's the nearest shrink?!

Of course, there are a few eyeroll moments. When Dan is on death's door in a hospital bed, he mutters, "weak...ankles..." Meaning Mrs. Ajoukian, who had weak ankles, instead of saying her name like a normal person.

He actually suspected she was the murderer when he saw the edge of the fallen vine at Mullens' office. Obviously, instead of telling this to his partner, he decides to stage a trap with a person who he believes has already killed two people and tried to bury the evidence. Yeah. Makes sense. 🙄

Apparently, the excuse is he had a temper and was mad "because a beautiful gal had made such a sucker out of him" (page 243). Well that makes 2 private investigators who can't think with the correct head!

All in all, it's very noir. That type of story from the 1940s and 50s in which everyone is the bad guy...and they mostly all die at the end. There are bits of humor interspersed. If you're into dark mysteries, and don't mind the outdated parts, I'd say this is a decent read. 3/5

[Jeannette Hartman · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard not to compare Dolores Hitchens private investigator Jim Sader to Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe or Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade.

Sader is a decade past World War II. He's on the cusp of middle age. He's given up drinking and is left with a daily battle not to start. He's tired and seen too much. He doesn't have the cynicism of Marlowe or Spade. He still has empathy for his clients.

In this novel, he's hired by the young Kay Wanderley to find her mother, Felicia, who disappeared three days earlier. He soon learns that Kay will withhold the truth to protect her mother. Felicia actually stormed out drunk, angry and carrying a gun, telling her daughter that she might be late. She had much to be angry about: one of her real estate clients had made a deal with a buyer behind her back, cheating her out of her commission, and a friend was selling oil shares to a man with a tarnished reputation, Mr. Ajoukian.

Coincidentally, Sader's partner has been hired to find Mr. Ajoukian's missing son, Perry. The two cases intersect catastrophically.

Dolores Hitchens uses a similar style to Chandler's: vividly observed details and crisp, brisk sentences. She captures the paradoxes of Long Beach; the mansions overlooking the Pacific, the oil fields and sump dumps of Signal Hill, the growing suburbs outside the city limits.

SLEEP WITH STRANGERS is a lovely period piece, with more twists and turns than Pacific Coast Highway. It was followed by SLEEP WITH SLANDER.

[William Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic 50s noir by a fairly neglected author these days. Treading firmly in the path of Hammett and Chandler (if without the stylistic flourish of the latter), this PI novel is a slow build of two missing persons cases and then boom, multiple corpses, a misleading suspicion, and a late, satisfying reveal. Reissued by Library of America, Hitchens evokes the texture of 1950s Los Angeles.

Speaking of Chandler, there is an echo of THE BIG SLEEP at one point, without revealing too much.

This one ends up being more complicated than it seems at first, and Hitchens’ descriptive power shines. Characters strain beneath the surface with frustration, fear, desperation, and hunger—classically noir.

[John Marr · Rating 3 out of 5]

An above average hardboiled novel, with PI Sader on a wandering mother job that takes him through the high-tone parts of Long Beach and the oil-soaked confines of Signal Hill. The first 3/4 of the novel are excellent, with compelling characters, carefully paced action and an evocative atmosphere. Unfrotunately, things head south when Sader seemingly spontaneously drags a top suspect to Las Vegas, a stunt obviously meant to have more meaning than it does. Hitchen's other novel, Sleep With Slander, is supposed to be better.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tight California private eye novel that is tough and complicated enough to rival Chandler. The surprise is that it was written by the author of a great many cosy mysteries involving cats as D.B. Olsen. Dolores Hitchens wrote dozens of novels under various names. The Rachel Murdock "Cat" novels are probably her best-known works, but this private eye novel deserves to be better recognised.
The protagonist (her0?) is a tough and vulnerable middle-aged man with integrity and grit. Heartily recommended.

[Christophe Van · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent noirish mystery, with good characterization and a very interesting depiction of evolving social structure in early 1950s California. Here are links to two very insightful reviews.

https://deadyesterday.wordpress.com/2...
http://newimprovedgorman.blogspot.com...

[e b · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing wrong with this, but my least favourite Hitchens that I've read. I think the problem is that here she's adopting a generic hard-boiled detective voice. It's nowhere near as distinctive as her less formulaic fiction like Fool's Gold or, my favourite, The Watcher, which both contain multiple narrative points of view, which makes their fictional world richer and more exciting. I'll still read the second book in this series, but with less anticipation than I have her other books.

[Mary]

This did remind me of Chandler and Hammitt--California noir. Tough characters--men and women. The tough women are all beautiful however and tempting. Motivations complicated greed. Bodies in oil sump pits. Enough. I don't think I'll read another one of this series until I recover from this one.

[Rod Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic noir style of book from the late 50’s where private eyes were manly & the female clients were always curvy & all so attractive. Some of the related behaviours seem so ridiculous/out of touch with current times. But the murder mystery part itself was good, keeping you guessing as to who & why.
3.5 stars

[Wayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this novel by Dolores Hichens. First in a series of two James Sader mysteries. I'm glad the the Library of America is reprinting some classic noir novels, and this one holds up well. Can't wait to start the next one. #SleepwithStrangers #NetGalley

[Rashel · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a detective murder mystery it was good from the perspective that I did not figure it out before the end. I did not see anything that would have garnered it a place in a hall of fame (library of america).

[Matt Swanson · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best LA detective noirs I have read. Understated compared to Raymond Chandler and many other genre classic authors. Curious to read more Dolores Hitchens, amzing author that is relatively buried in the history of the 1950s-1960s.

[Francesco Paola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good noir plot set in Long Beach in the fifties. Well-rounded characters, great descriptions of the locales, ominous scene settings, although not as captivating a read as Sleep with Slander, Hitchens's other Sader novel. Overall a fun read.

[Jataun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic noir mystery!

[Deborah Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brought back my Nancy Drew "who-done-it" days. Gumshoe all the way, but very entertaining.

[Jim Doran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good mystery, captures the theme of California in the 50s….some twists and likeable characters.