The Accomplice: A Novel of Suspense

by Matthew Head

The Accomplice, first published in 1947 as part of the Inner Sanctum Suspense Specials, is a psychological crime thriller in the mode of Ruth Rendell or Patricia Highsmith. The plot centers on Hank Bewley, studying at the Sorbonne in Paris, who meets an attractive young woman, Corrie Waters, and her breathtakingly handsome boyfriend, Lex Abbott. The events that transpire follow a sordid and depraved path to a shocking climax. Matthew Head is a pen-name for John E. Canaday (1907-1985), a long-time art critic for the New York Times and author of seven crime novels.

249 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1947

Reviews

[AC]

DNF — 34% in, and still not convinced. So, …

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a most accomplished and unusual crime novel. Although first published in 1947, it is set in Paris and Kansas in the 1930s and the writing is redolent of that period.

It is primarily a study in psychology, and the crimes, including two murders, are both central, and yet, strangely, incidental to the plot which charts the development of a rectangular relationship.

The narrator is Hank, a postgraduate architect, and the other main protagonists are the attractive Corrie, Lex who is classically-beautiful-but-flawed, and the aged Mimi. All are, to different degrees, in different ways and at different times, in the grips of obsession.

In some senses, this is Highsmith without the (overt) homoeroticism. There are gay and lesbian characters, and and a Paris nightclub where "anything goes", but Hank is at pains to describe Lex's attractiveness in classical art appreciation terms, while the latter is disparaging of the attention he has received from other men.

The author was a academic art historian and critic and this is apparent here:the book is very visual and filmique.

Highly recommendable.