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In A Lonely Place by Dorothy Hughes
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I’m looking forward to going back to ..."
It is a powerful tale, very different from the film, although in both the main character is a man with secret compulsions that flare into violent responses. In the novel, Hughes explores what we now call PTSD. The sinister atmosphere she evokes is the essence of noir. The world she explores thru the main character is that of the dawn of the Atomic Age.
Started this last night, and the opening is really great. The description of setting, while not specific is frankly, brilliantly written. Pacy and poetic all at once.


When we do record I’m going to make sure we incorporate some of your comments.

I'm at 26% and, while not o lot has happened apart from the murder (obvs), I am really enjoying it. The murderer pov is reminding me of Jim Thompson 'The killer inside me' . I look forward to reading more when I'll get a better view of the overall themes.
p.s. How cool is Dix's chat up line to the red head!
Also does no one else think - jeez Dot, how I'm I supposed to take this guy seriously. He's called Dix Steele ffs.
p.s. How cool is Dix's chat up line to the red head!
Also does no one else think - jeez Dot, how I'm I supposed to take this guy seriously. He's called Dix Steele ffs.


Some of the observation of conflicted character is incredible, and reminds me of George Gissing (who I love).
Okay, so I finished this last night. And it's five stars for me. That said, I did find the ending quite disappointing. It felt a bit like Dix just went, 'it's a fair cop, guv' and gave up. I think that the weakness of the ending stopped this from being a better novel than 'The Killer Inside Me' even though the quality of the writing was beyond anything I've read for quite some time.
Books mentioned in this topic
In a Lonely Place (other topics)The Expendable Man (other topics)
I’m looking forward to going back to a classic true noir tale. Have you read it? What did you think?