halfamoon | Day 4 - Books!

Reccing women crime and noir writers!

Dorothy B. Hughes

Dorothy B. Hughes is probably most known for her suspense/crime novel In a Lonely Place, which was made into a Humphrey Bogart film (the film adaptation changes things quite a bit, so even if you've seen that, it's well worth checking out the novel on its own). Hughes is one of the small group of acclaimed women crime/noir authors writing in the 1940s and 1950s, a time when the genre was dominated by men. Her earliest works were patriotic thrillers about Nazis, but by the mid-forties she had turned to writing crime novels, and it's her crime novels that are unique and worth taking a look at. They are masterfully written and tackle themes like misogyny, race, and the American west at that time. She is not an easy read and her books tend to be very unsettling, but if you're up for a challenge her stories really are worth checking out, especially if you like the noir/crime novel genre.

In a Lonely Place is a brilliantly written and complex psychological tale, told from the point of view of the serial killer, and it examines misogyny with a microscope.

Ride the Pink Horse is a devastating novel set during the three-day fiesta that commemorates the Spanish re-conquest of New Mexico in 1692. The book attacks what it calls the “excretions of the white man.” This was also adapted into a film, and changed quite a bit in the process (Hollywood softens it up quite a bit, so again, worth checking out the novel separately even if you've seen the film).

The Expendable Man is Hughes' last work of fiction, written in the 1960s after a 10-year hiatus, and deals with the crime of Blackness. The twists in the story have far less impact on a reader today than it might've at the time it was published, but Hughes had a gift for evoking an atmosphere of fear and suspense and dread, especially in this story. The story deals with racism as well as multiple other difficult issues and the intersection of them (warnings for everything), and comes to a devastating conclusion.

Margaret Millar

Millar is another of the small group of women crime writers of the 1940s and 1950s. Her prose is stunning and she had a gift for bringing the inner life of her characters to the page. The twists in her novels have a psychological bent to them often, and while some of those twists are very outdated (it's a 1950s understanding of things), these are still worth reading for the craft of the writing. She has also written detective novels with recurring detective characters, which are great reads. But her stand-alone noir type novels are the ones that stand out, though some of them are not for the faint of heart. I list just a handful of books below, because this post is already very long, but her other books not listed here are definitely worth a look, too.

Beast In View is probably her most well-known story, and it's been adapted multiple times. It's a novella and a psychological thriller. Again, the 'twist' can be seen very early on and it's pretty eye-rolling by today's standards, but the writing and the build-up is terrific.

Vanish In An Instant is a really good crime/mystery, told from the point of view of the defense attorney. The build-up and resolution is terrific and the twist isn't too obvious too soon.

Beyond This Point Are Monsters is a top-notch noir mystery with a devastating ending.

Sara Gran

A more recent rec, Sara Gran writes mysteries and thrillers. Her works include the series of detective Claire Witt novels, as well as the horror/supernatural/fantasy thriller Come Closer, which is one of her best-known works. But she also wrote one noir back in 2006, which is really excellent and worth checking out if you like this genre.

Dope is a brilliant, devastating noir about a young woman, Josephine, a former heroin addict, who is offered a thousand dollars to find a couple's daughter. Chances are the daughter is a heroin addict as well, which is why Josephine was picked for the job. The plot is full of twists and turns, and the ending is devastating. This is the epitome of noir, and it's not pretty. But if this genre is your thing, this is a must-read.

I'd be remiss in not also mentioning the following authors:

Patricia Highsmith is a stunning writer. She's of course best known for The Talented Mr Ripley and Strangers on a Train, but worth checking out her other stuff, too.

Elisabeth Sanxay Holding is probably most known for The Blank Wall, and that's the work that's usually recommended on the blurb about her in articles about female crime/noir writers. But her other works are worth looking at, too. Again, some of the psychological twists are dated given when she was writing, but her prose and build-up and characterizations are top-notch.

Vera Caspary is best known for Laura, which is such a good book (and I love the movie).