Dorothy B. Hughes

'The new crime and espionage series from Penguin Classics makes for a mouth-watering prospect' Daily TelegraphLos Angeles, the late 1940's. A serial killer stalks the foggy streets at night ...Dix Steele, a former fighter pilot, moved to L.A. after the war, looking for a new life. But the city is gripped by fear of a murderer in its midst. Dix, however, is not scared. And when he bumps into his old friend Brub, now a detective on the trail of the culprit, he is excited to follow the police's progress. A dark and terrible truth is revealed, in a noir novel like no other.

A classic California noir with a feminist twist, this prescient 1947 novel exposed misogyny in post-World War II American society, making it far ahead of its time. Los Angeles in the late 1940s is a city of promise and prosperity, but not for former fighter pilot Dix Steele. To his mind nothing has come close to matching "that feeling of power and exhilaration and freedom that came with loneness in the sky." He prowls the foggy city night--­bus stops and stretches of darkened beaches and movie houses just emptying out--seeking solitary young women. His funds are running out and his frustrations are growing. Where is the good life he was promised? Why does he always get a raw deal? Then he hooks up with his old Air Corps buddy Brub, now working for the LAPD, who just happens to be on the trail of the strangler who's been terrorizing the women of the city for months... Written with controlled elegance, Dorothy B. Hughes's tense novel is at once an early indictment of a truly toxic masculinity and a twisty page-turner with a surprisingly feminist resolution. A classic of golden age noir, In a Lonely Place also inspired Nicholas Ray's 1950 film of the same name, starring Humphrey Bogart.

Private First Class Johnnie Brown is on a break in New York, with just two days to spend however he likes before shipping out to fight the Nazis. All he wants to do is ride the subway, and while his fellow soldiers are exploring the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building and what the nightclubs in Times Square have to offer, he pays his nickel and boards the train.Oddly, he runs into a stout, mysterious man speaking German. Johnnie follows him to an upscale townhouse, where he finds himself looking at more thrills than any cabaret. Suddenly he has lost his clothes, his sense of where he is and his dignity, but Johnnie isn't going to give up until he's uncovered every secret the townhouse is hiding.

'Puts Chandler to shame ... Hughes is the master we keep turning to' Sara ParetskyAfter the war, cynical veteran Dix Steele has moved to L.A., a city terrified by a strangler preying on young women. Bumping into an old friend, now a detective working on the case, Dix is thrilled by closely following the progress of the police. And meeting his new neighbour, sultry and beautiful actress Laurel Gray, brings even more excitement into his life. But the strangler is still prowling the streets - and Laurel may be in more danger than she realises...In a Lonely Place was adapted for film in 1950, with Humphrey Bogart as Dix Steele.

Sailor, former henchman and trouble-accruing gangster, travels from Chicago to Santa Fe, New Mexico, looking for revenge and for money. But it's hard to make a dishonest buck when everything seems to be against him. It is Fiesta, it is hot, thousands of people are crowding into town, Sailor has nowhere to stay, the odds are stacked against him - and some important and very violent people are in town, only one of whom he wants to meet. Heat-struck and high-energy, one of Hughes’ most brilliant novels, Ride the Pink Horse transplants noir to an America of vivid colours and bright sunlight, with startling results.

For more than a year, Kit McKittrick languished in a Fascist prison in Spain where he was tortured by a limping jailor known only as Wobblefoot. He escaped with the help of a childhood friend from America who came overseas with him to fight for the Republican cause. When the two return to the United States, Kit goes West to heal, both physically and psychologically, while Louie remains in New York for the high society life of cocktails and cafes that he had enjoyed before his dangerous adventure. But Kit's convalescence is cut short when he learns that Louie has taken a long dive out of a high window. He's certain that his friend wouldn't have made the fatal fall without being pushed and, on a quest for vengeance, sets out for New York to get even with the killer. When he arrives, Kit discovers a host of suspicious characters that Louie left behind but he'll have to conquer his own past demons before he can achieve his gruesome goal. A revenge thriller elevated by psychological depth and haunting suspense, The Fallen Sparrow shows noir master Dorothy B. Hughes developing the style for which she is known today. Like her later masterpieces, In a Lonely Place and Ride the Pink Horse, this too was adapted for a now-classic film noir by the same title.

For more than a year, Kit McKittrick languished in a Fascist prison in Spain where he was tortured by a limping jailor known only as Wobblefoot. He escaped with the help of a childhood friend from America who came overseas with him to fight for the Republican cause. When the two return to the United States, Kit goes West to heal, both physically and psychologically, while Louie remains in New York for the high society life of cocktails and cafes that he had enjoyed before his dangerous adventure. But Kit's convalescence is cut short when he learns that Louie has taken a long dive out of a high window. He's certain that his friend wouldn't have made the fatal fall without being pushed and, on a quest for vengeance, sets out for New York to get even with the killer. When he arrives, Kit discovers a host of suspicious characters that Louie left behind but he'll have to conquer his own past demons before he can achieve his gruesome goal. A revenge thriller elevated by psychological depth and haunting suspense, The Fallen Sparrow shows noir master Dorothy B. Hughes developing the style for which she is known today. Like her later masterpieces, In a Lonely Place and Ride the Pink Horse, this too was adapted for a now-classic film noir by the same title.

First published in the US in 1943 by Duell, Sloan and Pearce, New York.A classic World War II-era noir with a page-turning plot, a cast of colorfully sinister characters and a protagonist who is thrust into the heart of political intrigue, this captivating 1943 novel parallels the spy novels of Grahame Greene, Eric Ambler, and the films of Hitchcock and Lang. But in -signature Hughes fashion, The Blackbirder has a genre-bending twist: its hardboiled protagonist is a woman.Born of American expatriate parents, Julie Guilles was a pretty, sheltered rich girl growing up in Paris, a favorite of the "Ritz Bar" set. But everything changed when the Nazis rolled into the City of Lights. After three years of life underground, Julie is hiding out in New York; but she knows trouble is coming when the corpse of an acquaintance appears on her doorstep. With a host of possible dangers on her tail-the Gestapo, the FBI and the New York cops-she embarks on a desperate journey to Santa Fe in search of her last, best hope. "The Blackbirder"is a legend among refugees, a trafficker in human souls who flies under the radar to bring people to safety across the Mexican border-for a price.With no resources at her disposal but a smuggled diamond necklace and her own razor-sharp wits, Julie must navigate a tangle of dangers-and take a stand in the worldwide struggle that has shattered the lives of millions. In contrast to the typical representations of wartime women as "Mrs. Minivers" guarding home and hearth, Dorothy B. Hughes gives her intrepid heroine a place at the heart of the action.

When Con Satterlee picked up the half-intoxicated blonde in the Bamboo Bar, Griselda was annoyed. When he walked out with the blonde, leaving Griselda flat, she was furious. She was frightened, too, returning alone to the isolated, ramshackle beach cottage. And this was to have been their second honeymoon Con came back rattling a handful of shells which he said he had taken from the blonde's revolver. But the blonde didn't come back. The police found her corpse the next morning. And then Con was arrested. That left Griselda alone, behind a door with a lock that a bent hairpin could open. Quite defenseless, she had to face the sinister Major Pembrooke, who wanted something from Con; beautiful, lying Kathie; Dare, so very possessive as far as Con was concerned; and the debonair Kew, who was intent on helping Griselda, for selfish reasons.

Hollywood big-shot Vivien Spender has waited ages to produce the work that will be his masterpiece: a film adaptation of Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain. He's spent years grooming young starlets for the lead role, only to discard each one when a newer, fresher face enters his view. Afterwards, these rejected women all immediately fall from grace; excised from the world of pictures, they end up in rehab, or jail, or worse. But Kitten Agnew, the most recent to encounter this impending doom, won't be gotten rid of so easily--her contract simply doesn't allow for it. Accompanied by Mr. Spender on a train journey from Los Angeles to Chicago, she begins to fear that the producer might be considering a deadly alternative. Either way, it's clear that something is going to happen before they reach their destination, and as the train barrels through America's heartland, the tension accelerates towards an inescapable finale. Reprinted for the first time in over twenty years, Dread Journey is a taut thriller that exemplifies Dorothy B. Hughes's greatest strengths as a writer--namely, her sharpened prose and mastery of psychological suspense. While its fine-tuned plot is just as exciting as it was in 1945, when the novel was first published, and its portrayal of Hollywood's less savory elements remains all-too-relevant today, the book's characters and setting provide pure Golden Age fare, sure to please any devotee of classic mystery novels.

Hollywood big-shot Vivien Spender has waited ages to produce the work that will be his masterpiece: a film adaptation of Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain. He's spent years grooming young starlets for the lead role, only to discard each one when a newer, fresher face enters his view. Afterwards, these rejected women all immediately fall from grace; excised from the world of pictures, they end up in rehab, or jail, or worse. But Kitten Agnew, the most recent to encounter this impending doom, won't be gotten rid of so easily--her contract simply doesn't allow for it. Accompanied by Mr. Spender on a train journey from Los Angeles to Chicago, she begins to fear that the producer might be considering a deadly alternative. Either way, it's clear that something is going to happen before they reach their destination, and as the train barrels through America's heartland, the tension accelerates towards an inescapable finale.Reprinted for the first time in over twenty years, Dread Journey is a taut thriller that exemplifies Dorothy B. Hughes's greatest strengths as a writer--namely, her sharpened prose and mastery of psychological suspense. While its fine-tuned plot is just as exciting as it was in 1945, when the novel was first published, and its portrayal of Hollywood's less savory elements remains all-too-relevant today, the book's characters and setting provide pure Golden Age fare, sure to please any devotee of classic mystery novels.

The society pages announce it before she even arrives: Griselda Satterlee, daughter of the princess of Rome, has left her career as an actress behind and is traveling to Manhattan to reinvent herself as a fashion designer. They also announce the return of the dashing Montefierrow twins to New York after a twelve-year sojourn in Europe. But there is more to this story than what's reported, which becomes clear when the three meet one evening during a walk, and their polite conversation quickly takes a menacing turn. The twins are seeking a rare and powerful gem and they believe it's stashed in the unused apartment where Griselda is staying. Baffled by the request, she pushes them away, but they won't take no for an answer. When they return, accompanied by Griselda's long-estranged younger sister, the murders begin... Drenched in the glamour and luxury of the New York elite, The So Blue Marble is a perfectly Art Deco suspense novel in which nothing is quite as it seems. While different in style from her later books, Dorothy B. Hughes's debut highlights her greatest strengths as an author, rendered with both the poetic language and the psychology of fear for which she is known today.

The society pages announce it before she even arrives: Griselda Satterlee, daughter of the princess of Rome, has left her career as an actress behind and is traveling to Manhattan to reinvent herself as a fashion designer. They also announce the return of the dashing Montefierrow twins to New York after a twelve-year sojourn in Europe. But there is more to this story than what's reported, which becomes clear when the three meet one evening during a walk, and their polite conversation quickly takes a menacing turn. The twins are seeking a rare and powerful gem and they believe it's stashed in the unused apartment where Griselda is staying. Baffled by the request, she pushes them away, but they won't take no for an answer. When they return, accompanied by Griselda's long-estranged younger sister, the murders begin...Drenched in the glamour and luxury of the New York elite, The So Blue Marble is a perfectly Art Deco suspense novel in which nothing is quite as it seems. While different in style from her later books, Dorothy B. Hughes's debut highlights her greatest strengths as an author, rendered with both the poetic language and the psychology of fear for which she is known today.

When Con Satterlee picked up the half-intoxicated blonde in the Bamboo Bar, Griselda was annoyed. When he walked out with the blonde, leaving Griselda flat, she was furious. She was frightened, too, returning alone to the isolated, ramshackle beach cottage. And this was to have been their second honeymoon Con came back rattling a handful of shells which he said he had taken from the blonde's revolver. But the blonde didn't come back. The police found her corpse the next morning. And then Con was arrested. That left Griselda alone, behind a door with a lock that a bent hairpin could open. Quite defenseless, she had to face the sinister Major Pembrooke, who wanted something from Con; beautiful, lying Kathie; Dare, so very possessive as far as Con was concerned; and the debonair Kew, who was intent on helping Griselda, for selfish reasons.

THE DEAD MAN AT THE AIRPORT had a message for Steve Wintress. The fact that he died when and where he did meant that Steve was getting too close to THE DAVIDIAN REPORT -- Russia's master plan for world conquest, smuggled out of East Berlin. The FBI was after the report. So were the Reds. Both knew Steve was the key -- and both thought they knew who he was working for. They were both wrong ... and Steve's life depended on seeing that they never found out