Book Fifty-One of the Book-a-Week QuestStrangers on a Train
by Patricia Highsmith (1950)
This one had been on my shelf for a really long time for some reason, despite the fact that it's got that noir feel that I really enjoy.
Guy Haines is a promising young architect who is on his way to signing divorce papers in Texas. While on the train, he meets Charles Bruno, a psychopath who hatches a murderous plan with Guy -- Bruno could kill Guy's wife while Guy could kill Bruno's overbearing father. Guy wholeheartedly disagrees, but, a few days later, Guy's wife ends up murdered...and Bruno will stop at nothing for Guy to complete his part of the deal.
Patricia Highsmith crafts a tense tale here, jumping back and forth between the inner thoughts of Guy and Bruno, with both men being fully realized complex characters. The only thing I wish is that the tale was maybe 75 pages shorter. Clocking in at nearly 300 pages, there's not quite enough story to stretch out over the whole book. And, unfortunately, the end is slightly anticlimactic.
So, while it's not quite a perfect thriller, I'm certainly not opposed to picking up another Patricia Highsmith novel in the future.
Guy Haines is a promising young architect who is on his way to signing divorce papers in Texas. While on the train, he meets Charles Bruno, a psychopath who hatches a murderous plan with Guy -- Bruno could kill Guy's wife while Guy could kill Bruno's overbearing father. Guy wholeheartedly disagrees, but, a few days later, Guy's wife ends up murdered...and Bruno will stop at nothing for Guy to complete his part of the deal.
Patricia Highsmith crafts a tense tale here, jumping back and forth between the inner thoughts of Guy and Bruno, with both men being fully realized complex characters. The only thing I wish is that the tale was maybe 75 pages shorter. Clocking in at nearly 300 pages, there's not quite enough story to stretch out over the whole book. And, unfortunately, the end is slightly anticlimactic.
So, while it's not quite a perfect thriller, I'm certainly not opposed to picking up another Patricia Highsmith novel in the future.
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