About the Author

Dorothy B. Hughes (1904–1993) was a mystery author and literary critic. Born in Kansas City, she studied at Columbia University and won an award from the Yale Series of Younger Poets for her first book, the poetry collection Dark Certainty (1931). After writing several unsuccessful manuscripts, she published The So Blue Marble in 1940, winning praise for its terse, hard-boiled prose.


Hughes published thirteen more novels, the best known of which are The Fallen Sparrow (1942), Ride the Pink Horse (1946), In a Lonely Place (1947). All three were made into successful films. In the early fifties, Hughes largely stopped writing fiction, preferring to focus on criticism, for which she would go on to win an Edgar Award. In 1978, the Mystery Writers of America presented Hughes with the Grand Master Award for literary achievement.

Sarah Weinman is the author of The Real Lolita: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel That Scandalized the World. She also edited the anthologies Women Crime Writers: Eight Suspense Novels of the 1940s & 50s and Troubled Daughters, Twisted Wives, and writes the “Crime Lady” column at CrimeReads, where she is a contributing editor. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Reviews

"The perfect in-flight read. The only thing that’s dated is the long-distance train."
*Kirkus*

"Every sentence is suffused with dread."
*Los Angeles Review of Books*

"Cornell Woolrich meets Agatha Christie in this taut, grim reissue . . . Sarah Weinman (The Real Lolita) provides an insightful introduction."
*Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)*

"Not to be missed under any circumstances."
*Anthony Boucher*