1948. Woolrich is best known for having written the short stories on which the movies Rear Window and Phantom Lady are based, the latter which when made into a movie starred Ella Raines and Elisha Cooke, Jr. Although credited with writing compelling noir, this novel was pretty ho hum. Helene, a single pregnant woman, meets Patrice, a married pregnant woman and her husband. The train they are on crashes, and only Helene survives. The husband's family has never met the now dead wife, so Helene passes herself off as Patrice so she can have a family for her son. Murder, blackmail, and stilted writing follow. If Woolrich interests you, I'd say stick to the short stories. He runs out of steam in this novel. ( )

Many of these stories have at least one movie made from them. I highly suggest watching the movies between reading the stories. It's even more fun with a friend! ( )