Dread Journey

Though her list of published books only weighs in at fourteen, most written over a twelve year span, Dorothy Hughes’ noir style of writing is the best I’ve read in quite some time. Three of her books, The Lonely Place, The Fallen Sparrow, and Ride the Pink Horse, were adapted for the big screen, with Humphrey Bogart starring in The Lonely Place. Her novels being of a style suitable for the cinema is very evident in Dread Journey. The glamour, drama, and suspense of the ill-fated train ride were very typical of classic black and white films. Complete with elegant ladies in distress and the tough, hard-edged men destined to save them, this novel rounds out everything you’d expect in that style of writing.

The plot was fairly straight show more forward. The reader knows from within the pages of the first chapter the killer, the victim, and how it will be done. The story isn’t the typical crime novel where the culprit is unknown and the detective, along with the reader, must find the truth. This novel is all about the buildup of suspense. It’s the “crash” you know is coming and are helpless to stop, and yet you can’t turn away from it. The characters are so flawed but most are still likable, even if you want to slap a few of them (in a highly dramatic style to fit the feel of the book, of course.) The confinement of the train seems to accentuate the high level of emotions within the story…there is literally no escape and as the story progresses I felt those emotions press more and more.

Even if the rest of the book wasn’t the piece of writing perfection that it was, the ending was really what set this book at the top of the list for me. When I was expecting no surprises, I was blindsided by how this book wrapped up. Talk about intense! Overall, this was a masterpiece of noir fiction and the author’s books will be added to my must read list for the upcoming year.

Thank you to NetGalley and American Mystery Classics for the advanced copy of the book given in exchange for an honest review. show less

I was not aware of 40's author Dorothy Hughes until sometime last year, and although this is not her most well known book (that would be [b:In a Lonely Place|591354|In a Lonely Place|Dorothy B. Hughes|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388379708l/591354._SY75_.jpg|1392412]) I picked it as my first venture into her work because the summary suggested there might be some tie-ins to the #MeToo movement. More on that later.

What I want to start with is the quality of Hughes' writing. She knew her way around a sentence, and her character descriptions and plotting are distinctive. The story is built on an Agatha Christie-like premise - multiple characters on a train headed from L.A. to NYC, and someone is show more going to die - but told with a 40's noir sensibility. Her characters are for the most part types: glamorous actress, innocent ingenue, controlling producer, dedicated secretary, world-weary musician, alcoholic journalist, failed scriptwriter, and Pullman porter. But she fleshes them out so that they don't become caricatures. The journalist, for instance, is haunted by memories of war and famine, and the porter is introspective as he reflects on his job and his relationship to the passengers in his car.

This exploration of the interior life of the passengers is reminiscent of Patricia Highsmith, except that Highsmith typically focuses on one or two principal characters, while Hughes taps into the entire "cast". The producer and the secretary, especially, would have been right at home in a Highsmith novel.

And the producer is the tie to the #MeToo movement. In part it is his conviction that the rules that govern the behavior of others don't apply to him. But the connection is also there in the way that so many people feel helpless to stop him. Shades of Harvey Weinstein.

The weakest part of the book, for me, is the character of the ingenue. Her very existence drives much of the action, but I didn't find her, or her effect on the other passengers, to be especially believable. Despite that flaw, I liked the whole book enough to give it a 4 star rating.

As usual, I will close with comments on the narration. I can't say I was really happy with Gabrielle de Cuir's reading, which tended more toward dramatization that I generally like. It was OK, but it didn't enhance the book for me. show less

Movie producer Vivien Spender has spent years searching for the perfect starlet for his adaptation of Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain. Kitten Agnew is currently the favourite for this role, but on a cross-country train trip from LA to Chicago, she finds out that Spender’s found a new leading lady. And Kitten suspects that she will be disposed of not by a breakup or contract dissolution, but by murder.

Once again Hughes serves up a delightfully tense atmosphere. The train setting lends it a bit of a Murder on the Orient Express air, and the juxtaposition of the Hollywood set with the average passengers in the other compartments heightens the suspense and tension. It’s not my favourite Hughes novel, but it is quite good.

I was mildly show more confused because at first I thought Spender’s secretary, Mike Dana, was a boy. Mike is a girl. Once I figured that out, the chapter made a lot more sense. show less

I enjoyed this in that it kept me interested even though I pretty much knew what was going to happen. I would say that Hughes has a talent for suspense. This wasn't what I call a classic mystery, in that the reader was fairly sure of who the murderer was and who the victim was going to be. I would almost put her in a class with Daphne du Maurier, with less scary or ominous suspense and more keep-you-reading kind of suspense. I didn't love any of the characters, although they were interesting to read about and I was rooting for one or two of them.

Producer Vivien Spender believes he has finally found the female to play the part of Clavdia Chauchat. An unknown called Gratia Shawn. But there remains the problem of Kitten Agnew, the actress that has the contract to play the part. All three are on the pullman luxury train Chief, from Los Angeles to New York.
Quite a slow paced story, which portrays the sleezy side of Hollywood. Though it does have some well-drawn characters. Overall a story that I enjoyed
Originally written in 1945
A NetGalley Book

Tense psychological suspense, but no likeable characters.

Too melodramatic for my liking -- it's a slow burning soap opera.