The Black Angel

Output is not quality, of course, but as Ray Bradbury noted, it produces quality, and Cornell Woolrich was prolific. He also is one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century. What cinches his place in history is a stretch where he published one great novel of gripping, enduring suspense after another. In essence, he created his own noir sub-genre where before there had been none. His use of the language was extraordinary, his ability to cast a mood magical, and his mastery of creating heart-pounding suspense remains unequaled today. Purple prose some of it may be, but few if any were ever able to create atmosphere like Cornell Woolrich did so regularly.

Along with Raymond Chandler, they practically invented the darkened noir show more streets of fiction. Woolrich perfected a smothering feeling of fate having us in its grasp, and it is still gripping today. One of the reasons he isn't as well remembered today is that he didn't fall back on a single familiar figure in each work. Woolrich chose not to have a go-to detective to base each story around. Through the darkness, however, there was a romanticism to Woolrich’s best works. Reading him at times there is an almost tangible sense that he wanted things to turn out alright. Fate seemed to conspire against him as a writer, just as it did for many of his protagonists.

The Black Angel is a terrific example of Woolrich-style suspense. This is noir at its quintessential best. But there exists within the story, something darkly romantic, even intoxicating. Beginning to read this story is like swallowing that first shot of whiskey, feeling it burn our throat as we get dizzy, and fall into a fever dream, which is how Chandler described his work.

In a sense, The Black Angel is a type of pub crawl, the female protagonist going from one name on her list to the next in order to clear the man she loves of murder. In perusing through some of the reviews here, some of which I enjoyed very much, a few had me wondering if we had read the same book. Below will be a few — but not major — spoilers in order to clear up some misconceptions.

The premise is that Alberta, who loves her husband very much, discovers he has strayed. While crushed, she remains certain her husband does love her. He calls her Angel Face when they are alone, and she is convinced he has simply fallen for a predatory woman. The reader senses that she is the smarter member of the troubled couple. She recognizes what the woman is, whereas her husband cannot. Going to the woman’s apartment, Alberta discovers she’s been murdered. Fearful her husband will be blamed for the murder, she removes a book with his name in it so the police won’t find it.

This actually makes perfect sense because of the psychology Woolrich gives the reader through Alberta’s first-person narrative. One must remember this has all happened over a very short period of time. Because the husband calls the woman to speak with her while Alberta is actually inside the dead woman’s apartment, it is clear he has not committed the murder.

He is arrested despite Alberta’s best efforts, and the two have a very moving conversation through a fence in which he is not only remorseful, but convinces Alberta, and the reader, that he had already chosen Alberta, and was breaking things off. This of course, adds to the criminal case against him, but for the reader, and Alberta, it sets up the largest portion of Black Angel, which is a suspenseful search through the names in the book for the real killer.

As with many a Woolrich story, time is of the essence, as the chair awaits Kirk unless Alberta can find Mia’s killer. Emboldened by her husband’s choice, knowing they might just have a chance to put this behind them if she can get him out of this jam, she will take great risks, making for great suspense. But something happens which she hadn’t counted on, and it will haunt both Alberta and the reader at the exciting ending. No more can be revealed without spoiling this terrific novel of suspense.


In 1946 this book, as was the case with many a Woolrich tale, was adapted both for radio’s Suspense program, and a classic Hollywood film. For those who would like to listen to the radio adaptation, here is a link where someone has put it out there — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mc3nxQ_LqV4 —

And for those who wish to watch a terrific film adaptation considered a classic here is that link — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAordZtxvtg

The Black Angel has an unusual framework, as many of Woolrich's best works did, and will not appeal to everyone. To a certain audience, however, it is a real find. I highly suggest reading other Woolrich books before this one, to get a sense of his style. A true masperiece of noir and suspense, but not for everyone. show less

The Black Angel by Cornell Woolrich was a most satisfying read. A true noir, the story of a despairing woman driven to save her husband from execution after being found guilty of murder, she plunges into her quest of tracking the murdered woman’s acquaintances down by following the listings in her address book.

With complete disregard for her own safety, she delves into the life of each of her suspects, finding herself involved with the downtrodden, the seedy, the desperate and the dangerous as she tracks these people through the dark side of New York City of the early 1940’s. The book delivers a number of plot twists along the way to keep both the main character and the reader on their toes.

This book was made into an excellent 1946 show more film noir, and although similar, they followed separate plot lines which make them both highly interesting and recommended. The Black Angel captures the moodiness and atmosphere of the dark side of an American city, but I did struggle with a plot hole that was hard to overlook. This is a book that I would recommend for fans of noir with an interest in the roots of this genre. show less

Not Woolrich’s best novel but well worth the ride. A framing story contains four connected stories as Angel Face tries to find out who framed her beau for ‘ol Sparky. Woolrich can’t go without giving you a big little twist in the end. Full of patented dreary, paranoid, and hopeless metaphors it will leave the world weary and pessimistic disappointed.

Cornell Woolrich is often described as the father of noir. Most of his books contain the words death, black, night and dark in the title, which just scream noir. I only recently found out about this author while tracking down books written by James Cain, Dashiell Hammett, and Raymond Chandler. For some reason Mr. Woolrich’s books are a little more difficult to obtain, which is why I was thrilled to obtain a copy of The Black Angel and Rendezvous in Black last year.

Would you help free your innocent husband who is charged with the murder of his mistress? Hmmm. An interesting question isn’t it? In Black Angel, Alberta Murray suspects that her husband Kirk is having an affair. She decides to confront her husband’s mistress and finds show more her dead. Alberta then takes the deceased’s phone book in which four names beginning with the letter M appear. It should also be noted that the deceased’s name was Mia Mercer, who was partial to monogramming.

Alberta has it in her mind that one of the people in the phone book committed the murder. In attempting to prove her husband’s innocence, she meets up with unsavory characters and gets into a lot of trouble. I think that this book read more like a series of short stories based on each person in the phone book and that the entire story wasn’t tied together enough for me. I also felt as though the ending was just a tad forced.

After reading this book, my enthusiasm waned just a bit. I suppose I was expecting something more and I thought that the story fell a little flat. At any rate, a mediocre novel written by a first rate author is still worth reading. show less

The wife is a simpering moron. He cheats on her and she's begging him to stay and kiss her and abases herself. Ugh.

Alberta Murray is a devoted wife who's life is torn apart when she discovers that her husband is having an affair. When she decides to have a confrontation with the other woman,and goes to her apartment,she discovers her murdered body.
Alberta's husband is arrested for the killing but knowing in her own mind that he is innocent,she decides to follow up some leads that only she is in possession of. In an address book that she had found in the dead woman's apartment she discovers four names and telephone numbers which connect to the dead woman. Into each of these men's lives,she worms her way,with devastating results. Woolrich is a true master of Noir fiction and this book does not disappoint.

I thought this was a first rate pulp novel. I liked the cynical ending of the story it was developed from better.