"In a Lonely Place," by Dorothy Hughes

Novel, 1947

Gripping thriller, with an unreliable narrator, stakeouts, murders and a Los Angeles full of noir and women who would comfortably fit the femme fatale trope were the narrator not so warped and wrapped up in himself. This is a book with a small number of characters and a gloomy trajectory whose mystery is hinted at then revealed in short notice, with the rest of the book moving its characters round with the inevitable consequences playing out. This is a book where the psychology and tension of noir and mental imbalance play out splendidly. The book rattles along at a good pace and though gloomy, rewards the reader with some really atmospheric suspence.