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shewritesinmargins's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
aberdeenwaters's review against another edition
3.0
For having so many elements I love (cross-country train trips, commentary on Hollywood, fatal endings) it didn’t grip me as much as I had hoped. That being said, I’d read more Hughes.
mcf's review against another edition
5.0
Staggeringly good. Smart, sharp, and unrelentingly dark, with final chapters that take your breath away.
jakewritesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed Gone Girl well enough but those hailing Gone Girl and the female-written female-driven thriller novel that has become en vogue should do a little cultural excavation. Women have historically dominated the thriller market, especially in the 30s through the 50s. And one of the greats, indeed perhaps the greatest of these was Dorothy Hughes.
I haven’t read a lot of Hughes and that’s my mistake. Her most popular work is In A Lonely Place, which inspired the Humphrey Bogart movie that’s drastically different from the book. But she’s written a lot of other great thriller-type novels. The Expendable Man is an early contender for the best book I’ve read in 2019. This may not make my list but it’s also darn good in it’s own right.
You know all you need to from the premise: a popular film actress is riding a bicoastal train from LA to NYC for a film premiere, convinced that her producer/ex-lover is going to kill her. The producer himself, a Harvey Weinstein-type if there ever was one, is on the train as well, along with other assorted characters.
What makes Hughes the master of this kind of work is not the thrill-a-minute page-turning style that is popular this day in age, nor is Dread Journey a slow burn. It’s a character study. You find out who these characters are little-by-little and slowly, their motivations are revealed. Small decisions end up having big consequences. Throw in a claustrophobic setting (the entire book takes place on the train) and you’ve got quite a pot boiler.
Some female writers from this era, Margaret Millar in particular, have gotten republished and received new love and adoration in these times. It’s gotta be Hughes’ turn to have a moment.
I haven’t read a lot of Hughes and that’s my mistake. Her most popular work is In A Lonely Place, which inspired the Humphrey Bogart movie that’s drastically different from the book. But she’s written a lot of other great thriller-type novels. The Expendable Man is an early contender for the best book I’ve read in 2019. This may not make my list but it’s also darn good in it’s own right.
You know all you need to from the premise: a popular film actress is riding a bicoastal train from LA to NYC for a film premiere, convinced that her producer/ex-lover is going to kill her. The producer himself, a Harvey Weinstein-type if there ever was one, is on the train as well, along with other assorted characters.
What makes Hughes the master of this kind of work is not the thrill-a-minute page-turning style that is popular this day in age, nor is Dread Journey a slow burn. It’s a character study. You find out who these characters are little-by-little and slowly, their motivations are revealed. Small decisions end up having big consequences. Throw in a claustrophobic setting (the entire book takes place on the train) and you’ve got quite a pot boiler.
Some female writers from this era, Margaret Millar in particular, have gotten republished and received new love and adoration in these times. It’s gotta be Hughes’ turn to have a moment.
annieb123's review against another edition
4.0
Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
Dread Journey is a psychological thriller/mystery by Dorothy B. Hughes. Originally published in 1945, this reformat and re-release is part of the American Mystery Classics series. Released 3rd Dec 2019, it's 264 pages and available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. (Other editions available in other formats). This reformat release has an erudite and insightful introduction by Sarah Weinman.
This was a difficult novel for me to really enjoy. The setting (a closed and moving train), the locked set of varied characters, and the ratcheting tension arc are, for me, a trifecta of almost guaranteed enjoyment. I'm familiar with and have read and re-read much of the author's oeuvre, but had a rough time with this one. The plotting and story arc are well done. I felt that the dialogue and characterizations showed their age somewhat (almost 75 years), but the biggest annoyance was the denouement. I have reread parts of the book several times after the initial read-through, and I can appreciate the precision of the plotting and tension, and the other technical aspects of the writing, but the ending was a turn-off for me.
I've thought about it for a while and I guess the easiest and probably most apt words for how it affected me would be preachy and florid with a soupcon of pretentiousness. I really wanted to enjoy this one a lot more than I did. I can heartily recommend all of the other current entries in this exceptional classics series published by Penzler & co.
Three and a half stars, rounded up for the technically brilliant writing.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Dread Journey is a psychological thriller/mystery by Dorothy B. Hughes. Originally published in 1945, this reformat and re-release is part of the American Mystery Classics series. Released 3rd Dec 2019, it's 264 pages and available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. (Other editions available in other formats). This reformat release has an erudite and insightful introduction by Sarah Weinman.
This was a difficult novel for me to really enjoy. The setting (a closed and moving train), the locked set of varied characters, and the ratcheting tension arc are, for me, a trifecta of almost guaranteed enjoyment. I'm familiar with and have read and re-read much of the author's oeuvre, but had a rough time with this one. The plotting and story arc are well done. I felt that the dialogue and characterizations showed their age somewhat (almost 75 years), but the biggest annoyance was the denouement. I have reread parts of the book several times after the initial read-through, and I can appreciate the precision of the plotting and tension, and the other technical aspects of the writing, but the ending was a turn-off for me.
I've thought about it for a while and I guess the easiest and probably most apt words for how it affected me would be preachy and florid with a soupcon of pretentiousness. I really wanted to enjoy this one a lot more than I did. I can heartily recommend all of the other current entries in this exceptional classics series published by Penzler & co.
Three and a half stars, rounded up for the technically brilliant writing.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
tnsbandgeek's review
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
jakewritesbooks's review
4.0
I enjoyed Gone Girl well enough but those hailing Gone Girl and the female-written female-driven thriller novel that has become en vogue should do a little cultural excavation. Women have historically dominated the thriller market, especially in the 30s through the 50s. And one of the greats, indeed perhaps the greatest of these was Dorothy Hughes.
I haven’t read a lot of Hughes and that’s my mistake. Her most popular work is In A Lonely Place, which inspired the Humphrey Bogart movie that’s drastically different from the book. But she’s written a lot of other great thriller-type novels. The Expendable Man is an early contender for the best book I’ve read in 2019. This may not make my list but it’s also darn good in it’s own right.
You know all you need to from the premise: a popular film actress is riding a bicoastal train from LA to NYC for a film premiere, convinced that her producer/ex-lover is going to kill her. The producer himself, a Harvey Weinstein-type if there ever was one, is on the train as well, along with other assorted characters.
What makes Hughes the master of this kind of work is not the thrill-a-minute page-turning style that is popular this day in age, nor is Dread Journey a slow burn. It’s a character study. You find out who these characters are little-by-little and slowly, their motivations are revealed. Small decisions end up having big consequences. Throw in a claustrophobic setting (the entire book takes place on the train) and you’ve got quite a pot boiler.
Some female writers from this era, Margaret Millar in particular, have gotten republished and received new love and adoration in these times. It’s gotta be Hughes’ turn to have a moment.
I haven’t read a lot of Hughes and that’s my mistake. Her most popular work is In A Lonely Place, which inspired the Humphrey Bogart movie that’s drastically different from the book. But she’s written a lot of other great thriller-type novels. The Expendable Man is an early contender for the best book I’ve read in 2019. This may not make my list but it’s also darn good in it’s own right.
You know all you need to from the premise: a popular film actress is riding a bicoastal train from LA to NYC for a film premiere, convinced that her producer/ex-lover is going to kill her. The producer himself, a Harvey Weinstein-type if there ever was one, is on the train as well, along with other assorted characters.
What makes Hughes the master of this kind of work is not the thrill-a-minute page-turning style that is popular this day in age, nor is Dread Journey a slow burn. It’s a character study. You find out who these characters are little-by-little and slowly, their motivations are revealed. Small decisions end up having big consequences. Throw in a claustrophobic setting (the entire book takes place on the train) and you’ve got quite a pot boiler.
Some female writers from this era, Margaret Millar in particular, have gotten republished and received new love and adoration in these times. It’s gotta be Hughes’ turn to have a moment.
whats_margaret_reading's review against another edition
5.0
If you haven’t read Dorothy B. Hughes yet, get yourself to it. This is just as tightly plotted and atmospheric as her other work, but a little more contained (they’re on a train).
Also, the New Mexico geography in here briefly mentioned, but Hughes lived in Santa Fe for years and some of her other work is set there. I love how Hughes has the American West play a major role in her work and she gets it spot on, the best of Westerns and suspense novels wrapped up into one original package. More of her work is being reprinted, which is of course perfect though when I run out of works of hers to experience for the first time I will be incredibly sad.
Also, the New Mexico geography in here briefly mentioned, but Hughes lived in Santa Fe for years and some of her other work is set there. I love how Hughes has the American West play a major role in her work and she gets it spot on, the best of Westerns and suspense novels wrapped up into one original package. More of her work is being reprinted, which is of course perfect though when I run out of works of hers to experience for the first time I will be incredibly sad.
waywithwords's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
vesper1931's review against another edition
3.0
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
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