A review by hannahstohelit
In a Lonely Place by Dorothy B. Hughes

adventurous dark 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

4.75

(Reread)

Great book- the -.25 is just because I find the writing style a bit irritating, but I don't really care because the rest of it is all really good. I love how Hughes captures the ways in which the main character's attitudes are so off-kilter- his way of looking at the world is almost hilariously melodramatic, and we can be lulled into the trap of thinking that the way that he sees the other characters is the way that they actually are, but his last night with Laurel and the aftermath make clear how wrong he is about people. Unlike The Talented Mr Ripley (which came after this), it shows the limitations of charisma and cleverness once they encounter hubris and bad luck- Ripley is almost preternaturally lucky, while Steele has a normal amount of luck and a personality capable of self-sabotage, which I find more interesting.

Also, this book has really funny/on the nose noir names. Dix Steele? Brub Nicolai? (BRUB? where did she even get that one?!) Thomas Gorgonzola? And then you have victim names like

Betsy Banning

and

Mildred Atkinson

, who are each exactly the kind of person you think they might be based on their names- and Laurel Gray is the epitome of wannabe Hollywood star. On that note, I hear that the movie based on this book is very good, but has a totally different ending, which basically means I refuse to watch it.