Dorothy B. Hughes Books In Order

The Blackbirder

A classic World War II era noir with a page turning plot, a cast of colorfully sinister characters and a protagonist who is thrust into the heart of political intrigue, this captivating 1943 novel parallels the spy novels of Grahame Greene, Eric Ambler, and the films of Hitchcock and Lang. But in signature Hughes fashion, The Blackbirder has a genre bending twist: its hardboiled protagonist is a woman.

Born of American expatriate parents, Julie Guilles was a pretty, sheltered rich girl growing up in Paris, a favorite of the ‘Ritz Bar’ set. But everything changed when the Na*zis rolled into the City of Lights. After three years of life underground, Julie is hiding out in New York; but she knows trouble is coming when the corpse of an acquaintance appears on her doorstep. With a host of possible dangers on her tail the Gestapo, the FBI and the New York cops she embarks on a desperate journey to Santa Fe in search of her last, best hope. ‘The Blackbirder‘is a legend among refugees, a trafficker in human souls who flies under the radar to bring people to safety across the Mexican border for a price.

With no resources at her disposal but a smuggled diamond necklace and her own razor sharp wits, Julie must navigate a tangle of dangers and take a stand in the worldwide struggle that has shattered the lives of millions. In contrast to the typical representations of wartime women as ‘Mrs. Minivers’ guarding home and hearth, Dorothy B. Hughes gives her intrepid hero*ine a place at the heart of the action

Dorothy B. Hughes 1904 1993 is the author of numerous hardboiled mystery novels. Three of her books became successful films: The Fallen Sparrow 1943, Ride the Pink Horse 1947, and In a Lonely Place 1950, reprinted by the Feminist Press in 2003. In 1978 she was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America.

Ride the Pink Horse

During its Fiesta, a small desert town in New Mexico welcomes three strangers. Sailor, a hood from Chicago, is here to confront his boss, Sen a crooked ‘weasel faced’ senator, in order to extort money. He is the only one who can finger Sen for setting up the murder of his wealthy wife, made to look like a robbery gone wrong. On the trail of both is Mac. Though from the same slums as Sailor, Mac decided on a different route and joined the police. He knows that Sailor can put Sen behind bars and wants him to testify in order to get him there. Though Sailor is aware that this is the right thing to do, he needs the money from Sen more. Over the space of a few days, the three characters collide with one another at regular intervals in a clumsy dance, one advancing as the other retreats, continually surrounded by the swirling colors, sounds, and smells of the festival. Ride the Pink Horse is a highly visual piece of crime fiction, and one that illustrates exactly why Hughes received numerous awards for her work. ‘Nobody but Dorothy Hughes can cast suspense into such an uncanny spell, and she’s never done it better.’ San Francisco Chronicle

In a Lonely Place

‘Puts Chandler to shame…
Hughes is the master we keep turning to.’ Sara Paretsky, author of the V. I. Warshawski novels ‘A superb novel by one of crime fiction’s finest writers of psychological suspense…
. What a pleasure it is to see this tale in print once again!’ Marcia Miller, author of the Sharon McCone novels ‘This lady is the queen of noir, and In a Lonely Place is her crown.’ Laurie R. King, author of the Mary Russell novels Postwar Los Angeles is a lonely place where the American Dream is showing its seamy underside and a stranger is preying on young women. The suggestively names Dix Steele, a cynical vet with a chip on his shoulder about the opposite sex, is the LAPD’s top suspect. Dix knows enough to watch his step, especially since his best friend is on the force, but when he meets the luscious Laurel Gray a femme fatale with brains something begins to crack. The basis for extraordinary performances by Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame in the 1950 film version of the book, In a Lonely Place tightens the suspence with taut, hard boiled prose and stunningly undoes the convential noir plot.