Reviews for The dead letter, & The figure eight

The average rating for The dead letter, & The figure eight based on 2 reviews is 5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-03-08 00:00:00 David Lundgren I don't know what to say about this book except "Wow"! I never before remember reading a collection of stories and novels wherein I enjoyed every single word. Of course, the author is one of the masters of noir, so these aren't joyful tales about good fortune, true love, and happiness. Plenty of despair, loneliness, darkness, suspense, desperation, and corruption, and such good writing. Anyone who likes James M. Cain or Raymond Chandler would love Cornell Woolrich. A truly excellent writer.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-01-28 00:00:00 Nathan Coleman And so, while this book was tempting, I also only read one story in this - I will at some later date go back and read some Woolrich novels, but right now is for short fiction. From this, I read "Three O'Clock" - another Woolrich classic, a crackerjack suspense story in which an average watchmaker fellow sets a bomb in the basement of his suburban home to kill his wife and her secret lover - only for him to become, let us say... detained (the set-up does a wonderful job of starkly informing us of the fact that it isn't just mere jealousy that drives him, but odd, random homicidal thoughts he has nursed since receiving a concussion in a car accident). It's an excellent, mechanical device of a story, proving Woolrich's suspense chops and ability to ratchet up desperation to unbelievable degrees. Gripping. You can hear a pretty good (a bit rushed) reading of it here (just right click and save as to your desktop to download)