Dread Journey by Dorothy B. Hughes

Dread Journey (Murder Room) (Black Dagger Crime S.)

by Dorothy B. Hughes

One-way ticket to death . . .? In the four years since she arrived in Los Angeles, Kitten Agnew has become a star. Not all by herself, of course; though beautiful and talented, Kitten would be lost without her director, the acclaimed and powerful Vivien Spender.

But Spender is a dangerous man. Kit knows that, and has heard all the stories - of discarded stars that have ended up in a chorus line, or a sanatorium, or worse.

Spender knows that Kit knows, and wouldn't dare destroy her glittering career. But he may be willing to kill her . . .

On a train from LA to Chicago, Kit makes a discovery that could have her fighting not just for her career, but for her life.

Reviewed by annieb123 on

4 of 5 stars

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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.

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  • 3 December, 2019: Reviewed