A classic California noir with a feminist twist, this prescient 1947 novel exposed misogyny in post-World War II American society, making it far ahead of its time.Los Angeles in the late 1940s is a city of promise and prosperity, but not for former fighter pilot Dix Steele. To his mind nothing has come close to matching “that feeling of power and exhilaration and freedom that came with loneness in the sky.” He prowls the foggy city night—bus stops and stretches of darkened beaches and movie houses just emptying out—seeking solitary young women. His funds are running out and his frustrations are growing. Where is the good life he was promised? Why does he always get a raw deal? Then he hooks up with his old Air Corps buddy Brub, now working for the LAPD, who just happens to be on the trail of the strangler who’s been terrorizing the women of the city for months... Written with controlled elegance, Dorothy B. Hughes’s tense novel is at once an early indictment of a truly toxic masculinity and a twisty page-turner with a surprisingly feminist resolution. A classic of golden age noir, In a Lonely Place also inspired Nicholas Ray’s 1950 film of the same name, starring Humphrey Bogart.
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A classic California noir with a feminist twist, this prescient 1947 novel exposed misogyny in post-World War II American society, making it far ahead of its time.Los Angeles in the late 1940s is a city of promise and prosperity, but not for former fighter pilot Dix Steele. To his mind nothing has come close to matching “that feeling of power and exhilaration and freedom that came with loneness in the sky.” He prowls the foggy city night—bus stops and stretches of darkened beaches and movie houses just emptying out—seeking solitary young women. His funds are running out and his frustrations.
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G-NRIS™ identifies In a Lonely Place primarily as Noir, Crime Fiction, and Feminist Literature. Its strongest themes include Misogyny and Toxic Masculinity, Post-War Disillusionment, Isolation and Loneliness, and Justice and Crime Investigation. Prominent narrative patterns include Hardboiled Detective, Antihero, Urban Nightscape, and Femme Fatale.
Readers connected to this book most often reflect Psychological Moral Explorer reader archetypes. Their strongest shared genre interests include Mystery, Thriller, Dark Fantasy, and Romance. They are commonly drawn to themes such as plot twists, tension & spice, enemies to lovers, and toxic family dynamics.
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