About this item
Sailor, a hood from Chicago, steps off a bus in a small, desert town. He is looking for someone, his boss, 'Sen' - a crooked, 'weasel-faced' Senator, who has set up the murder of his wealthy wife and made it look like a bungled robbery. Sailor is the only person who can finger Sen for the crime, and he intends to make the senator pay a hefty sum for his silence. In a hypnotic style that is pure, unsentimental noir, Hughes builds tension relentlessly and the fates of Sailor and Sen are played out against the increasing fervour of the town's festivities.
About the Author
Dorothy B. Hughes (1904-1993) was a mystery author and literary critic. Born in Kansas City, she studied at Columbia University, and won an award from the Yale Series of Younger Poets for her first book, the poetry collection (1931) . After writing several unsuccessful manuscripts, she published in 1940. A New York-based mystery, it won praise for its hardboiled prose, which was due, in part, to Hughes's editor, who demanded she cut 25,000 words from the book. Hughes published thirteen more novels, the best known of which are (1947) and (1946) . Both were made into successful films. In the early fifties, Hughes largely stopped writing fiction, preferring to focus on criticism, for which she would go on to win an Edgar Award. In 1978, the Mystery Writers of America presented Hughes with the Grand Master Award for literary achievement.
