The Bride Wore Black
by Cornell Woolrich
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Pub Date Jan 05 2021 | Archive Date Dec 31 2020
Penzler Publishers | American Mystery Classics
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Description
A police detective seeks the rationale between seemingly-unrelated murders, connected only by the appearance of a beautiful woman each time
When the wealthy ladies’ man fell from his balcony in the midst of his engagement party, the police dismissed the death as the result of a freak accident. There was nothing to connect it with the poisoning of a lonely man in his squalid apartment, or with the married business-man killed after him, sealed into a closet and left to suffocate. No connection, that is, aside from the appearance of a beautiful woman in each case, just before the victims met their untimely ends.
Nobody knows her identity, where she comes from or whither she goes. Nor do they know why anyone would be targeting this series of seemingly-unrelated persons. But one police detective is convinced that the answers to these questions can save the lives of men who might be next on the list, men who will continue to die at a rapid rate unless he can solve the puzzle and intervene.
Cornell Woolrich’s first crime novel, The Bride Wore Black is the stylish, tense thriller that launched the career of “the supreme master of suspense” (New York Times). It was filmed by Francois Truffaut under the same title, and went on to inspire Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill movies.
About the Author:
Born George Hopley-Woolrich, Cornell Woolrich (1903-1968) is the pen name most often employed by one of America's best crime and noir writers, whose other pseudonyms included George Hopley and William Irish, the moniker under which Waltz into Darkness was first published. His novels were among the first to employ the atmosphere, outlook, and impending sense of doom that came to be characterized as noir, and inspired some of the most famous films of the period, including Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window, Francois Truffaut's The Bride Wore Black, The Phantom Lady, and celebrated B-movies such as The Leopard Man and Black Angel.
Introduction by Eddie Muller, "The Czar of Noir," the founder and president of the Film Noir Foundation, who provides commentary for noir films and specials on Turner Classic Movies. He created his own graphics firm, St. Francis Studio, and is the author of Grindhouse, Dark City Dames, and Dark City. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Advance Praise
“Of all the authors whose forte was turning our spines to columns of ice, the supreme master of the art, the Hitchcock of the written word, was Cornell Woolrich.” - Believer Magazine
“Of all the authors whose forte was turning our spines to columns of ice, the supreme master of the art, the Hitchcock of the written word, was Cornell Woolrich.” - Believer Magazine
Available Editions
| EDITION | Hardcover |
| ISBN | 9781613161999 |
| PRICE | $25.95 (USD) |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Laura F, Reviewer
The Bride Wore Black is just the book I have been searching for. For years I have tried to find that one elusive book that could thrill me and then just when I least expect it, start all over again. I developed a sense of urgency while at the same time hoping that my hunch was right. Well, to be honest, I was wrong every time. Someone is killing men in different ways yet the police cannot connect them. The eyewitnesses only know one thing and that is they do NOT know who the killer is other than she is a she and she is stunning. She is able to disguise herself in such a way that she is not recognized and can escape the scene undetected. This is a mystery like no other. I am hoping that this will be made into a movie. The author has created rich characters that emphasize each other in a way that I am not used to. I felt as though I was in a 1950’s thriller and it was amazing.
Thank you to netgalley as well as the author/publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.
Andrew E, Reviewer
No one , no one, writes classic noir like Woolrich. If he didn’t invent what we know as classic American noir fiction, he came pretty close. And this is his seminal work in the area. Mysterious, dark, and completely subject to fate , the lives of the characters here defy normalcy and convention. And that is why the plotting is so weird. Just read it and then read his other works. Thanks to American Mystery Classics for bringing This great book back in a cool edition.
Fran E, Reviewer
Grand Central Station. A one-way ticket to Chicago, a ploy. "The woman who had gone away forever seized her valise...exited to street level at Twenty Fifth Street...as though this was the end of the trip instead of the beginning...her valise so recently packed for a trip of fifty blocks...".
Soon to be engaged Ken Bliss confided to his friend, "it's getting so a young guy ain't safe any more living by himself. I think I'll get myself married off and get hold of some protection!" Charlie, the night doorman at Bliss's apartment had just informed him that a blond, blue eyed looker, "just a right armful" , seemed to want to go upstairs and wait for Bliss in his apartment. "I'm pretty sure you don't know her because she didn't know you herself", said Charlie.
Engagement party of Marjorie Elliot and Ken Bliss. "A girl...in tiered, wide-spreading black, a gossamer black wimple...A dimple of ...possible derision-at the corner of her mouth". Bliss is alone...they are strangers...an accident...why did she disappear so quickly? Detective Wanger is stumped. Why would Bliss, in death, be clutching a mysterious woman's black scarf? Wanger is uncertain whether a crime was committed. The case remained unsolved.
"She was beautiful...red hair...a dark velvet wrap...like a nymph out of a seashell". Mitchell was a shiftless, slob, behind in his rent at the Helena Hotel. A crimson ticket to the Elgin Theater, a Loge seat for tonight's performance arrives. The usher was convinced that Mitchell and the mystery woman, a late arrival, were strangers. They did not greet each other. Detective Wanger would soon find a "complete lack of discoverable motive...[however both crimes] feature a woman who disappears immediately after without a trace".
A young, pretty woman, severely pinned back hair, "innocent soap and water freshness", a little storage space behind a staircase. According to Detective Wanger, "One thread by itself is not much good. Two crossed threads are that much stronger. Cross a few more together at the same place, and you're beginning to get something that'll hold weight. It's the way nets are made".
"The Bride Wore Black" by Cornell Woolrich is the first in his "black" series of novels. It is an atmospheric novel of revenge. Each murder seems distinct, reading like a short unsolved mystery replete with character descriptions of the victim and suspect, the crime, and the post mortem analysis by Detective Wanger. Bucking all obstacles from his superiors, Wanger is doggedly determined to find connections between different "modus operandi" used by a mysterious culprit. Highly recommended.
Thank you Penzler Publishers/ American Mystery Classics and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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