I've been hearing about Patricia Highsmith from greats like Chandler for years and years, but I've never read anything of hers until now.

Oh. My. God. She was an amazing writer! Impossibly vivid and detailed scenes, with characters who all but get off the page and carry on their conversations right there in your lap.

And the premise? Two strangers agree to commit each other's murders so they both have perfect alibis?

Has there ever been a better mystery premise out there ANYWHERE?

UPDATE: I'm knocking this back from 4 stars to 3 only because it went on so very long. It's a great book---really, a wonderful, incredible example of meticulous attention to detail and character---but after awhile it was a little like reading Dostoevski's Crime and Punishment in Texas.