Status Updates From Literary Noir: A Series of ...

As far as mystery/suspense goes this is one of the finest short story collections I've ever read

Each story is sublime on its own. I can now say with reasonable certainty that Cornell Woolrich never wrote the same mystery twice.

Yet there are almost always two twists in all his stories- bare minimum- and a surprising amount of character development.

These tales feel fresh 80 years later. Don't let age deter!

I've read two or three Woolrich full novels before. Each story is like 40 pages so not super short but gripping

What's amazing is we have a crossroads of crime/noir, mystery, and a bit of horror. 'Murder, Obliquely' has a brilliant psychological edge. Hitchcock should've adapted 'All at Once, No Alice' as he did with Woolrich's 'Rear Window'.

(Yep- this guy wrote Rear Window and he remains underrated!)

At least two of these are masterpieces of noir suspense. Read these before, and reread one of them last night. Only Death at the Burlesque left in this one for me. Silent as the Grave reads like Remarque or Hans Fallada decided to tackle two little people during the Great Depression, underscore it with a crime. Nail-biting and, ultimately, heartbreaking. Unforgettable. All at Once, No Alice is sublime. Masterworks.

Mid 20th Century Pulpy Noir stories from one of the masters who I'm reading for the first time. Fast paced, enjoyable and extremely well written. Woolrich was extremely prolific as a writer, I'll be back for more.