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A review by katykelly
Laura by Vera Caspary
4.0
Noir classic, with genre archetypes and a great feel for the period
It's not a genre I read a lot of, but I saw this on the 'crime' display at the library and knew the title from the film. Time to try it!
A beautiful young woman has been shot in her apartment. The detective assigned to the case digs deeply to find out what happened. Why was she killed? Who would have murdered someone who seemed to be a rather lovely person?
Though I don't often read noir/crime classics, it did feel very much like it ticked the boxes you'd expect - mysterious woman, hard-boiled detective, mysterious murder to be solved, clues that lead to more questions.
Laura, the woman at the heart of it all, is a character without speaking - her past scenes, her friends talking about her. Waldo, the friend and mentor is almost the main character though - a writer with ego who seems to take over the story at times. He reminded me of Noel Coward, who he name-checked in fact.
I really enjoyed the story, with a great twist, though the final solution was incredibly long-drawn-out and melodramatic. It's pretty short, entertaining, in the Sam Spade vein though the detective isn't on a par with him.
Just after I read this, Laura appeared on TV, so I'm now looking forward to seeing the adaptation.
It's not a genre I read a lot of, but I saw this on the 'crime' display at the library and knew the title from the film. Time to try it!
A beautiful young woman has been shot in her apartment. The detective assigned to the case digs deeply to find out what happened. Why was she killed? Who would have murdered someone who seemed to be a rather lovely person?
Though I don't often read noir/crime classics, it did feel very much like it ticked the boxes you'd expect - mysterious woman, hard-boiled detective, mysterious murder to be solved, clues that lead to more questions.
Laura, the woman at the heart of it all, is a character without speaking - her past scenes, her friends talking about her. Waldo, the friend and mentor is almost the main character though - a writer with ego who seems to take over the story at times. He reminded me of Noel Coward, who he name-checked in fact.
I really enjoyed the story, with a great twist, though the final solution was incredibly long-drawn-out and melodramatic. It's pretty short, entertaining, in the Sam Spade vein though the detective isn't on a par with him.
Just after I read this, Laura appeared on TV, so I'm now looking forward to seeing the adaptation.