Yellow hands slid coffee cups across the table. At the next table a woman laughed. The moon had lost its battle with the clouds and retreated, leaving no trace of copper brilliance in the ominous sky. The air had grown heavier. In the window of a tenement a slim girl stood, her angular dark silhouette sharpened by a naked electric bulb.
When glamorous advertising executive Laura Hunt is found shot dead in her apartment, the crime instantly sparks shock and outrage among her friends and admirers. Suspicion falls initially on Laura’s fiance, Shelby Carpenter, constantly short of money and a known philanderer. But what of Waldo Lydecker, cantankerous older writer and possessive friend of Laura whose feelings for her may run deeper than the innocent affection he professes. Detective Mark McPherson, whose cynicism about women would seem to grant him the objectivity he needs to crack the case, finds himself drawn against his better judgement under the dead woman’s spell. A twist in the tale around its halfway point gives this neat whodunit an extra edge of mystery I was not expecting.
I am constantly surprised and delighted by how skilfully made these works of classic noir often turn out to be. Laura displays a beautiful economy of style and purpose, with the alternating points of view providing a well judged change of pace. There is extra interest to be found in Caspary’s feminist take on classic tropes. The author subtly reveals the way in which those who gossip about or try to solve the murder cannot seem to help – consciously or otherwise – pinning the blame on Laura herself, on her ‘lifestyle’ as an independent woman who has the temerity to enjoy nice things and who earns more than her dithering fiance. (Vincent Price’s Shelby Carpenter is the high point of the famous movie adaptation, which looks stunning but whose script is flat and rather lifeless and not nearly as intelligent or nimble as the original novel.)
Vera Caspary is no Patricia Highsmith but then who is? For fans of classic crime, Laura is well worth your time, and Lydecker’s section especially boasts some admirable writing. An absorbing afternoon’s read from a writer whose life story is every bit as fascinating as that of her heroine. I’m always interested in noir novels written by women and I’m glad to have finally caught up with this one.