The set-up is classic noir: Anti-hero wanders into small California town, hooks up with femme fatale, plots to swindle local old maid (who, of course, is not actually that old) out of her recently inherited $10,000. From there the plot drifts a bit toward whodunit territory, and the resolution is too dues ex machina not to be disappointing. On the whole, your time will be better spent watching the Otto Preminger film of this novel (bearing the novel's original title, Fallen Angel), which is much more tightly plotted and much more satisfying. Grade: C
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