I Married A Dead Man is by the great Noir writer Cornell Woolrich. Indeed, the term Noir and Film Noir has been credited to his style of dark mysteries from the 40's with titles like The Black Path of Fear, The Bride Wore Black, Black Angel, Rendevous In Black, and my favourite Night Has A Thousand Eyes. These are all terrific novels of suspense, and I Married A Dead Man is right at the top.
Woolrich also published under the name William Irish. I have great hardcover copies of Deadline At Dawn and Phantom Lady with the Irish name. Both terrific books; I can't decide which is my all time favourite. Since it has been over 8 hours since we discovered the body, and have been up all night, running in the shadows, my strength is all but gone, so I'll go with Phantom Lady.
The lurid cover of this Avon paperback is not the copy I own. I have a recent ImPress Mystery copy, with clean bright pages and a simple burgundy cover with impressed text. Easy to read, but without any charm of foxed pages or delicate old spine.
It has been made into a film several times, the best version starring Barbara Stanwyk in No Man Of Her Own. That film has more of a noir edge though, as I find the book reads more like a romantic mystery in the style of Mignon Eberhart.
Helen has been rejected by her boyfriend, left pregnant and penniless in a rundown flat. He leaves her with a five dollar bill and a strip of train tickets to San Francisco - one way. On the train, she meets a young married couple on their way to meet his parents and they strike up a friendship. While in the ladies room, Helen holds Patricia's wedding ring while she washes up. The train suddenly crashes, leaving Patricia dead and Helen with Patricia's wedding ring - and new baby born in the crash. While recovering, she finds that everyone, including the wealthy family has mistaken her for Patricia and are eager to bring her and their new grandson into the family. A lucky break, but can Helen hope she will get away with the switched identity? She might have, until the money grubbing ex-boyfriend tracks her down and drags her into blackmail and murder!
It's a dark tale told with heavy emotion, trapped between a new life with connections and security for her son, or the seventeen cents she keeps as a reminder, the remnants of her former life.
This is one of my favourite Woolrich stories. It has it all from tension and murder, to desperation and the shadow of fate creeping ever closer. I found it expertly told in Helen's voice, all the heartbreak and hopes. I also highly recommend No Man Of Her Own, which can be found to stream online.
1948 / Hardcover / 263 pages
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