Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith was published in 1950 by Harper & Brothers. If you are looking for a cozy mystery, this book is not for you. If you expect this book to be anything like the 1951 Alfred Hitchcock movie, you're also in for a bit of a surprise. The movie is a slightly whitewashed version of this novel.
Guy Haines and Charles Anthony Bruno are two strangers that meet on a train. Haines is an architect on his way back to his hometown to confront his cheating wife, Miriam, hoping to finally settle the terms for a divorce... three years in the making, so that he can marry the woman he loves, Anne Faulkner.
Bruno is a spoiled, ne'er-do-well playboy with a psychopathic bent from Long Island, New York. He has a strong affinity for his mother and an equally passionate hatred for his father.
Bruno proposes a solution that, in his mind, will solve both of their problems... "swap murders," with Bruno killing Miriam if Guy kills Bruno's father; since neither has a motive for the murders they committed, the police will have no reason to suspect either one of them of the killings. Guy, of course, doesn't take Bruno seriously, but Bruno kills Miriam anyway while Guy is out of town. When Bruno informs Guy of his crime, Guy is reluctant to turn him over to the police for fear that Bruno will claim that Guy is complicit in the murder exchange plan. Unfortunately, the longer Guy remains silent, the more he implicates himself, and the longer Guy delays in 'fulfilling his end of the agreement,' the more impatient and dangerous Bruno becomes to him.
Strangers on a Train is a psychological thriller much darker than the film adaptation. Further details on the plot twists will spoil the book for you, but believe me...there are a few. However, the novel starts out a little slow but does pick up speed in the third chapter and only lets go at the end. If you like any of Highsmith's other books, like "The Talented Mr. Ripley," it's worth reading, especially if it's been a while since you've seen the film.
My personal rating... ⭐⭐⭐½
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