Charlotte Armstrong is sometimes described as a "domestic noir" writer, meaning that she sometimes focused on the suspense in the home rather than in the usual dark, rainy streets. This short collection has some stories that fit that category, but some have no crime/noir element. Once you start reading, though, you find that doesn't matter. Armstrong can bring characters and situations alive in just a handful of pages. This isn't quite the book I expected, but it's way too good to quibble about genre markers. Worth reading for anyone who enjoys really good short fiction.

A so-so book that I just had to give up on part way through.

3.5 STARS

This is an anthology of 9 stories of revenge, compassion, love, and loathing. First published in 1966, a few of these stories are just a tad dated, but still enjoyable.

Book Blurb: Along with Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine First Prize Winner for Best Detective Story “The Enemy”—a story that was made into the 1952 MGM film noir Talk About a Stranger—this gripping anthology also includes “At the Circus,” “The World Turned Upside Down,” “The Enemy,” “Miss Murphy,” “Motto Day,” “The Weight of the World,” “The Conformers,” “How They Met,” and “I See You.”

My personal favorite is THE WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN. A poor dog is poisoned and a rumor runs rampant about who did it. A local policeman and a school teacher set out with the neighborhood kids to determine who committed the crime.

These are all short stories, guaranteed to evoke some kind of emotion.

There was only 1 story that was a little bewildering to me .... THE ENEMY. Still trying to figure out what the ending signified.

Overall, a good read, but, as I mentioned, a little bit outdated.

Many thanks to Open Road Integrated Media and Netgalley for the digital copy of I SEE YOU. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.