I received an advance digital copy of this book from the author, publisher and NetGalley.com. Thanks to all for the opportunity to read and review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This was my first Dorothy B. Hughes novel, knowing that she wrote The Lonely Place, starring Humphrey Bogart. Her style is classic noir, in it's best sense. Straight forward with an air of menace that is palpable, An enjoyable whodunit with a great sense of timelessness.

4 out of 5 stars. Recommended reading.

Hubris and its consequences. Dorothy Hughes’ “Dread Journey” was first published in 1945 and is now being issued as part of the American Mysteries Classics series. The novel is cinematic in its treatment of the train voyage of a group of movie people, traveling from California to Chicago. Their intertwined histories lead to expected and unexpected deaths. An enjoyable if somewhat melodramatic tale!

It’s about time that the British Library Crime Classics had a challenger from across the pond. American Mystery Classics is republishing Dread Journey from 1945. It is an excellent example of an American golden-age mystery. It begins with a murder on a luxurious train speeding across the US with a large cast of suspects. Sounds familiar, right? But this ride is more a character-driven psychological study than the plot with the shocking twist at the end familiar to Christie readers.

If you like golden-age classic mysteries, you will enjoy Dread Journey. It feels like stepping into the past in atmosphere and setting. Yet it’s topical underlying plot of starlets doing anything for fame still seems relevant in today’s post-Weinstein world. 4 stars!

Thanks to American Mystery Classics and NetGalley for granting my wish for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Dread Journey is a psychological thriller/mystery by Dorothy B. Hughes. Originally published in 1945, this reformat and re-release is part of the American Mystery Classics series. Released 3rd Dec 2019, it's 264 pages and available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. (Other editions available in other formats). This reformat release has an erudite and insightful introduction by Sarah Weinman.

This was a difficult novel for me to really enjoy. The setting (a closed and moving train), the locked set of varied characters, and the ratcheting tension arc are, for me, a trifecta of almost guaranteed enjoyment. I'm familiar with and have read and re-read much of the author's oeuvre, but had a rough time with this one. The plotting and story arc are well done. I felt that the dialogue and characterizations showed their age somewhat (almost 75 years), but the biggest annoyance was the denouement. I have reread parts of the book several times after the initial read-through, and I can appreciate the precision of the plotting and tension, and the other technical aspects of the writing, but the ending was a turn-off for me.

I've thought about it for a while and I guess the easiest and probably most apt words for how it affected me would be preachy and florid with a soupcon of pretentiousness. I really wanted to enjoy this one a lot more than I did. I can heartily recommend all of the other current entries in this exceptional classics series published by Penzler & co.

Three and a half stars, rounded up for the technically brilliant writing.

The story has some clever aspects and a good ending, but certain elements made it a challenge for me. I had trouble keeping track of all the characters, which wasn't helped by the deliberate use of pronouns instead of names at the beginning of each new scene, and a female character named Mike and male character named Viv added to the pronoun confusion. It's also not really much of a mystery, but more of a psychological drama, which is interesting in its own respect.

“Art isn’t creation to Viven Spencer, to any of those great tomcat producers. Art is a body in a bed. It isn’t a man’s life blood dying in a pen while he sells neckties in a bargain basement.”

James Cobbett is a porter for the Chief, a train from California to Chicago. He expected a higher standard of passenger on this high end train but unfortunately, there are rude and racist people on every train, no matter how expensive nor fancy.

Dread Journey is a re-issued classic by Dorothy Hughes. Vivien Spencer and Kitten Agnew have been together for a few years and come to the end of their road. Kitten wants her role of a lifetime and Viv wants to cast a new ingenue in the role. The rest of the cast of characters becomes embroiled in an attempt to protect Kitten from Viv, who some suspect will try to kill Kitten.

Yet this book is primarily about what striving to create can do to people. About being poor and the randomness of some artistic success. About hunger and a determination to overcome poverty. It’s about love and its healing qualities. And it’s about how hate can rot you from the inside, no matter how rich or successful you become.

The story takes place on a train from LA to New York. The suspense is great, and the characters are very well done. Kitten Agnew is a movie star working for and involved with Viv Spencer, a movie mogul. He has found a new, beautiful, innocent young girl, Gratia, who he is ready to groom for great things. He has asked Kitten to room with her on the train east. Kitten knows that Viv must kill her in order to give Gratia the part he has promised Kitten. She has a firm contract in the hands of her lawyer. Her fear is obvious to others on the train, including newspaper man, Hank, and band leader, Les. Hank especially is trying to protect Kitten as the suspense gets stronger, and stays with her most of the days and night. Kitten is trying to avoid Viv, but he wants her to meet with him.

Viv's secretary, Mike, is also trying to save Kitten, but she is also very loyal to Viv and she's been with him a long time. She does let on that Viv probably killed his wife with sleeping tablets, but he got off claiming suicide. Meanwhile, the train moves along through the country, and suspense builds and builds...

Producer Vivien Spender believes he has finally found the female to play the part of Clavdia Chauchat. An unknown called Gratia Shawn. But there remains the problem of Kitten Agnew, the actress that has the contract to play the part. All three are on the pullman luxury train Chief, from Los Angeles to New York.
Quite a slow paced story, which portrays the sleezy side of Hollywood. Though it does have some well-drawn characters. Overall a story that I enjoyed
Originally written in 1945