Strangers on a Train

⚖The case for it

Two strangers on a train propose a "perfect" murder exchange. Highsmith's debut introduced her signature: the psychological thriller that makes guilt and complicity structural, where normal people are capable of atrocity. Alfred Hitchcock's adaptation is brilliant; the novel is darker and more disturbing.

— the canon

✕The case against

Guy's surrender to Bruno requires him to behave like a sleepwalker for a hundred pages, and patience frays before he finally picks up the gun. Once both murders are done, the book hands itself to a private detective and deflates. Anne is a mannequin of wifely goodness. Highsmith got better; this is the rough draft of her talent.

— the honest librarian