In a Lonely Place

In a Lonely Place is one of the great serial killer novels, a keen psychological character study of a troubled Tom Ripley-like young man recently discharged from the Army. The book is told in the third-person but Dorothy Hughes keeps the perspective close to the killer, whose motivations are unusually clear and plausible. This is a first-class noir with excellent atmosphere and a memorable LA-based setting. The book was made into a 1950 film by Nicholas Ray and starring Humphrey Bogart.