Dark Passage

by David Goodis
Category: "Fiction - Mystery"
Pages:244
Year of Publication:1948
Date Added:09/21/2021
Date Read:08/17/2024
Notes:Vincent Parry is sentenced to life in prison for killing his wife, Gert, based largely on the evidence of Madge, Gert's best friend. He manages to escape and is picked up by Irene, a woman who followed his trial and believes him to be innocent. She heard he escaped and had gone looking for him. He stays with her for a few days, then goes to see his friend, Fellsinger. On the way, he meets a sympathetic cab driver who tells him about a plastic surgeon. Parry gets his face changed, but when he gets back to Fellsinger's, he finds his friend dead. With nowhere else to go, he ends up back at Irene's. He's wanted for this second murder now, and he's desperate. A con man who has been following him threatens blackmail for all of Irene's money. Perry struggles with him and kills him, but not before the con man describes a woman who had also been following Perry — Madge. He goes to confront her, and she commits suicide by jumping out a window. Perry is seen, so now he's wanted for three murders he didn't commit. Nobody knows about the con man. Perry takes off for Peru, but first he contacts Irene and tells her to come down after the dust settles.
My Rating: 6

Reviews for Dark Passage

Review - Dark Passage

The story was good and kept me reading, although it was thoroughly implausible. The writing was good for the most part — direct and gritty. But then there would be these multiple-page paragraphs that were endlessly repetitive — stream-of-conscious thoughts and visions that Perry was having. Those were just tedious and annoying.

Reviewed by Roger on 2024-08-17 15:37:21

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