Cornell Woolrich (1903–1968)

Madeline is considering suicide, then decides not to. The gun she thought about using accidentally goes off and kills an innocent woman on the street. Madeline decides to pick up the threads of her victim’s life, carrying out a mission of vengeance on her behalf against the man she loved and lost—and the nightclub-singing femme fatale who drove them apart.

To me, it makes no sense. Why would she do that? And why would she put so much effort into it? It made for a fairly boring read, following a woman doing something that just seems to be nonsense. Definitely disappointing, as I've enjoyed Woolrich's books before.… (meer)

A drunken one- night stand leads to a stalker which leads to a murder. On his wedding day, no less!
And then? Paranoia!!!

This book is really, really good! Following the main character's descent into madness is quite the ride! And that ending... wow! I really liked chapter 16, and the way that the author describes the movements of ‘death’! “Death just watched and waited, in position to command both sides at once.” Just an excellent, page turner of a book!

“The train had died. Every train dies at the end of every journey. The train was dead now, and lying in its coffin: the station.”

“His hand shifted. His love story came to an end.”

“The instinct to live is greater than the instinct to love.”… (meer)

After-Dinner Story is a 1944 short story collection by American crime writer Cornell Woolrich. It consists of six stories, including one of his best known works, Rear Window which Alfred Hitchcock made into a film in 1954 starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly.

Cornell Woolrich is known for his writing of noir stories and these six certainly fit the bill. I actually liked them all but Rear Window did stand out as a superior story. I also thought “The Night Reveals” and the title piece “After-Dinner Story” were excellent as well.

Many of Woolrich’s stories were originally published under his pen-name of William Irish, but whether under his own name or not, his stories all have a style and drama of their own. Although a couple of these stories are rather dated and are written from the point of view of the day, this is an outstanding collection.… (meer)