Cornell Woolrich

Waltz into Darkness Cornell Woolrich

What happens when a decent, moral man falls under the baneful spell of a thoroughly depraved, delectable woman? A top mystery writer, in his first novel, traces the downward course of respectable Louis Durand as he tumbles to his ultimate degraded hell - an unforgettable story of suspense, terror, and fascination. This is the story of a man betrayed by his own loneliness and desire for romance. From the romantic beginning to the tragic, logical end, with subtle punishments and cumulative sins between, Louis Durand is trapped by his own passion. Completely credible is the power which his captivating, evil wife holds over him. From the moment Bonnie Castle arrives in New Orleans - with murder and deception lying just behind her guileless gaze and little girl beauty - Louis Durand is a doomed man. His happiness is based upon a quicksand which soon gives way beneath him. Dragged down by his connivance in crime, tortured by his own doubts, Durand blindly follows his will-o'-the-wisp wife on the path that leads to murder, personal ruin, and final agony. Waltz into Darkness captures the magnolia-scented charm of New Orleans in the 1880s, a nostalgic "period piece" of the days when ladies wore bustles and elaborate gowns, never smoked, never crossed their legs, rarely showed their ankles - and were capable of evil which is of no time or place. Filed with memorable scenes, peopled with strongly knit characters, expertly constructed, Waltz into Darkness will keep the reader on the edge of his chair to its final climax.