Dog's Ransom

Long out of print, this Highsmith classic resurfaces with a vengeance.

The great revival of interest in Patricia Highsmith continues with the publication of this novel that will give dog owners nightmares for years to come. With an eerie simplicity of style, Highsmith turns our next-door neighbors into sadistic psychopaths, lying in wait among white picket fences and manicured lawns. In A Dog's Ransom, Highsmith blends a savage humor with brilliant social satire in this dark tale of a highminded criminal who hits a wealthy Manhattan couple where it hurts the most when he kidnaps their beloved poodle. This work attesets to Highsmith's reputation as "the poet of apprehension" (Graham Greene).

Long out of print, this Highsmith classic resurfaces with a vengeance.

Library Journal

In Highsmith's singularly unusual approach to mysteries, A Dog's Ransom (1972) can be taken literally, as the crime at hand is the dognapping of a couple's favorite pooch. The book also presents a study of urban life. Little Tales (1977) sports 17 portraits of wicked women. Great fun. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Though she penned such great psychological crime novels as Strangers on a Train and The Talented Mr. Ripley, Patricia Highsmith's gifts went largely unrecognized by American readers until recently. Fortunately, Highsmith's bizarre, subtly shaded novels were too good to remain obscure.