“Books, like music, are a kind of time machine. They have the ability to summon moments of our past with sharp-edged clarity. For me, the Library of America’s handsome two-volume set Women Crime Writers: Eight Suspense Novels of the 1940s & 50s has done just that. . . .
All writers are shaped by what they read, and there is a clear line of descent from this style of storytelling to the current crop of best-selling novels labeled by the book trade as ‘domestic suspense’ or ‘suburban noir.’ I can’t help thinking that authors like Gillian Flynn, Laura ­Lippman, Megan Abbott and Paula Hawkins have learned a thing or two from such foremothers. . . . [An] irresistible octet of suspense and surprise.”—Val McDermid, The New York Times Book Review