One Man's Opinion: THIS SWEET SICKNESS by PATRICIA HIGHSMITH

 

This Sweet Sickness starts so well that it's a shame it evolves into a slightly dull and plodding affair. 

The first thirty pages or so are intriguing: David is living in a boarding house with an interesting range of characters, including a young woman who is smitten by him and a middle-aged drinker whose marriage is teetering on the brink. 

To add to the shadowy world of David's existence, we soon discover that he is living a double life of sorts, taking every weekend off to visit his mother and changing his name to William. He also occupies the space reserved for him and the love of his life, Annabelle, with whom he's in regular contact. 

David and Annabelle used to be an item, but when David was called away to work, she married another man, a move that David can neither understand or accept; surely it can only be a matter of time before Annabelle comes to her senses and joins him in the house that he has waiting for her. 

A great setup, then, only the path through the story isn't as slick or as engaging as it might be. The cast of characters and their understanding of the situation becomes implausible, David's mental illness and obsession faintly ridiculous. The prose becomes dense, the elongation of the narrative irksome. 

There are lines that stand out and punch you in the face and descriptions that have real power, yet the overall effect was numbing for me and I couldn't wait for the inevitable ending to arrive. 

Harsh.

But fair.  

Most interesting for me, in the end, was the idea of the boarding house as a setting. It had me thinking of some great noir novels and movies that include them to great effect and I'm off to remind myself of stories where they have impressed. If you have any recommendations, drop a comment. 

One Man's Opinion: VANISHING LADIES by ED McBAIN

 

This is an interesting one, with real strengths and several weaknesses. 

Cop Phil Colby and his fiancée leave town to take a vacation. After being pulled up by a local cop and taken to the magistrate to pay a speeding fine, they arrive late at night to find their destination is lacking the glamour they were hoping for. 

The only place to stay is a shady motel run by an unattractive character with few manners. 

Being the old-fashioned type (very old-fashioned), Colby insists that they take separate rooms. It's a decision he's going to regret very quickly. 

Having tucked in his sleeping partner, Colby returns to his room to find a seductress on his bed. She's a sex worker who is persistent about making a few bucks. Colby only avoids an embarrassing situation when he notices blood pouring in from the adjoining room, which is when everything falls apart. 

His fiancée has disappeared, as have any traces of her existence. In the next room, there's blood but no body and when he returns, the blood will also have vanished. The motel owner insists Colby arrived alone, as does the magistrate and policeman who pulled them up earlier. 

Colby's mission is to find his girlfriend and, failing that, to recover his lost marbles. Not that either will be easy, given the web that is woven around him. 

The plot is strong. It's a great idea and would make an excellent movie, on account of the psychological aspects and the apparent inconsistencies with the chain of events. The characters are pure B-movie noir and this would be wonderful shot in black and white. It's even told in an interesting way, two cop voices recounting their experiences as they appear in court to outline their case. 

What doesn't work so well is the writing quality. Those voices don't feel genuine, especially for Cop #2. It's somehow unrealistic given the situation and there's more flower to the decoration than there ought to be. The prose feels rushed, like it was hammered out on the typewriter at blistering speed to meet a deadline or simply to flesh out a very good idea. 

For me, this worked really well as a throwaway traveling companion. It was read in a couple of sittings and was never dull. That's mainly down to the storyline and the pacing. 

Vanishing Ladies is far from McBain's best, but if there are any screenwriters out there looking for a terrific idea, they could do far worse that give this one a go.