Strangers on a Train

This book is not strictly a whodunnit, as Highsmith follows the murderer closely, and we see not only the murder but experience all its ghastly ramifications. 

This was her first novel, and it set the template for the rest of her oeuvre, in which a relatively ordinary person is dragged into a horrific situation by a chance meeting with a personable weirdo. It could have been you on that train; that’s the shocking thing. And soon our hero is caught in a trap from which it seems there is to be no escape.

This is a gripping read and will… show more.

Ms. Highsmith's reputation preceded her with The Talented Mr. Ripley and this title, both of which have been made into movies. I say this book is her best novel, a work of literary art about two men who meet on a train, one a conman, the other susceptible to the influence of a bad actor.

This novel is cleverly, clearly, and tensely written and masterfully structured. Highsmith illustrates the power one human being can exert over another through the force of personality.

I love this book because it is a great mystery, made into a movie by Alfred Hitchcock.

Two men meet on a train, and one proposes that they kill each other’s enemies. The suggestion comes from a character whose psychosis unravels before the reader’s eyes and who is determined to disown rationality, empathy, and everyone and anything except adherence to his weird fixations. 

I've seen Hitchcock's film of this book about three times over the years, so was familiar with the central concept and wary of reading the source material in case the film coloured the reading; however, this wasn't the case.

The film veers in a different direction midway through and, in doing so, fails to capture the depth of moral ambiguity and coercion contained here. Highsmith dissects the relationships methodically and devastatingly throughout a significantly longer period.

The writing is sublime. I found myself re-reading passages for the joy of it. We will Bruno to stay away from Guy. We want… show more.

Patricia Highsmith is the original queen of psychological thrillers. This book, later made into a film by Hitchcock, was the inspiration for my novel. I wanted to see how the story could play out in modern times with young women as the lead characters. While I used Strangers on a Train as the jumping-off point, my own story went in slightly different directions.

In Highsmith’s book, when the main character is pulled into what he believes is an idle question on how one could get away with the perfect murder, he has to determine how far he’ll go to escape… show more.

I love a story that’s based on happenstance. That is: I know somebody that you know who is the brother of your sister’s fiance who turns out to be a maniacal killer in search of his latest prey who happens to be me! Well, that’s a lot like Patricia Highsmith’s stunner of a novel Strangers on a Train. Here we encounter Guy Haines and Charles Anthony Bruno, passengers on the same train who strike up a conversation that will drive both men to the brink: one a pathological killer with an Oedipus complex on steroids, the other, a mild-mannered… show more.