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Holy smokes! This book hit me hard! I‘ve never seen the movie and I‘m glad because it just can‘t be as good as this book. It‘s shocking what people will do for money. I certainly wasn‘t expecting that ending, either. Oh boy. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is a short, fast moving piece of noir crime fiction from 1943. Its deliciously dark, a man and a woman join to commit a crime - possibly the perfect crime. Will they be caught? Can they trust each other?
This is a great single afternoon read - you wont get hugely involved with the characters - but enjoy the plot and the style.

4⭐
This was different than other noir I have read.

A book so small yet epic in it's noir implimentation of justice. This is definitely a book of it‘s time- truly great if you can forgive the hard boiled treatment of women.

Here's another story of a pair of lovers who conspire to knock off an inconvenient husband. This one rattles along faster than that fateful train, told largely through terse dialogue as the couple first reveal their feelings to each other and then hatch their nefarious plot. The insurance agent colleague of the narrator-protagonist is a brilliant twist on the omniscient detective trope.

Continuing my James M. Cain kick, I grabbed this 3-hour #audiobook for my weekend reading. I saw the classic movie years ago and decided to grab this first before a rewatch. It‘s short and very compelling. The narrator has a super sexy voice that is just perfect for the noirish vibe. I couldn‘t remember exactly what happened in the movie, but I think the book is better. It usually is. If you enjoy pulp fiction/noir, I‘d highly recommend this. 5⭐️

I can‘t believe I‘ve never read this one before. One murder leads to the next as this mystery unfolds. I saw the movie years ago, but as is always the case, the book is better. A wife decides to kill her husband for the insurance money and seduces the insurance agent into helping her. Toss in a train, crutches, and a suspicious step daughter and you‘ve got a good story. A must read for fans of classic noir.

I needed a quick fix and found this audiobook, featuring one of the 8 perfect murders included in a recent release - a pretty good little noir! I didn't realize I have also seen the movie, but that's OK sometimes. Anyone have any strong feelings if the #bookormovie are better?

That‘s all it takes, one drop of fear, to curdle love into hate.

James M. Cain once said in an interview “If your writing doesn‘t keep you up at night, it won‘t keep anyone else up either.” Written in 1943, the book is an archetype of #hardboiledcrime novels, where lust, greed, & murder are the downfall of a man. The story of an insurance salesman lured into a fraud scheme, it‘s dark & suspenseful, & the writing/dialogue is razor sharp..kept me glued to the pages. It‘s mean and brilliant. 👍

#jennyis30

Great, classic noir, with a twisty plot, sparse writing, thrilling pace, with some moral dillemas, and guilt thrown in, with the obligatory manly man, femme fatale and clever investigator. Two people plan the perfect murder - then things get complicated. Loved it. A great quick listen on audio from Hoopla. I started and could not stop! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Another book down in the project to read the 8 books referenced in Eight Perfect Murders! This one is only a novella so it was super short. All the back and forths about devising the murder plot and then all the fallout afterwards really kept my attention. And in my head I was narrating with a hard-boiled noir voice. 😋

The movie is so good! Fred MacMurray amazing!

Speeding through this little gem tonight.

Special thanks to @jenniferw88 because if it wasn‘t for her #JennyIs30 challenge I might not have read this brilliant #HardBoiledCrime classic 🤓 Walter Huff, an insurance agent quickly becomes seduced by a femme fatale in a plot to murder her husband and receive the double Indemnity payout clause for an accidental death. As with most schemes, things never go exactly as planned. With limited pages this book shocked me!!! Tight & solid.

#anglophileapril

(Day 7 - #TaintedLove)

*This movie is most definitely an example of “tainted love.” It came from the tagged novella by James M. Cain. It‘s such an oldie but goodie; I highly recommend the movie if you‘ve never seen it.

James Cain is a master, and Double Indemnity immediately came to mind with the #heyjune prompt #ififell. Walter is an insurance agent just making a house call when he becomes involved in a murder plot with a housewife intent on killing her husband in order to collect on his life insurance policy.

Have you seen the movie? Are you a fan of the noir genre? James Cain practically invented noir with this classic, Mildred Pierce and the Postman Always Rings Twice. In Double Indemnity, a desperate man falls for a definitive femme fatale and plays out the game “straight down the line” to the inevitable. If you‘re curious about the genre, read this taut, exhilarating gem of a book.

#selfishlove. Who was using whom in this fast paced thriller? #aprella

Short, quick read about Walter Neff, insurance salesman, and Phyllis Nardlinger, housewife, who plan the perfect murder of Phyllis‘ husband where they will collect double indemnity from a recently purchased insurance policy. Will they get away with murder after they begin to mistrust one another? A noir classic that is a definite masterpiece.

Vintage crime is a good time.. nice one-sitting read for today 👍🏻

About to knock this one out during my workout 💪🏻👋🏻

Detective noir. Excellent book in the genre and I loved the audiobook.

January 2018 wrap up. I read a total of 12 books. (Missing is Beartown and Bringing Adam Home.)

🥇 Double Indemnity
🥈 What Made Maddy Run
🥉 The Underground Railroad

My #bookdepository haul came just in time for me to start my family book club pick for Jan... with just 2 days left before our meeting! Good thing it‘s short 😆

And while I originally went to the site for just that one book, I obviously had to throw in a few more...

I don‘t know about you, but I am a big fan of the show, Snapped- HUGE! And this book was like an episode right out of Snapped: Killer Couples- loved it. Can‘t wait to discuss with my book club on Thursday! #staysexyanddontgetmurdered 🖤🔨🔪⚔️⚰️🔫💊

Finally getting into the book club book, good thing it's a short one because I only have until Thursday to finish it!

First book of 2018 - don‘t worry I finished this over a week ago I just don‘t post daily like @Reviewsbylola @emilyhaldi @Mdargusch big fan of this book and now need to go buy everything by James Cain.

Our January #familybookclub choice is a short thriller written in 1935. This book is packed with more action, twists, and murders than most modern day thrillers that are 200 pages longer! This author is a genius. I was hooked from the very beginning and never guessed most of the surprises Cain had in store. This would be perfect for readathon as the audiobook is only 3 1/2 hours long. #booked2018 #unconventionalromance

This was the perfect #firstbook of 2018. James Cain is unlike any author I‘ve ever read. The forward really spoke to me in that, as an English major, I was never taught Cain in a single class I took. Had it not been for the film adaptations, I wouldn‘t have heard of his books. I gave this five stars and immediately bought another three volume book of his on amazon. This is the perfect crime noir that kept me guessing at every turn. #pop18

I‘m having so much fun seeing everyone‘s #firstbook of 2018. I struggled so much picking a book. I put way too much stock in the first book of the year. Here is what I finally settled on. It‘s short. ✔️ It‘s our book club pick for January. ✔️ It is one of my prompts for #pop18 ✔️ I just braved the freezing cold to grab Starbucks and now I‘m cozying up for the rest of the day. Happy New Year littens!!! 🎉🎉🎉

#two #novemberbythenumbers

Read this a few weeks ago and looooved it. Cain is another one of those writers who are just tremendously good at what they do, and his endings (in the two books of his that I‘ve read) are flabbergasting. Can‘t wait to read more. Do beware, though, this reads like slightly more misogynist and WAY more stabby Hemingway.

#two #NovemberbytheNumbers A pulp classic also made into a film. When duplicitous people are plotting together,you gotta add some backstabbing too.This pulpy Signet paperback was published in 1950.Double Indemnity was broken out of Cain‘s earlier hardcover of three novellas called “Three of a kind”.

“He‘s not happy. He‘ll be better off—dead.”

Just starting this quick noir between more serious novels.

Read as part of a reading challenge-this time a book recommended by a favorite author. So when Dean Koontz said in an interview that he'd read it 6 or 7 times, I had to try it. Very noir which is not my fav type of writing. But enough twists in this plot to require chiropractic care. "Fun," quick read. My coffee got cold beside me which says a lot.

#retrocoverfun #riotgrams All Signets. The newest is the Spillane . Back then the price was 25 cents .

A quick read for next week's lunchtime #bookclub. #currentlyreading

I grabbed this short murder story as a break on a snowy day from the longer books I'm reading. It delivered in the full-flower of the hard-boiled style I expected. I must confess I know the movie well (and love it), & didn't like the exposition-filled elaborate ending of the book. I can see why the script writer simplified things. Still, it's a book worth knowing & it made for a diverting afternoon read, a good one for the repertoire.