Title : Cain’s Wife
Author : O. G. Benson
Cover art : Thomas Sperling
Cover art : Thomas Sperling
[N. Y. : Perennial Library, 1985. Paperback. Reissue. First published, as Cain's Woman, March 1960, Dell First Editions.]
style **
substance ****
collectibility **
collectibility **
“I almost didn’t go down to the office that day. Not that it would have mattered, I suppose. She would have reached me anyway.” Thus begins Cain’s Wife, the first and only novel by Chicago author and painter O.G. (Ben) Benson [1]. The story elements are familiar – beautiful, mysterious woman, older husband, blackmailers, PI with heart of gold, sleazy bad guys, elegantly sinister bad guys. But Benson handles all with considerable deftness and aplomb, doing an especially nice job of creating a Chandleresque atmosphere in a Midwestern setting. Time has been kind to Cain’s Woman. It was originally released in 1960 to little fanfare but since its reissue by Harper Perennial in 1985 it’s been creeping up in critical esteem and visibility, with phrases like ‘forgotten classic’ and ‘cult favorite’ used to describe its quirky charms. I’ll go one further and put myself out on the proverbial limb and proclaim it the best private detective novel of the post Chandler era. In any case two reviews can be found here and here.
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| Dell A200 (1960) |
Great cover art. Looks like a Duran Duran album.
ReplyDeleteBelated thanks for the comment. I must be in the minority in that I much prefer Thomas Sperling's retro cover to Ernest Chiriaka's 1960 original.
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