The plane was black, but it was not from that it got its name. The old slavers were known as blackbirders - the men and the ships that dealt in human flesh. The girl who hurried across the continent was desperate as if blood still stained the front of her shabby brown coat.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
7 reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not Her Best!
8 Dec 2006
By Louisa the Lemming
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
This is one of two Dorothy B. Hughes thrillers reprinted by FEMINIST PRESS. The other, IN A LONELY PLACE, is a classic of historical significance in the crime genre: beautifully written, well-characterized, and chilling.
THE BLACKBIRDER, by contrast, is your bog-standard women's suspense: More interesting, historically, than some, but only barely entertaining, and with the same old obligatory plot "twists" you can see coming from chapter one. FEMINIST PRESS would have done better by Hughes' reputation to have re-printed RIDE THE PINK HORSE or THE EXPENDABLE MAN instead. And THE DAVIDIAN REPORT made a far better potboiler.
This does have some good stuff in it, though. The heroine is a French WWII refugee who has illegally taken shelter in the USA, and who is seeking out a "blackbirder" to smuggle her fiance into the country. Meanwhile, of course, US agents are looking for the blackbirder to shut him down - since such men are also the means by which enemy spies enter the country. It is an interesting premise, and Hughes descriptive abilities bring the various locations - particularly in New Mexico - to life. The heroine is not a complete idiot, but her competence doesn't do her much good, as she is straight-jacketed by the conventions of the genre.
The book throws a little light on some aspects of the refugee experience, and in that sense wasn't a complete waste of my time. But I'm still really surprised it warranted reprinting. Hughes has done so much better than this.
THE BLACKBIRDER, by contrast, is your bog-standard women's suspense: More interesting, historically, than some, but only barely entertaining, and with the same old obligatory plot "twists" you can see coming from chapter one. FEMINIST PRESS would have done better by Hughes' reputation to have re-printed RIDE THE PINK HORSE or THE EXPENDABLE MAN instead. And THE DAVIDIAN REPORT made a far better potboiler.
This does have some good stuff in it, though. The heroine is a French WWII refugee who has illegally taken shelter in the USA, and who is seeking out a "blackbirder" to smuggle her fiance into the country. Meanwhile, of course, US agents are looking for the blackbirder to shut him down - since such men are also the means by which enemy spies enter the country. It is an interesting premise, and Hughes descriptive abilities bring the various locations - particularly in New Mexico - to life. The heroine is not a complete idiot, but her competence doesn't do her much good, as she is straight-jacketed by the conventions of the genre.
The book throws a little light on some aspects of the refugee experience, and in that sense wasn't a complete waste of my time. But I'm still really surprised it warranted reprinting. Hughes has done so much better than this.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
World War II United States
15 July 2009
By Lyn Reese
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
This suspenseful, fast moving thriller follows Julie Guille/Juliet Marlebone as she careens in a mad flight from New York to New Mexico trying to escape the clutches of Gestapo agents working undercover in America. Or are her pursuers F.B.I. agents? Or New York police seeking the woman who was last seen with a murdered German? Flashbacks describe Julie's even more terrifying ordeal when she escaped from Occupied France to Cuba, and then, illegally, to the USA. Fleeing Paris from her guardian Uncle Paul, whom she has discovered is a Nazi collaborator with nefarious plans for her hefty inheritance, she hopes to find the love of her life, Paul, and the mysterious "Blackbirder,"known to provide assistance to refugees who want to enter, or leave, America. Her impressive survival skills, honed by experiences of hidden identities, imprisonment and attempts on her life, make us cheer for Julie every inch of her nerve raking journey.
First published in wartime 1943, The Blackbirder draws the reader into the intrigues, fears, and suspicions, even paranoia, surrounding refugees like Julie. Populated with people involved in clandestine resistance movements as well as those suspected of German "fifth column"operations in America, The Blackbirder represents a classic spy thriller of the period with its plot of wartime espionage and the struggles of people seeking freedom from fascist rule. The lengthy Afterword does a top knot job describing the book's backstory, Nazi occupied France, as well as a well deserved portrait of Hughes' writing style and place in American literature.
The Blackbirder is part of Feminist Press's "FemmesFatales: Women Write Pulp" series which has restored to print the "best of women's writing in the classic pulp genres, originally published in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s."
First published in wartime 1943, The Blackbirder draws the reader into the intrigues, fears, and suspicions, even paranoia, surrounding refugees like Julie. Populated with people involved in clandestine resistance movements as well as those suspected of German "fifth column"operations in America, The Blackbirder represents a classic spy thriller of the period with its plot of wartime espionage and the struggles of people seeking freedom from fascist rule. The lengthy Afterword does a top knot job describing the book's backstory, Nazi occupied France, as well as a well deserved portrait of Hughes' writing style and place in American literature.
The Blackbirder is part of Feminist Press's "FemmesFatales: Women Write Pulp" series which has restored to print the "best of women's writing in the classic pulp genres, originally published in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s."
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
saltycat
18 July 2004
By A Customer
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Give the women mystery writers a chance! A great page turner. I can just imagine Hitchcock doing a job on this one. It's a no-frills mystery. If you enjoy WWII era movies (black and white) you'll love this thriller. Sit back and enjoy. I read it on the beach and lost all track of time.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
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