The Expendable Man by Dorothy B. Hughes

The Library of America chose five books for their 1961- 1964 volume of classic crime novels and the Expendable Man (1963) by Dorothy B. Hughes made the list.  I am not surprised.  Having read In A Lonely Place many years ago I know what a talented writer Dorothy Hughes is and The Expendable Man is every bit as good if not better.  

The setting for this novel is the early 1960's and Dr. Hugh Densmore a young intern at UCLA Medical Center is driving from California to Phoenix to attend a family wedding. His niece is getting married.  But on the way to Phoenix Dr. Densmore spots a teenage hitchhiker out in the middle of nowhere.  He is unsure about whether to stop and give her a ride:  

"Even as he slowed his car, he was against doing it. But her possible peril if left here alone forced his hand. He simply could not in conscience go on, leaving her abandoned, with twilight fallen and night quick to come. He had sisters as young as this. It chilled him to think what might happen if one of them were abandoned on the lonesome highway, the type of man with whom, in desperation, she might accept a lift. The car was stopped. He shifted to reverse and began backing up".

Once in the car the hitchhiker tells Dr. Densmore that her name is Iris Croom and she is 18.  But the doctor begins to suspect that nothing Iris tells him about herself is true.  He. becomes increasingly anxious to get this young woman to the bus stop so that she can be on her way.   They reach the next town and Iris and the doctor part company.  But later when Dr. Densmore is in his hotel room in Phoenix resting before the wedding festivities there is a knock on the door and it's Iris.  

Dr. Densmore is stunned and shaken.  What is she doing here? Iris explains that she is in trouble and needs help.  Dr. Densmore wisely suggests other places she can go for help and does not let her into his hotel room and Iris leaves.  But a day later Dr. Densmore picks up the local newspaper and there is a story about a 15 year old teenager named Bonnie Lee Crumb found dead in a canal and the accompanying photo shows that this girl is Iris and Dr. Densmore becomes a prime suspect.

What makes The Expendable Man so riveting is first and foremost the writing.  Dorothy B Hughes was one of the few women who wrote crime novels in the noir style during the 1940's, 1950's and early 1960's and she really knew her craft.   And the Expendable Man is not only a crime novel.  This book touches on important issues involving race. 

We are not told for example at the beginning of the novel that Dr. Hugh Densmore is black.  But once we know it explains the tension we feel from the very first page when Dr. Densmore wants to leave the drive-in where he is eating lunch when a rowdy bunch of teens pull up next to him in their car.  Why the police later on ask Dr. Densmore to pull over so they can search his car for no reason.  And why he was hesitant to give Iris, a young white girl, a ride.

Other characters appear in this novel.  Dr. Densmore's family, his attorney, the detectives investigating the murder. And there is Ellen Hamilton a beautiful and supportive young woman who stands by him.  But make no mistake this is Dr. Densmore's story.  We see everything through his perspective.  He is afraid but he is also determined as he tries to find the real killer and end this nightmare which began when he tried to be a good samaritan.

Dorothy B Hughes needs to be better known and now with The Library of America including her in their list of classic crime novelists I hope she will be. And if you are interested in very well written noir crime fiction with alot to say about America in the early 1960's I heartily recommend The Expendable Man.