Hush, It's a Game

This was my first for this author. It will not be my last. I am looking for all of her books. I am stunned and thrilled that some reviewers seem to think HUSH is not as good as her other works. HUSH had me. HIghly recommended.

This is one of my all-time favorite novels. It's all the near misses that make it so great. Not just with the child but also with the young man and young woman. Each talking themselves out of pursuit. Reading all the wrong things into the statements of the other. Carlon shows a bit of her earlier romance-writing proficiency here.

Originally published in 1967, this novel is very reminiscent of the works of Charlotte Armstrong (whose book "Mischief" was made into a movie starring Marilyn Monroe.) As in many of Armstrong's stories, a young child is menaced by a killer and only accidental knowledge stumbled upon by strangers can save her. But will the disinterested outsiders care enough to interfere?In Carlon's novel, a six-year-old girl is locked up in the kitchen by her babysitter, Isobel, when an ex-boyfriend comes to call. During that visit, Isobel is murdered and the murderer leaves without ever knowing that another person was in the apartment. Will the child attract someone's attention? Will the right person came to free her? Several people see the child in the kitchen window of the apartment complex, but for various reasons choose not to respond to her pleas for help. And then the murderer returns to the scene of the crime.There are a few dated moments (a six-year-old who doesn't know how to use the phone?) but overall this quick read has some great touches. I especially liked the scenes written from the point of view of the murderer, Alden, who has the egocentric reasoning of a true sociopath. A good, but not great, little thriller.