Kiss the Blood Off My Hands

I bought a copy of this book when it first came out in the late 1940's. I was in High School. I can 't tell what attracted me to the book, or how many times I read it, the characters were not good people, but their love for each other was real. The first person narrative is by Bill, a British veteran of WWII, not long returned home. He gets into trouble and forces the girl into the situation, she resists at first, but begins to help him. The back cover review from The New Yorker says the he lives in a world without morality, and his code is ruthless expediency. The writing is excellent, keeps you hanging on to every word. I was glad to find another copy and read it again.