Walk the Dark Streets

First published in 1949, Walk the Dark Streets by William Krasner is uncompromisingly noir in the mood it sets and in the pictures it paints. As you read the pages of this decidedly downbeat novel your mind will see the action as it unfolds. But what you see will be in a black and white made hazy by the ever present tobacco smoke and the cold grayness of nightime fog. The protagonist of Walk the Dark Streets is Sam Birge, a homicide detective who is tormented by his work and driven to find the truth, no matter what the costs. The book starts off with the discovery of a young woman's body, brutally stabbed to death in a rundown residential hotel. The author skillfully brings the murder victim to life by virtue of a sad but revealing diary discovered in the course of the investigation. Other characters are also well fleshed out. Like Harry Chapel an ex-con who becomes a prime suspect in the case and Jean a frail drug addict who was the victim's best friend. This is a sad, depressing tale of people who have found themselves existing at society's margins with no realistic hope of escape. Walk the Dark Streets is certainly not for everyone. But fans of noir will find it to be a very worthwhile read.