Four Novellas of Fear: Eyes That Watch You, The Night I Died, You'll Never See Me Again, Murder Always Gathers Momentum

There is a lot of deus ex machina in reverse in these stories but that makes them no less harrowing.

i absolutely loved these stories. easy reading......read 3 in one day. and I am someone whonever liked short stories. I also found these stories quite humourous!! they were such funto read. i am looking for more Woolrich books to buy. they are simple stories, not complexlike Agatha Christie, just simple , good stories. he had good ideas, and wrote them very well!!

Definition of suspenseSo cleanly written. Spare, taut prose.Fatalistic, realistic, absent any fluff.Superb late night reading for aficionados.

I really enjoyed these stories. I could relate to the protagonists and the author quickly pulled me into the world of these characters where I could see through their eyes and feel what they must be feeling as the stories progressed. Great original plots had the feel of classic mystery movies a la Alfred Hitchcock. I will be looking for additional books from this author. Highly recommended.

Woolrich is a new find for me but this was very good. The amount of suspense he could create is amazing. You're reading faster and faster and you can FEEL the tension in the situation. Very good and well worth checking out if you like noir stuff.

four delightful stories.

The four entries contained in this slim volume (189 pages) are all representative of the kind of fiction Cornell Woolrich is famous for. The standard Woolrichian ingredients of fear, suspense, dread and terror are present in plentiful amounts. You will also find some cloying sentimentality, a couple OHenry type endings and an abundance of rather implausible plot elements.All in all, Four Novellas of Fear is classic Woolrich. Unfortunately, the quality of stories contained in its pages does not rise to the level of the author's best fiction. Second tier work from a legendary writer.

Fans of Cornell Woolrich should enjoy this little compilation of four stories that have heretofore been in other collections. Woolrich's plots are full of holes, but that's not why you read him; you read him for the despair that drips off of every page and the Everyman characters who try and try but rarely succeed -- at anything. The stories are rather Hitchcockian in resolution but I don't want to give anything away. I'm glad I got this for my collection.

Four great stories. I like the old authors and their novels. Kept me reading to find out how each one ended.

It is a toss up whether the master of fear and suspense in a crime setting was David Goodis or Cornell Woolrich. Both writers could flat out create masterpieces of paranoia.In this book of 4 short stories, Woolrich delivers his trademark terror. We have stories of people driven to the edge of despair and their lives ruined through mistakes .Not for the faint of heart and not for the easily depressed!

I really enjoyed Fright by Cornell Woolrich so decided to try a collection of his short stories. All 4 of them are tense page turners and have made me want to devour a lot more of his output. People go on about how bleak and tragic this author is (dedicating books to his typewriter rather than a person, dying a lonely alcoholic etc) but that's part of his charm in my opinion. The world can be a depressing place and this guy has managed to get inside the mind of average Joe/loose cannon type characters enabling him to create dark gripping stories about their lives. Woolrich's style of writing is quite basic and possibly even naïve in places but in some ways I find it refreshing the way he concentrates on a great plot rather than faff around with every little factual detail. It tends to be man versus world with most of his characters, descriptions centring on what the average Joe is thinking (often becoming more paranoid and self destructing with each step) and how he is attempting to escape his possible grim fate. A lot of crime noir writers spend too much time focusing on what a detective is doing to solve a murder case but I find it far more exciting sticking with the loose cannon in dire straits the way Cornell Woolrich does. Four Novellas of Fear is an awesome read only let down by it being such a small collection (just under 200 pages). If you like this sort of thing, check out Gil Brewer and David Goodis too.

This is a terrific little collection. Four short stories by the master of dread and despair, and not one of them will disappoint. "You'll Never See Me Again" is the longest - "Eyes That Watch You", "The Night I Died" and "Murder Always Gathers Momentum" all come in at around 30 to 40 pages - but still grabs you by the throat and never lets go or gives you a chance to catch your breath.Satisfying for those familiar with Woolrich's work and a wonderful introduction for others yet to experience his bleak world view. It's shameful that so little of this powerful writer's work is still in print.

Excellent, excellent. What a marvellous book to read. Such absorbing stories.