Saturday, May 2, 2015

The Long Saturday Night by Charles Williams

A small town is doomed by jealousy, greed, and a shared love of hunting


In the backwoods town of Carthage, there isn’t much for the leading citizens to do but drink, sleep, and shoot. John Warren is preparing for an early morning duck hunt when he hears two shotgun blasts— only later does he learn they were the sound of Dan Roberts’s death. Although it appears the handsome young man killed himself, Warren and the police are smart enough to realize that suicide victims seldom shoot twice. That night, a drunk woman calls Warren’s house, offering a motive for the crime he didn’t commit. Roberts was sleeping with Warren’s wife—and he wasn’t her only lover. Warren didn’t kill Roberts, but as the rumors begin to swirl, he may wish that he had. In a town where every man is a crack shot, shooting a rival isn’t murder. It’s target practice.
 

The voice on the phone was sultry, beguiling - and the words spoken sent terror through John Warren's heart. John Warren really missed his luscious wife, Frances, when she was on vacation. But her return marked the beginning of the longest, and most terrifying, night of John's life. It started with the sound of gunshots punctuating the night air and would not end until John had fought his way through a poisonous maze of blackmail, adultery, and murder.


Printing History
Written by Charles Williams (1909-1975)

Fawcet Gold Medal
#1200
1962

as Confidentially Yours
Penguin Books
1983

Mysterious Press
2012

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