Night Walker

Mystery fans in search of pure, unadulterated pulp noir should look no further than Donald Hamilton’s 1954 Night Walker, a classic whodunit that is being reissued by Hard Case Crime for the first time in more than 30 years.

David Young is a lieutenant in the United States Naval Reserve, returning to active duty. On his way to Norfolk Naval Base in the middle of the night, Young hitches a ride with Lawrence Wilson, an ill-tempered man who explains how he was recently fired from the Navy Department for alleged seditious activities. Young is suddenly attacked by the stranger and loses consciousness. When he awakens, he is laying in a hospital bed with his head wrapped in bandages. The nurse calls him “Mr. Wilson” and informs him that he is lucky to be alive after such a horrific car accident. Things get even stranger when his supposed wife — a brunette bombshell named Elizabeth — checks the still-sedated Young out of the hospital and takes him home. Without even realizing it, Young becomes the main target of a killer — or killers — involved in an intricate Communist plot that threatens the security of the nation.

It’s a testament to Hamilton’s narrative brilliance that Night Walker is just as wildly compelling today as it was when it was originally released in 1954. This timeless pulp classic has it all: down-and-dirty fall guys, sexy damsels in distress, sadistic villains, elaborate conspiracies — an absolute must-read for any and all discerning connoisseurs of mystery. Paul Goat Allen

Cover art for Dell First Edition 27 by Carl Bobertz