Night of the Hunter

A rediscovered diabolical slice of great American noir

‘What kind of a man would have his fingers tattooed that way? … What kind of a man? What kind of a preacher?’

One of the great chase novels, The Night of the Hunter centres on the ferocious, unforgettable figure of Preacher, a psychopath who relentlessly pursues two children who may or may not know the secret of where the money from a bank raid is hidden.

Set in a brilliantly rendered Depression-era American river town, Grubb’s novel is both a study of innocence and evil and a savage picture of human failings as, one by one, the adults who have it in their power to protect the children fall for Preacher’s wiles.

\”Davis Grubb’s The Night of the Hunter remains the gold standard of southern noir. Grubb’s unforgettably charismatic and psychopathic villain, Harry Powell, still has the power to flood your twenty-first century dreams with terror.\” — Richard Price

\”A thriller which commands one’s frozen attention. It is also a work of beauty and power and astonishing verbal magic. – New York Times

Davis Grubb was born in the Ohio River town of Moundsville, West Virginia in 1919 and died in New York City in 1980. He lived a various life, writing novels and short stories, screenplays, television treatments and working as a radio announcer. The Night of the Hunter was shortlisted for the 1955 National Book Award and in the same year was made into a legendary film starring Robert Mitchum as Preacher.

Format: Paperback
Pages: 256
Imprint: Penguin Classics
Publication date: 13/07/2023
Series: Penguin Modern Classics – Crime & Espionage