Stacks of green paper in his red right hand

I recently saw Joel Townsley Rogers Red Right Hand on a list of forgotten classics. So I swung by Powell's and picked up a copy. While it won't win any literary awards, this is one of the best whodunits I have ever read. The narrator is a doctor who breaks down on lonely 1945 Connecticut road. Trouble is, someone was murdered on that same road at the same time and he somehow missed it. I can't say much else without spoiling the fun. I will say that I, rather smugly, thought I had it figured out, and I was completely wrong. And he pulls no tricks at the end, Rogers plays the reader fair and square. If you like Alfred Hitchcock Presents, you will enjoy this greatly.

I do wish there was a book that told the story of the Nick Cave song Red Right Hand. It would have to involve a Randall Flagg type character of course.