First published 1962
Robert Forrester, a recently divorced man, finds solace in watching a young woman, Jenny, through her kitchen window. What starts as an innocent pastime becomes an all-consuming obsession as Robert is drawn into her life. As his presence is discovered, the deceptive calm of their small town is shattered, and Robert finds himself at the center of a series of deaths, an innocent bystander presumed guilty. With striking clarity, "The Cry of the Owl" explores the consequences of one man's desperate need for connection and the fragility of the human psyche.
Genres: fiction, 20th-century, mystery, crime, contemporary, psychological-thriller
Vibes: dark, intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: psychological-suspense, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Pennsylvania, Tunisia
Period: 1945-
272 pages · Paperback · Grove Press
Content warnings: violence