Brighton Rock

Brighton Rock by Graham Greene, 310 pages

Greene certainly knew how to write an opening sentence:

"Hale knew, before he had been in Brighton three hours, that they meant to murder him."

Indeed, murder is intended, but Hale is not the focus of the story.  Rather, it is Rose, the naive young waitress, who, unbeknownst to herself (but knownst to us), is the critical witness whose memories could unravel a crime and send an equally young psychopath named Pinkie to prison.  To avert this, Pinkie is forced into seducing her, but the unconditional love she extends to him creates a Good alongside his Evil.  Meanwhile, the fleshy good-time girl Ida inexorably seeks justice for reasons of her own, striving to Right what is Wrong, as oblivious to the metaphysical trap in which Rose and Pinkie are caught as the beachgoers of Brighton are of the sordid underworld of the seemingly cheerful vacation town.

A great novel by a great author.