Best Patricia Highsmith Novels & Stories

--- **Isabelle Ferreira** Perhaps the most complicated person in the story to love, and yet. The woman who invited her rival to a dress fitting because she needed honesty in the room. Who brought a tart box to a West Village bakery unannounced and paid for it firmly. Who said *you've earned the right to be there* and meant it. Thank you for being more grace than the situation required, every time. --- **Patricia Calloway**

Maybe this was what he mentioned when he said he liked the way I work? “It didn’t fit?” I exhale as we come up on a bend that leads up to the final mile to the harbor. “On the contrary, it fit too well.” Asher frowns, and I feel a familiar tingle at my finger tips. “What?” “Patricia is a druggie, not a crime lord, she was high when it happened. I have to recreate the scene to be sure, but something is not right.” The car swings into the lot.

Patricia hesitated. Then accepted it. The moment she saw the picture, her pulse accelerated. A young woman smiled at the camera. Beautiful. Elegant. Kind eyes. There was something strangely familiar about her. Patricia couldn't explain it. Then she noticed the baby in the woman's arms. A baby girl. Barely a few months old. The photograph trembled in Patricia's hands. Because the baby looked remarkably like the infant pictures her mother used to keep. No. That couldn't be right.

“May I know who you are?” “I’m the founder of Soul Jewelry, Maisie Vanderbilt.” She lowered her gaze and bowed with a smile. “You’ve left Bassburgh for so many years, so I think you probably haven’t heard of me before this.” Patricia stood up slowly. “Oh, you’re Mrs. Goldmann. Although I haven’t seen you before this, I’ve definitely heard of you.” “Are you here for Ms. Topaz?” Maisie looked at her. Patricia was worthy of being crowned as the most enchanting female celebrity in the entire entertainment industry during the ’70s. Although she was already in her 40s and did not look as youthful as she was in the past, her charm was still there.

I turned to see Patricia, Isabella's best friend, standing before us, her face a mask of surprise and, I suspected, a hint of malice. "Patricia," I said, my voice strained. "What a coincidence." Patricia smiled, her eyes lingering on me. "Coincidence? Or perhaps fate?" she purred, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I never thought I'd see you with someone so... young." My blood ran cold. This was not how I had envisioned our brunch. She ignored my inquiries about her family, her gaze lingering on Alexa. "And who might this lovely lady be?" she asked, her voice dripping with venom.