The blackbirder

Blurb

The Blackbirder is a 1943 novel by Dorothy B. Hughes.
It is classic noir, with a moody, war-time Santa Fe setting. At the center of The Blackbirder is Julie Guille, a woman born of American expatriate parents. She is a pretty, sheltered rich girl growing up in pre-War Paris. Everything changes when the Nazis appear, and Julie is forced to flee. After three years of life underground, Julie escapes to New York. She fears the Nazis have traced her from Europe when the corpse of an acquaintance appears on her doorstep. With a host of possible dangers on her tail—the Gestapo, the FBI and the New York cops—she embarks on a desperate journey to Santa Fe in search of her last, best hope, “The Blackbirder"; a legend among refugees, a trafficker who flies under the radar to bring people to safety across the Mexican border.
With no resources at her disposal but a smuggled diamond necklace and her own razor-sharp wits, Julie must navigate a tangle of dangers—and take a stand in the worldwide struggle that has shattered the lives of millions. In contrast to the typical representations of wartime women as “Mrs. Minivers” guarding home and hearth, Dorothy B.