The Talented Mr. Ripley

Patricia Highsmith

Tom Ripley, the charming sociopath narrator of this black comedy, starts out as a small-time scam artist. He impersonates an IRS agent, collecting money he tells his marks they owe the government. He's recruited by wealthy, ailing shipbuilder Herbert Greenleaf to find his son, Dickie, and convince him to return home from Europe. Ripley finds Dickie all right, kills him as if it's nothing more than chopping down a tree, and assumes his identity. In this one, Highsmith revels in tormenting her readers with moral ambiguity.