''A Hell of a Woman'' is a 1954

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

by Jim Thompson. It has been adapted for the screen by

Alain Corneau Alain Corneau (7 August 1943 – 30 August 2010) was a French film director and writer. Corneau was born in Meung-sur-Loire, Loiret. Originally a musician, he worked with Costa-Gavras as an assistant, which was also his first opportunity to work ...

and Georges Pérec as ''

Série noire ''Série noire'' is a French publishing imprint, founded in 1945 by Marcel Duhamel. It has released a collection of crime fiction of the hardboiled detective thrillers variety published by Gallimard. Anglo-American literature forms the bulk of ...

'', released in 1979.

Plot

Frank "Dolly" Dillon hates his job of working collections for Pay-E-Zee Stores. He loathes his wife, Joyce, and has an account balance that barely lets him pay the bills each month. Working door-to-door one day, Dolly crosses paths with a beautiful young woman, Mona who is being forced by her aunt to do things that she does not want to with men she does not know. Mona wants out any way that she can. Mona and Dolly soon become ravelled up in deadly, sanity-threatening scheme.

References

1954 American novels Novels by Jim Thompson English-language novels American crime novels American novels adapted into films {{1950s-crime-novel-stub