I read this last month and it would have been perfect for Novellas in November, but I’ve been behind with my reviews. At 170 pages, this was a quick read but also quite an intense one. It was first published in 1950 and adapted for film two years later under the title Don’t Bother To Knock, starring Marilyn Monroe in the role of Nell. I haven’t seen it so don’t know how the plot and characters differ between page and screen.

Mischief begins with Peter and Ruth Jones in their New York hotel room preparing to leave for a convention where Peter will be giving an important speech. Unfortunately, they’ve been let down by their babysitter for the evening and urgently need a replacement. The hotel elevator operator, Eddie, comes to the rescue, volunteering the services of his niece, Nell, and assuring them that nine-year-old Bunny will be safe in her care. When Nell is brought up to their room, Ruth finds that there’s something about the young woman that makes her feel uneasy, but she can’t put her finger on what it is. Anyway, she tells herself that it’s only for one evening and Bunny will be going to bed soon, so what could possibly go wrong?

Meanwhile, Jed Towers is enjoying a night out with his girlfriend, Lyn – until a difference of opinion over giving money to a homeless person blows up into a huge argument and Jed goes back to his hotel room alone. Looking into a window on the other side of a courtyard he sees Nell, who catches his eye and invites him up for a drink. Still angry with Lyn, Jed accepts the invitation in the hope that he can still have some fun despite what has happened. However, he gets much more than he bargained for as his evening quickly goes from bad to worse.

I don’t want to say too much about what takes place inside Room 807 that night, but you won’t be surprised to hear that Ruth’s misgivings about the babysitter are proved correct. Nell is a terrifyingly psychopathic character, cold and heartless, seemingly lacking normal human emotions and empathy. Once in the room with her, Jed becomes increasingly uncomfortable, particularly when he becomes aware of Bunny’s presence in the adjoining bedroom. He wants to get himself out of the situation he has found himself in, but senses that Nell shouldn’t be left alone with the child. It seems to him that the problem with Nell is that she lives entirely in the present, not thinking about the consequences of her actions:

“What if the restraint of the future didn’t exist? What if you never said to yourself, ‘I’d better not. I’ll be in trouble if I do’? You’d be wild, all right. Capricious, unpredictable…absolutely wild.”

The tension builds throughout the book as one thing spirals into another and various hotel guests and staff members gradually become concerned about what is going on. I was genuinely worried for Bunny, especially as everyone seemed content to stand around talking about what might be happening in Room 807 and frustratingly slow to actually come and investigate!

As an example of mid 20th century American noir, I think this compares well to books I’ve read by Dorothy B. Hughes and Patricia Highsmith. I would like to read more of Charlotte Armstrong’s books and it seems she was quite prolific, so there are plenty to choose from.