The Black-Eyed Stranger

The Black-Eyed Stranger is a 1951 mystery thriller novel by the American writer Charlotte Armstrong. It was first published in New York by Coward-McCann, an imprint of Putnam. Armstrong later identified it as one of her favorite books. Despite her hopes that it might be adapted into a film, as several of her earlier works had been, it was not ultimately optioned by Hollywood studios although Alfred Hitchcock had expressed interest in it along with her previous novel Mischief.

Synopsis
Crime reporter Sam Lynch discovers a plot to kidnap heiress Kay Salisbury. He takes matters into his own hands to try and prevent this.