45 pages 1 hour read

Patricia Highsmith

Strangers On A Train

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1950

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Chapters 25-29

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 25 Summary

Bruno rejects Gerard’s inference that either he or his mother were complicit in his father’s murder. Bruno dislikes Gerard, judging from his appearance that he is a poor detective while the pair discuss Bruno's alibi. Bruno longs to see Guy and remembers the poem “The Leaden Eyed,” by Vachel Lindsay, musing that he and Guy are not “leaden-eyed."

Chapter 26 Summary

Bruno relaxes in a beach chair while Gerard hunts for clues. Bruno has begun to receive his father's money. Bruno excises Guy's name from a pocket book so that Gerard does not connect them. Gerard finds the gloves, and correctly determines Guy's escape route. Gerard knows that Guy put the milk crate next to the wall and broke the back-door lock. Elsie has been in bed since Saturday night. Bruno reflects that neither the butler, Herbert, nor his mother will protect him from Gerard's enquiry. Bruno is shocked when he overhears his mother agree to report on him to Gerard. 

Chapter 27 Summary

Bruno argues drunkenly with his mother about Gerard in a restaurant. Bruno spots Gerard observing them and storms out, despite his mother's protests that he is hallucinating. Bruno has an impulse to call Guy but awakes with no memory of having done so.