Like Jesse James, this is a great novel that also has a great cinematic adaptation. (From 1947, starring Tyrone Powers). Nightmare Alley is the ultimate noir about a carnival magician turned spiritualist con man. It’s dark, compelling, tremendously written and features one of the great villains in the femme fatale psychiatrist Lilith Ritter. This has Dostoevskian themes but is a genuine page-turner. Apparently, they are remaking the film. I can’t see how it could hold a candle to the original novel and screen adaptation combo.