Charlotte Armstrong, Pt 2
Dream of Fair Woman (1966, rpt. 2004) focuses on the following: A beautiful, mysterious girl falls asleep in a boarding house and will not wake up. She has no ID and no personal belongings. Many people with their own agendas step forward to claim her, but then a body turns up that is the spitting image of the girl. The son of the boarding house owner is determined to protect the girl and find out what's going on.

This is a remarkably wise and prescient novel on the question of identity and how men project their ideals onto women, which also features some fabulous characters. I'm particularly fond of a nutty lady who runs around in a white robe bound with a gold cord.