The Big Clock is a 1946 novel by Kenneth Fearing. Published by Harcourt Brace, the thriller was his fourth novel, following three for Random House (The Hospital, Dagger of the Mind, Clark Gifford's Body) and five collections of his poetry. The story first appeared in abridged form in The American Magazine (October 1946), as "The Judas Picture". The story was adapted for three films, The Big Clock (1948) starring Ray Milland, Police Python 357 (1976) starring Yves Montand and No Way Out (1987) starring Kevin Costner.
Fearing's most famous crime novel. George Stroud lives in New York City, and is the editor of Crimeways magazine. He is asked by his publisher to investigate the murder of the publisher's girlfriend: not a simple request to fulfil, as it turns out.