"The Big Jump" by Leigh Brackett

All signs pointed to the fact that no human could come back alive from Barnard's Star. Something elusive, beyond comprehension, existed out there; something that was a perpetual bait, a perpetual trap. But Arch Comyn knew he had to join tht second fated mission. For somehwere beyond the veil of the Transuranae lay the answer to the question that was more important than life to him.

This book works best in the way it builds up a sense of foreboding and dread, so although undeniably science fiction, I added a "horror" tag to it as well.
While not frightening or terrifying, it does build up quite palpable suspense and tension. The plot's premise is that something went awry on the first interstellar space voyage, and while one survivor returned, none of the rest of the crew made it back home... and the lone survivor is terribly poisoned.
In fact, in one small scene, there's even a hint of zombification, and a modern reader would certainly expect this to be expanded upon. (Zombies... in space!)

So while I was largely expecting something along the line of the Alien movie franchise, in the end the author instead served up some more standard classic SF fare. While the sense of dread remains taut right up to the climax and beyond, the culminating action and resolution of the plot is a bit of a damp squib mainly because the story hasn't aged well in this modern times of Hollywood sci-fi horror.

3 stars for successfully building a foreboding tone, but the disjointed narrative (is this a detective mystery or a sci-fi horror) takes away some of its charm. Also, most of the motives of the characters are largely unconvincing. I'd like to be able to give this book 2.5 stars if possible, but a score of 2 is too low.

A short novella that's worth a look, but realize that it hasn't aged that well, and thus don't expect it to fit neatly in with today's genre patterns. (Bryan, GoodReads)