A Kiss Before Dying

Reread. One of my all-time favorites. Just sheer greatness. Review below.

“A false-hearted lover is worse than a thief.

For a thief will just rob you and take what you have,

But a false-hearted lover will lead you to the grave."

Ira Levin - "A Kiss Before Dying".

I love Ira Levin. This book is so much more than a 'thriller'. It is truly excellent and the introduction at the beginning of the book explains why better than I ever could.

SPOILERS:

Two...not one...two of the best twists in book history are in this masterpiece.

The first twist comes when we think we know the identity of the culprit, but then everything is turned upside down.

The second twist is even more shocking and makes us question everything we thought we knew.

I will always love Levin. This is one of the best thrillers ever written. Five wonderful stars!

A Kiss Before Dying by Ira Levin stands as a prime illustration of how mysteries were crafted in a bygone era.

Before the advent of CSI and the overwhelming dominance of forensic science as the standard for a captivating crime/mystery, this tale delved deep into the drama of its characters just as much as it explored the crimes themselves.

The story follows a young man who has meticulously planned his entire future, escaping the limitations of his small town upbringing and the fates that befell his friends and father.

However, his carefully laid plans are threatened when a woman enters the picture and seems intent on ruining everything.

The internal turmoil within the protagonist is palpable as hate courses through him, yet he must maintain his composure.

The narrative builds tension slowly, with the protagonist devising a desperate plan to ensure that his future is not snatched away.

A Kiss Before Dying, written in 1953, showcases the stark differences between crime novels of that time and the present.

It is a true masterpiece of noir, with its subtleties, pacing, and the gradual build-up of tension until the killer is revealed and the full scope of his plan becomes clear.

Levin, an accomplished author, has created a body of work that includes classics such as The Boys From Brazil, The Stepford Wives, and Rosemary's Baby.

A Kiss Before Dying is yet another example of his talent and is a must-read for any lover of crime and mystery novels.

It offers a captivating and thought-provoking exploration of human nature and the lengths to which people will go to protect their dreams and desires.

Overall, it is a very good read that will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end.

Stephen King gives a shout-out to this book in his homage to horror, Danse Macabre. He states that Levin's first book, A Kiss Before Dying, is unfortunately not much read these days. It is a gritty suspense story told with great elan. What's even rarer is that it contains surprises that truly surprise and is relatively impervious to the reader who turns to the last three pages to see how it ends.

King then spends a paragraph or two dilating on the sins of such a person. He further elaborates that the book's biggest surprise, the real screeching bombshall, is neatly tucked away about a hundred pages into the story. If one happens upon this moment while randomly thumbing through the book, it means nothing. But if one has read everything faithfully up to that point, it means everything.

This is indeed accurate. When I read page 184 (perhaps my edition had slightly smaller pages than the one King was referring to, or his memory was slightly off), my head exploded.

In conclusion, I highly recommend reading A Kiss Before Dying. It is seriously excellent and will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.

I read this so long ago.

I believe I was in uteo just hanging out at that time.

But I still remember really enjoying it.

The experience of reading it was truly remarkable.

It might have been a random moment of picking up that piece of writing, but it left a lasting impression on me.

The words seemed to flow smoothly, captivating my attention from the very beginning.

As I delved deeper into the text, I found myself immersed in a world of ideas and emotions.

Even though it was a long time ago, the memory of that reading experience still lingers in my mind.

It serves as a reminder of the power of good literature to touch our hearts and souls.

I am grateful for having come across that piece and for the joy it brought me.

If at first you don't succeed, get rid of the bitch and move on to the next sister.

A Kiss Before Dying is a taut and thrilling little novel that delves into the mind of a sociopath. This cunning individual hatches an ingenious plan to seduce the daughter of a wealthy copper baron. However, things take an unexpected turn when she gets pregnant before his plan can fully unfold. Since the father is the moralistic type who would disinherit her for having a child out of wedlock before he has had a chance to work his charms and soften the old man up, our protagonist realizes that this could ruin everything. When he fails to persuade her to have an abortion, he resorts to the only option left - a meticulously planned murder that he manages to make look like a suicide, thereby avoiding any connection between himself and the deceased girl.

This allows him to smoothly move on to daughter #2. But daughter #2 proves to be a bit too intuitive. She begins piecing together the clues and realizes that her sister did not commit suicide but was actually murdered. She gets closer and closer to the truth, but unfortunately, it's just a little too late.

And our audacious protagonist, who is long on boldness but short on scruples, decides that third time's the charm. The rich industrialist had three daughters, and after all the research he did to seduce the first two, he knows the oldest sister quite well...

As improbable as this story may seem at first glance, upon closer inspection, I couldn't really find any significant plot holes. Sure, our protagonist does need a bit of luck here and there, but nothing so outrageously coincidental as to be completely implausible. He is simply a meticulous, cold-blooded schemer with a natural talent for manipulation.

A lot of people prefer books with "relatable" protagonists. Well, the protagonist of this book is a murderous, gold-digging sociopath. You find yourself rooting for him to trip up and get caught, while at the same time, you're also on the edge of your seat, eager to find out how he's going to manage to get away with it.

This book is now somewhat dated. It was written in 1954 and is set in the early fifties, so the campus life described and the very visible class distinctions are not the same as they are today. However, this only adds to the charm of this suspenseful novel, making it a fascinating period piece. In fact, some of the period details are what make it so interesting. For example, there is surprisingly little moralizing about the proposed abortion. The girl doesn't want to do it, but it seems more for emotional reasons than any real ethical or religious concerns. And it struck me that in some ways, the "boy from the wrong side of the tracks" is a concept that would be even harder to envision today. Nowadays, we like to pretend that American society is less class-stratified, but that's because the rich are increasingly becoming distant and out of sight. Working-class people simply don't socialize with the very wealthy at all, which makes it easier for us to pretend that there is no such thing as class.

Ira Levin also wrote other well-known thrillers, such as Rosemary's Baby and The Stepford Wives. With this fast-paced, suspenseful novel, it's easy to see why his stories have become such an integral part of pop culture. It's definitely worth reading, and it has definitely motivated me to explore more of his works in the future.

A great little thriller, which is somewhat spoiled by an introduction that gives away much of the book.

Why on earth do publishers do this? It's truly infuriating!!! If they want to have some other writer waxing lyrical about how great the novel is while also giving away plot twists, then they should do it as an afterword, not an introduction.

Plus, I'll now take the trouble to look up who wrote the intro and make sure NEVER to read any of her books.

Anyhow, despite this annoyance, the book is a great, chilling and tense thriller. It's about a determined and callous young man, his unwavering quest for wealth, and his complex entanglement with the family of an industrial tycoon. It's a real page-turner, with intelligent writing that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat from beginning to end.

This was just deliciously trashy.

It was truly a guilty pleasure to read, and I found myself completely engrossed from the very first page.

I simply couldn't believe how well this book has aged over the years.

It's one of those rare finds that manages to combine the best of both worlds - a literary novel with a pulp sensibility.

The writing is engaging, the characters are vivid, and the plot is full of twists and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat.

It's a great read for anyone who loves a good story, regardless of whether they prefer highbrow literature or lowbrow pulp fiction.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun and entertaining read that doesn't take itself too seriously.

It's a true gem that is sure to delight readers for years to come.

My escape hatch from the horror that is 2021 has been dipping into 1950s psychological suspense novels. (Thank you, thank you, thank you, Patricia Highsmith. I owe you one....)

I was immersed in those waters when I chanced upon this title - isn't it great, by the way? - and decided, despite the flimsy Stepford Wives leaving a mealy taste in my mouth, I'm going for it. It's Levin's first book. It brought him all kinds of attention and won him the Edgar Award at the tender age of 24.

The premise is deliciously loathsome: a young, unnamed gold digger gets a young woman of means pregnant. Since her puritanical father would cut her off financially if he knew she was 'in trouble', marriage is out of the question. Thus, poor pregnant Dorothy is a problem. She's going to ruin all his plans to ride off into the sunset with a sugar momma. It's time to... get rid of her, permanently.

I had a pleasant shiver while typing that.

Fresh from reading Ms. Highsmith, I can't help but draw a few comparisons. Both she and Levin write suspense fiction, but Highsmith's murderers often evoke sympathy. Levin's nameless guy, on the other hand, is just a sociopathic jerk. There's nothing redeeming about him. As I read, instead of rooting for him to walk away scot-free like I did with Highsmith's Tom Ripley and Victor Van Allen, I was driven by the possibility of his making a fatal mistake and being discovered. Not only that, but also paying dearly for his crimes, hopefully in a dramatic and painful way.

Continuing with the comparison, I have to say that Levin's writing never delves into the murky psychological depths that Highsmith's does. His characters lack the dimensionality of hers. We sense that his characters aren't acting as fully developed individuals; rather, Levin is manipulating them to fit his plan, like a master puppeteer. That's not a criticism, though, because Levin knows how to craft a story, and this one pulls you in powerfully.

One smart move he makes is dividing the book into three parts, each told from three different perspectives. This way, the identity of the killer is concealed from the reader for as long as possible, maintaining tension and interest, even if suspension of disbelief is challenged.

On that note, mine was indeed tested quite a bit, especially by the end of part 2. I thought - what, the book's not over? There's more? Yes, there is more, and since I don't want to enter spoiler territory, I'll stop there. My advice to readers is to just relax and enjoy the ride. Don't worry about how outrageously audacious the plot (and its young murderer) becomes. It's all part of the pulpy fun.

Just as Highsmith leads us through a dark 1950s setting in her books, Levin reveals the underbelly of this supposedly innocent era in history. Also like Highsmith, Levin provides an ending that may not shock, but which darkly satisfies and caters to the reader's desires.

Both writers captured a certain magic that keeps them relevant and captivating - look, we're still reading, almost 70 years later. Wow. I want some of that!

4.5 stars