A Kiss Before Dying not only debuted the talent of best-selling novelist Ira Levin to rave reviews, it also set a new standard in the art of mystery and suspense. Now a modern classic, as gripping in its tautly plotted action as it is penetrating in its exploration of a criminal mind, it tells the shocking tale of a young man who will stop at nothing—not even murder—to get where he wants to go. For he has dreams; plans. He also has charm, good looks, sex appeal, intelligence. And he has a problem. Her name is Dorothy; she loves him, and she's pregnant. The solution may demand desperate measures. But, then, he looks like the kind of guy who could get away with murder. Compellingly, step by determined step, the novel follows this young man in his execution of one plan he had neither dreamed nor foreseen. Nor does he foresee how inexorably he will be enmeshed in the consequences of his own extreme deed.
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Review
"Remarkably constructed...in episodes of chilling horror."
About the Author
Ira Levin is the author of The Boys from Brazil, A Kiss Before Dying, Sliver, The Stepford Wives, and other bestsellers, as well as Broadway's longest-running thriller, Deathtrap. He has won two Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America and the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Horror Writers Association. He died in 2007.
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
By Cherita
Format:Paperback
I have read several of Ira Levin's books. I have really liked them all. Ira has a style of writing that engages you and makes you feel like a friend is telling you the story. If you have seen "A Place in the Sun" (Elizabeth Taylor, Shelly Winters - a fabulous movie) then you pretty much are going to guess most of the story. It doesn't differ too much from that, HOWEVER you will be engrossed absolutley even though you THINK you know what's going to happen :) I was a little disappointed with the ending-the rest of the book was so exciting that the end seemed a little too neat and pretty - pretty. I really don't think you can go wrong no matter which Ira Levin book you read (or can manage to find..most are no longer in print-part of the attraction). Devious actions and thoughts make his characters memorable. I think the real horror lies in his ability to take a mundane thing and find the dark side of it.
By lazza
Format:Paperback
Ira Levin is one of my favorite writers. While his stories are a bit far-fetched (as with "Rosemary's Baby", "The Boys From Brazil", and "The Stepford Wives") they are always entertaining. His first book, "A Kiss Before Dying", is now largely forgotten (..it was written nearly 50 years ago) but seems remarkably fresh.
In "A Kiss Before Dying" we have a a rich college girl and her gold-digging boyfriend in a dilemna. The girl is pregnant and the choice ahead is grim: either get married and lose daddy's money, or risk an illegal abortion (remember this book takes place circa 1950). She prefers the former, he the latter. The outcome of this dilemna is unexpected (no spoilers here), and the story then really kicks into gear. Yes, in true Levin form the plot is a bit contrived. But it is deliciously readable.
Bottom line: strongly recommended.
Format:Hardcover
I am digusted with the meanness of some of these reviews.
Although this identifies me as a naive and simpleminded reader, I must admit that I found the book impossible to put down, and speed read it in about four hours. The plot concerns a money hungry student who attempts to marry three sisters in succession, all of whom stand to inherit a lot of money. Because of some plot complications however, our protagonist is forced to murder two of the sisters. He is caught and gruesomely punished however before being able to marry and kill the third sister. (Sorry if this gives away a little of the plot.)
Although this identifies me as a naive and simpleminded reader, I must admit that I found the book impossible to put down, and speed read it in about four hours. The plot concerns a money hungry student who attempts to marry three sisters in succession, all of whom stand to inherit a lot of money. Because of some plot complications however, our protagonist is forced to murder two of the sisters. He is caught and gruesomely punished however before being able to marry and kill the third sister. (Sorry if this gives away a little of the plot.)
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4.5 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
full of suspense, not dated at all
'A kiss before dying' was written in the fifties, and apart from some very non-essential aspects it is not dated at all. Read more
Published on Aug 26 2001 by Linda Oskam
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Kiss Before Dying
A Kiss Before Dying follows a man who decides he wants to kill his girlfriend when he finds out she is pregnant with his son. Read more
Published on May 29 2001 by Nicole Beers
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent beginning and middle section. Weak ending
The first two parts of this book are excellent. Part One is chilling because of its depiction of what is now known as Anti-Social Personality Disorder. Read more
Published on Oct 18 2000 by Matt C. Stedman
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good but runs out of steam
I had heard about this book and its great twists so I was eagerto read it at once. As I had hoped, A KISS BEFORE DYING delivered twounbelievable surprises that shot me out of my... Read more
Published on July 3 2000
4.0 out of 5 stars
Much, much better than the movie
Do you know how most books save their big surprise for the end? This one fools ya -- there are a couple of big surprises sprinkled at the most, well, surprising places in the book. Read more
Published on May 11 2000 by Anne M. Marble
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