Book Review: A Kiss Before Dying

I’d like to share something with you: I hate writing book reviews. There, I admitted it. However, I read a lot and feel it’s my duty to the authors and their stories to talk about them.

So here’s the compromise: I will continue to write reviews, but I’m doing it my way. Here we go…

Just finished my first book of the year A Kiss Before Dying by Ira Levin. It’s one on a short list of crime thrillers I’ve read. I found it creepy, smart and pretty wonderful.

We meet a young man so driven to be rich and powerful that he begins dating the daughter of a copper titan from New York City. After said daughter becomes accidentally pregnant, we get to witness the inner-monologue of her perfect boyfriend turned murderer.

Pros:

• The ending kills
• Most of the main characters are brilliant. Who doesn’t love reading from the perspective of a smart person?
• Levin beautifully planned every detail and it’s exciting to see it come together.

Cons:

• Some readers may find its story hard to take in—talk about intense.
• Towards the end, I began feeling a bit impatient. Perhaps because I as the spectator was the only one who knew the truth about everyone and was too eager for the characters to catch up.
• It’s set in the early 1950s. A fine era, but talk about gender norms. To his credit, Levin challenges them with two different female rebels.

Bottomline: if you like murder stories and suspense, read it.

 

 

 

 

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