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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN num: 9780786711642
ISBN number: 0786711647
Label: Carroll & Graf
Manufacturer: Carroll & Graf
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 304
Printing Date: 2003-04
Publishing house: Carroll & Graf
Sale Popularity Level: 297649
Studio: Carroll & Graf
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Product Description:
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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Rated by buyers 
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BOOK CLUB REVIEW
A Kiss Before Dying
by Ira Levin
Our book club's book for October was A KISS BEFORE DYING, by Ira Levin. A lot of us didn't know that Levin had started out doing traditional mystery/suspense before turning to horror (STEPFORD WIVES, ROSEMARY'S BABY, etc.) We were talking about how much, as a group, we enjoy shocking plot twists, and one of us said that A KISS BEFORE DYING has one of the best plot twists of all time. We took that as a challenge and decided to read the book.
It's tough to describe the plot without giving away too many details. But I will try: It's the story of a social-climbing, money-grubbing young man who decides the best way to live an idle life is to marry a girl with money. (Several of us noted that the concept is far from unique--isn't this the main plot of so many Gothics, and isn't this the way it was done in the world until very recently?) He thinks he has it made, but then the girl gets pregnant--which is problem, because her widowed father is a prig and will likely disown her when he finds out. So he decides to take matters into his own hands... (And this is just the very first few pages of the book, but it does give a good idea of what the book is about.)
I can't say more because even trying to describe the book, its structure, and its tricks would give away the pleasures of the read. Suffice it to say that we took a vote, and of the twelve of us in the room, ten said that the book does indeed have the single best plot twist they'd ever read. I mean, it's really, really shocking and surprising, and it's testament to Levin's abilities a writer and storyteller that he gets away with it. When you realize what has happened, you sort of shake your head in disbelief, but then you go back and re-read some things, and you see how Levin made it happen.
The more interesting discusion was whether the twist is "fair" and if it plays by the rules or not. We talked for quite a while about that, and the conclusion we came to is that this kind of trick can only be pulled off in writing. If you read the book, you will see what we mean. Again, I can't go into details for fear of a spoiler!
The book is a very fast read, and it seems to be more from a different era because of the way the characters are drawn. They are pretty two-dimensional, and you either like them or you don't, which is fine for whiling away the time with a good mystery. We had some good discussion, too, about the ending of the book, and whether we liked it or not. This is so frustrating--I'm afraid to said anything more because I know it would be a no-no to prejudice readers' ideas about the book before reading it.
All told, we were glad we read this, and we were sorry that Levin didn't do more with the traditional mystery/suspense book. Then again, if you are only going to write one mystery, A KISS BEFORE DYING is a heck of a thing to have written.
Rated by buyers 
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I am reading this book for the third time. The very first time was when it very first came out, then some years later, and now I'm reading it again. Although I don't usually read mysteries, this one is so mesmerising that over the years I have always counted this as one of my favorite books, no matter what the genre. It is fast paced, not an unnecessary word. And the ending-- well, you have to read it.
Rated by buyers -
This book was one of the most intreguing and memorable books I ever read. When Steven King lamented that "A Kiss Before Dying" was not read much these days, he was right to the mark. Don't miss this great murder mystery. A villan you'll hate in an irresistible story.
Be sure to read the Amazon review by Ryan Harvey "Wolf Shadow." Here's a quote from Ryan Harvey's review:
"Stephen King once commented about author Ira Levin: 'Every novel he has ever written has been a marvel of plotting. He is the Swiss watchmaker of the suspense novel; he makes what the rest of us do look like those five-dollar watches you can buy in the discount drug stores.' He went on to lament that Levin's most effective book (and his first!), 'A Kiss before Dying,' is not much read these days."
Rated by buyers -
Ira Levin always goes to the dark heart of the human beast--and in this, his very first novel, he certainly shows an understanding of his species. A twisting plot, a splash of unwholesome romance, a cunning antagonist/protagonist...it all works.
Thriller writer Scott Nicholson
Rated by buyers -
The author sure knows how to keep things exiting! He always ends the chapter with a thrilling moment, which made me want to go on reading. I almost couldn't put the book aside, I utilized every spare hour. Her style of writing pleased me very well, it never drops off. I experienced this book as a form of acting, in writing. The characters in the story are individually exposed from the inside, in a seamless performance from one perspective to the other. Perhaps this is the secret of this books' vividness. I detected only one small thing where I was beginning to feel bored about; In the part called "Marion", we caught sight of the inside of the factory of Mr. Kingship, by looking through Buds' eyes. But in my view he was endlessly persuading about it, I got tired of it. All in all I'm very glad I've read this book. The film wasn't as good as the book itself.
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