This allows the writer to then switch format from the inverted style to a more traditional investigation format. I managed to get all the way to the second section of the book before I realized that Levin has avoided ever giving you the character’s name, either in conversation or narration. Take that first section of the novel which manages to make the reader feel like they have got to know the murderer. One of the most impressive things about this novel is its careful construction. As for that final section, all I shall say is that it’s named for the third sister and centers around her interactions with the killer. This section is really quite wonderfully written and pulled off a reveal that I think was one of the most satisfying surprises I’ve had reading in a while. I can say that the second section sees the victim’s sister arrive in town with the hope of proving that she did not commit suicide and to identify her murderer. And in those few days he plots another way to get rid of his problem.Īs for those other two sections – I want to be careful not to spoil anything too much. He agrees that they should get married but persuades her that they need to wait for the weekend. When she tells him the next day that the pills didn’t work, he begins to panic. He receives the undesirable news that she has become pregnant and, realizing that her father will likely disown her if he learns about this, pushes her to take some pills to make their problem go away.

The first of these is told from the perspective of a male character who is dating the daughter of a prominent industrialist. Ira Levin’s story is broken into three sections, each of them titled for a woman. Suffice it to say that when the time comes, this may place in that list. I hate to spoil my future work before I’ve even really started it but as things stand A Kiss Before Dying is easily the best inverted crime novel that I have read. As many of you will know, one of my long-term aims has been to seek out lots of inverted mysteries with the idea of at some point making a top five list.

A kiss before dying author