Having just finished listening to this audiobook, two words come to mind: terribly clever.

This was such a comprehensive look at a psychopath, and the charm, manipulation, narcissism, lack of emotion and lack of caring for anyone or anything besides their wants and needs. And, being set in the 1950s, add in the gentlemanly ways of that era and the women in this story didn't stand a chance against this evil.

The narrator was perfect and really brought this story to life. I think whether listening or reading this story, you can't help but get sucked into it's grips.

I really need to read more of this classic author's work. I'm ashamed to say I haven't read Rosemary's Baby yet but it is definitely on my TBR!

4.5⭐️

Because I am "a certain age" I've read several of Ira Levin's books back when they were fresh off the presses and on the bestseller lists - Rosemary's Baby, The Stepford Wives, The Boys from Brazil. I've seen the movie versions of those books, as well as the movie based on his play Deathtrap. But somehow, A Kiss Before Dying has escaped me up until now. I don't think I've even seen either of the movies based on the book - at least not in their entirety. Snippets here and there are all I've seen. All this to say - when I saw a new audio version was being released, I jumped at the chance to finally read it. And I wondered how it would hold up, since it was first published in 1953.
And it held up very well indeed. The writing is wonderful. Levin gives us characters that we can root for, and against. They're sometimes a bit naive, they make mistakes, and sometimes they pay dearly for those mistakes. As to the central character - Levin reminds us that the entitled were always with us, even back in 1953. Here Levin gives us a young man who's been sliding through life on his charm and looks - he has talents, even attends acting school, but prefers using his natural acting skills to get what he wants (no, what he's sure he deserves) the easy way by marrying rich. The narration of the audiobook by George Newbern is excellent - he's one of my favorite narrators, so that didn't surprise me, but his voice and style were truly the perfect choice for the material. I've already added a couple of other books by Levin that I'd missed to my constantly growing TBR.
Thanks to Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for providing a digital copy for an unbiased review.

I like to dabble in vintage thrillers to learn about the evolution of the genre, the foundations. Is there another genre that progresses as quickly as contemporary thrillers? Authors constantly push boundaries, break ‘rules’, experiment and try to come up with new plots, structures and twists.

I’ve never read Ira Levine before, best known for Rosemary’s Baby and The Stepford Wives, A Kiss Before Dying (1953) tells the story of a young man determined to marry into money, who isn’t averse to plotting m*rder if his plans don’t work out.

I don’t compare old books to new books, there’s a slower pace, in this case an ‘act by act’ feeling. Ira Levine’s prose is wordy, descriptive, poetic, some scenes dragged but it’s a good story well told.

I don’t know enough to know the impact having a sociopathic main character had at the time, but could suppose a lineage from The Great Gatsby, to this to The Talented Mr Ripley (1955). Authors like Peter Swanson, Anthony Horowitz and rising star Mark Jenkins clearly tip their hats to their forerunners.

The narration was good, though beware the spoilers contain in the foreword which had me scrambling for my phone to skip past them.

One for fans or students of the old classics. I enjoyed it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing - Audiobooks

After reading (and loving) Rosemary’s Baby, my first Ira Levin, last month I absolutely JUMPED at the chance to listen to the audio of his debut novel. It was originally published in 1953, and this audio was released just last month. Let me tell you, this book has lost nothing in the 70+ years since it was written.

I don’t want to spoil anything so I won’t say too much about the plot other than it’s genius and I can’t understand why this book doesn’t have the notoriety that Rosemary’s Baby, The Stepford Wife and The Boys From Brazil do. The writing kept a perfect pace and included a twist I haven’t seen done ever before. I’m still blown away by this one!

Huge thank you to NetGalley Blackstone Publishing for this audiobook. All opinions above are my own.

When I first saw this book was written by the author of Rosemary Baby was was a little hesitant. However, I am glad I went ahead and started the audiobook. The story grip me from the very start and was pleasantly surprised just how much I enjoyed this story written in the 50's. I was amused with Ira's details used to describe Bud being a narcissist without ever saying it the word. Ira is an exceptional writer, planning meticulously well the out come of each part never allowing the reader to become bored with the story. This has to be one of my favorite books I've read this year.

4 ⭐️

* I listened to the audiobook. *

Ira Levin was a suspense author way before his time. “Rosemary’s Baby” is one of my favorite books & movies. I will go to my grave stating that RB is responsible for the evolution of the horror genre as we know it today. I enjoyed the sequel, “Son of Rosemary.” “The Stepford Wives” was also a good one. So when I saw the arc of this book in audio format, I had to request it.

The novel begins with Bud, a man of modest upbringing, whose girlfriend, Dorothy Kingship, becomes pregnant. Bud realizes that he isn’t ready for a child and he needs to fix the situation. He tries to convince Dorothy that they should not go through with the pregnancy (ex: they need to finish college, if Dorothy’s wealthy father finds out, she will be disinherited, they will be poor, just imagine if they did everything in the correct order in their relationship). Bud tells Dorothy that they can terminate the pregnancy and then start their lives together as planned. Things don’t go as Bud anticipates and he begins to panic.

Lies, murders, and tragedy surround the Kingship family as the book goes on.

Overall, I was pleased with the book. For it being written in 1953, it has a better plot than most suspense novels coming out in 2024. Great for mystery fans and readers who enjoy reading books that paved the way in Hollywood cinema (the book was adapted on screen twice - neither I have seen). It was a quick, but satisfying listen!

The narrator did a great job and the flow of the audio was easy to follow and it held my interest. I appreciated the foreward regarding Levin’s work.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for access to the arc audiobook. I greatly appreciate the opportunity!

Thanks to Blackstone & NetGalley for providing an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In 1991, I saw the movie version of this story in the theatre: Matt Dillon & Sean Young (pre-crazy Catwoman days, I think) starred, and there's a fabulous scene where Sean falls through a stained glass clerestory window (as I recall) to her death. How could I resist checking out the original source material?

Of course, I could not, and I'm glad I didn't. One of my favorite voice actors, George Newbern (of Scandal fame, don't judge, he's amazing) narrates, and he does a great job embodying Bud Corliss, your friendly neighborhood sociopath, who targets not one, not two, but THREE sisters in a wealthy family on the East Coast. Does it strain credulity? Sure. Who cares. In the movie, Sean Young portrays twin sisters (the cocaine was really good back then I guess), and there's a lot of suspense around the fact that they look **exactly alike** (aside from hair color; there is a scene where she dyes the hair, then one where she dyes it back), but in the book, our sociopath isn't bothered by these trivial reminders of past misdeeds. He's in it to win it, and he's great at explaining away things he doesn't like, not to mention good at blaming his victims.

There has been much made of the stupidity of these girls, falling in love so quickly and being so trusting. Let's walk it through: women in the '50s were not a lot like the women of today. They did not have the agency that today's women enjoy, and "well bred" rich girls certainly didn't have much in the way of street smarts. I am happy to accept Levin's portrayal of young sisters during this time period. Ellen is a bit of a firebrand, with her tenacity to figure out what happened to her sister - remember, the only role model for this sort of thing was Nancy Drew.

Towards the end, there's rather more explanation of how copper refining works than I'd prefer, but it furthers the story, so it's fine. Look, I'd listen to George Newbern read the phone book, and this part of the book isn't far off until we get to the BIG FINISH.

In short, more George Newbern pls.

An absolutely enjoyable audiobook. Loved the content of the story as well as the narrator.
Loved hearing him mention a city very familiar to me and my family.
Each chapter ended with me longing to start the next.
I highly recommend this audiobook. Don’t pass it up’

What a psycho! The killer really thought this one through. I will say, since the beginning of the book was written in the murderer’s POV, I was kind of rooting for him, but that was definitely short lived. I also really enjoyed the ending. It was perfect.

This is my second Ira Levin book and I am glad I gave this one a try since I wasn’t sure if I loved his writing style or not. I read Rosemary’s Baby and that one was not my favorite, but this one was so much better. The dialog and mystery was great since you didn’t actually know who the killer was even though it was written with his POV in the beginning. Then this book really had you guessing who the killer was.

Thanks NetGalley and publisher for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

Throughly enjoyed. The narrator was wonderful - gave each character nuance and inflection. Plot was a little melodramatic and “cheesy”; Bud definitely kept it in the family and you have to wonder why he would take such risks, it stands to reason sisters will talk, but oh, well, such fun.

I was really intrigued by this one, but it just did not live up for me. I was not fully invested, I felt confused with all the characters. It was definitely diabolical and twisty. It just wasn't the book for me.

What a fabulous twisty story - and one that feels like it could have been written this year, rather than over 70 years ago! This was a clever, dark, disturbing story, exactly as one would expect from the man who brought the world Rosemary's Baby. With a cast of characters that combine the odious with the obvious, it served up more surprises than Christmas morning. Frankly, given the timeframe in which it was originally published and the tendency to more linear, straightforward, single-twist/-focus plotlines in that era, I was doubly surprised at where things went and at how contemporary the writing style felt. The narration was excellent and captured all of this intensity and drama perfectly. Clearly I'm going to have to look up the rest of Levin's works - and revisit Rosemary and her evil baby in audiobook format!

Thanks to NetGalley for the Audiobook.

Ira Levin and all his books has been an inspiration to many thriller writers and I have come across references to his books in books I have read recently. So finally I get to read a book by Ira Levin, I don't know why it took me so long. I am highly impressed.
Having watched the Hindi movie adaptation of this book(though there are lot of changes), the twists were not really surprising. But I see why he is the master in this genre. The story is engrossing. Each of the 3 parts gets a different treatment and the ending of each part keeps you in anticipation.

The foreword by Anthony Horowitz is insightful but full of spoilers. Excellent audio narration by George Newburn.
I have added Ira Levin's other books to my TBR, there are not many.

I'm a huge fan of Rosemary's Baby and The Boys from Brazil. I've tried a handful of times to get into Levin's other works, but they didn't quite reach the depth that I expected. When I saw this title offered up by NetGalley, I jumped at the opportunity.
The book was ok. I expected a little more... but it just fell short. I zoned out a few times throughout the story and started trying to "guess the next twist" instead of enjoying the journey. Even though I felt slightly dejected by it, I can see this one as being a favorite of many.

#AKissBeforeDying by #IraLevin - the same author of the infamous #rosemarysbaby and #thestepfordwives !!! This was great on audio, acted out by @georgenewbern and #RoryBarnett and produced by @blackstonepublishing! Thank you for allowing me to listen in exchange for a review!
First of all, let me applaud the making of old stories and movies into audiobooks for us all these generations later! BIG FAN of that whole concept. Now I had never heard of this book, which was also made into a movie, and I didn’t recognize the name Ira Levin, but I sure knew Rosemarys Baby because I watched that iconic film back in the 70s when I was really too young to be watching that movie if you know, you kNOW!!! lol 😂 Anyhow, knowing this writer was a man of horror and suspense, I immediately sought out this title. And it did not disappoint. Now this is a historical fiction suspense thriller and it had a bit of that old movie flair to the acting - it’s a TONE of voice or a way of speaking, or the turn of phrase - but it was done superbly by @georgenewbern and #RoryBarnett - awesome job! This story is about a rich family with three daughters and a man who brazenly tries to get in with the wealth. He seeks out each of the girls trying to woo them (some more successfully than others) and he really is a devious sucker. A psychopath really. In the end I think he was not ever really about the MONEY but how much bs he could get away with! But omg the last 15 mins of this story I knew there was comeuppance on its way and I could NOT wipe the grin off of my face. As I walk for part of my commute I must’ve looked quite devious myself bc I was SO ready for BUD to get what was coming to him. If you love a thriller that serves up some wicked karma, you’ve got to give this a listen. Its ending is different from the movie and much more satisfying - check this one out it was fantastic!

ARC audiobook provided in exchange for an honest review.

This book came out many years ago and I’ve always had it on my TBR so I was excited to get the chance to listen to the audiobook! The writing was fantastic and the story holds up after all this time! I enjoyed how the story is told from the main males perspective, and even though his actions in finding a rich woman to marry are horribly atrocious, it makes for a good read. I would recommend to anyone who likes psychological thrillers and mysteries!

Man Bud was diabolic! But fortunately, he got what was coming to him in the end. This was a good read and I am glad that Ira Levin pioneered this type of genre in reading, it's my favorite!

#AKissBeforeDying
#NetGalley

Many thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing - Audiobooks for the free audio book in exchange for my honest review. This is narrated by George Newbern and Rory Barnett, both of whom do an exceptional job! I highly recommend the audio book!

So this is the early work of the infamous author of Rosemary's Baby and the Boys from Brazil. That was enough to intrigue me to request this book. I can't believe that I did not find it until this listing on NetGalley.

All I can say is WOW! This is such a well written novel that surprised me by how much I really enjoyed it! The suspense and twists had me on the edge of my seat all the way to the ending. The pacing was perfect and fast! The setting is the 50's and it felt like I was listening to an old black and white movie from that time period! I loved the sisters and hated the men, all blonde conniving psychopaths. Despite knowing who the killer is, which is revealed mid-book, I had to know how it ended.

I am so impressed, yet again, by the talent of this great author!!!

Highly Highly recommend - 10 stars!!!

TW: Language, unplanned pregnancy, smoking, racial slurs, death of parent, cheating, forced abortion, talk of death by suicide, drinking

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:
Dorothy meets a handsome young man with an eye for her inheritance while she is in her first year of university. They are to be married and her life will be blissful; but Dorothy is pregnant and her fiancé's plans are ruined, for Dorothy would be disinherited if her father discovered the truth.So the young man provides his bride-to-be with some pills that will solve the problem. Soon there will be no baby - and perhaps no Dorothy either.
Release Date: June 1953
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 224
Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

What I Liked:
1. I love Ira Levin books
2. Love the writing
3. Trying to find out who killed Dorothy

What I Didn't Like:
1. Some parts ramble about things that don't matter

Overall Thoughts:
{{Disclaimer: I write my review as I read}}

So excited that this is my 5th book from Ira Levin. I adore his writing.

There is a section of the book where the young man talks about war and a Japanese man, while using the racist comment of calling the character yellow.

Wow this young man is real piece of work. Get her pregnant and then bump her off and call her a slut.

Love that Dorothy lied to him about taking the pills and messed up his plans.

I can't believe he just threw her off the building. I feel so badly for her. She wanted to get married but this dude is just wanting money.

I couldn't imagine a newspaper saying I was an "attractive" lady. What do they do if they don't think you're attractive.

How does Ellen know that her sister was murdered? I get that her sister had all the signs that she was getting married, but it never passed her mind that maybe he changed his mind and she did die by suicide. Interested to see how she figures this out.

Had to laugh since the part of the sister trying to find out what happened to her sister and showing up to investigate, reminds me of Psycho.

I love that we don't actually know who's the real man that killed Dorothy.

Honestly it just can't be Powell. The man that killed Dorothy went out of his way to not have anything to link them together so why would he sit there and tell Ellen that he dated her. Plus he saw a photo of Dorothy's sisters already so it would be weird to ask her out.

The building still leaving the door unlocked but having only to use in an emergency is odd. Why would you go there for an emergency unless there was a fire escape?

Great Bud is actually the one that was with Dorothy. He just killed Powell. Poor Powell who was trying to help Ellen. So Bud has been dating Ellen now.

I'm shocked that he seriously killed Ellen. I didn't think he really was going to.

Marion is the last of Dorothy's sisters. If course Bud finds his way to her. This dude is committed to getting this family money. Also how gross to date your siblings boyfriend. No thanks.

Leo talks to Marion that Bud went to both schools that her sisters went to school.

Convinced that Bud is actually only in love with his mom.

This scene in the book where they take Bud to to the factory to show him what Leo's company does seemed to go on. I knew why it was there, clearly they were going to kill him there. They know they didn't have proof he killed the sisters so they had to kill him. Well, he killed himself.

Poor Bud's mom.

Final Thoughts:
I enjoyed the book, but I think I wanted a little bit more from this. There were some minor twists that happened, but overall I thought they would be a bit more exciting. Of course I loved the writing style. The book reminded me so much of a murder mystery from the 40's, so that was amazing.

I thought it was insane to think that 3 sisters never talked to one another about Bud enough to really get an idea about who he was. When Marion started dating Bud she took his answer that he wasn't that close to Ellen and they were almost friends, despite Ellen saying they were going to get married. It was just like – how did she not know her own sister enough to know that it was more serious than this random dude would mention.

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Thanks to Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing – Audiobooks for this advanced copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.

This book holds up so well. The dialogue, the psychology, the characters -- I found myself believing what was happening and feeling tense as I watched more and more terrible things happening, with so much trauma to one innocent family. I went through a period where I read classic mysteries, but somehow missed this one. I would recommend this to people who enjoy both classic and modern mystery/thrillers, because the plot and characterizations are so well done. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me listen to this audiobook, with its excellent and convincing performance