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Deadly Honeymoon
“You may rape the bride…”David and Jill Wade wanted a properly traditional start to their marriage. For openers, they decided to delay its consummation until after the ceremony. They planned a perfect honeymoon at a secluded lakeside resort in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains.Joe Carroll, the guest in the cabin next door, seemed friendly enough. They took his dinner suggestion, then returned to their cabin and prepared to retire—until a noise alerted them, and they went to the porch and watched a group of men descend on Joe Carroll’s cabin. They dragged him out at gunpoint, then executed him in cold blood.And Jill screamed…The men heard her, rushed the Wade's cabin. They took their turns with Jill. Then they left.And the newlyweds barely considered reporting the violation to the police. Instead, with only a name and a few bare clues to steer them, they hunted down the men who’d done the awful deed and the crime boss who’d given them their orders.DEADLY HONEYMOON was Lawrence Block’s first hardcover novel. It’s a powerful tale of revenge, and of a man and woman far more closely bound by their shared mission than they would have been by a more ordinary honeymoon.THE CLASSIC CRIME LIBRARY brings together Lawrence Block's early crime novels, reformatted and with new uniform cover art.
184 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1967
78 people are currently reading
229 people want to read
About the author
Lawrence Block
767 books2,982 followersLawrence Block has been writing crime, mystery, and suspense fiction for more than half a century. He has published in excess (oh, wretched excess!) of 100 books, and no end of short stories.
Born in Buffalo, N.Y., LB attended Antioch College, but left before completing his studies; school authorities advised him that they felt he’d be happier elsewhere, and he thought this was remarkably perceptive of them.
His earliest work, published pseudonymously in the late 1950s, was mostly in the field of midcentury erotica, an apprenticeship he shared with Donald E. Westlake and Robert Silverberg. The first time Lawrence Block’s name appeared in print was when his short story “You Can’t Lose” was published in the February 1958 issue of Manhunt. The first book published under his own name was Mona (1961); it was reissued several times over the years, once as Sweet Slow Death. In 2005 it became the first offering from Hard Case Crime, and bore for the first time LB’s original title, Grifter’s Game.
LB is best known for his series characters, including cop-turned-private investigator Matthew Scudder, gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, globe-trotting insomniac Evan Tanner, and introspective assassin Keller.
Because one name is never enough, LB has also published under pseudonyms including Jill Emerson, John Warren Wells, Lesley Evans, and Anne Campbell Clarke.
LB’s magazine appearances include American Heritage, Redbook, Playboy, Linn’s Stamp News, Cosmopolitan, GQ, and The New York Times. His monthly instructional column ran in Writer’s Digest for 14 years, and led to a string of books for writers, including the classics Telling Lies for Fun & Profit and The Liar’s Bible. He has also written episodic television (Tilt!) and the Wong Kar-wai film, My Blueberry Nights.
Several of LB’s books have been filmed. The latest, A Walk Among the Tombstones, stars Liam Neeson as Matthew Scudder and is scheduled for release in September, 2014.
LB is a Grand Master of Mystery Writers of America, and a past president of MWA and the Private Eye Writers of America. He has won the Edgar and Shamus awards four times each, and the Japanese Maltese Falcon award twice, as well as the Nero Wolfe and Philip Marlowe awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, and the Diamond Dagger for Life Achievement from the Crime Writers Association (UK). He’s also been honored with the Gumshoe Lifetime Achievement Award from Mystery Ink magazine and the Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement in the short story. In France, he has been proclaimed a Grand Maitre du Roman Noir and has twice been awarded the Societe 813 trophy. He has been a guest of honor at Bouchercon and at book fairs and mystery festivals in France, Germany, Australia, Italy, New Zealand, Spain and Taiwan. As if that were not enough, he was also presented with the key to the city of Muncie, Indiana. (But as soon as he left, they changed the locks.)
LB and his wife Lynne are enthusiastic New Yorkers and relentless world travelers; the two are members of the Travelers Century Club, and have visited around 160 countries.
He is a modest and humble fellow, although you would never guess as much from this biographical note.
Born in Buffalo, N.Y., LB attended Antioch College, but left before completing his studies; school authorities advised him that they felt he’d be happier elsewhere, and he thought this was remarkably perceptive of them.
His earliest work, published pseudonymously in the late 1950s, was mostly in the field of midcentury erotica, an apprenticeship he shared with Donald E. Westlake and Robert Silverberg. The first time Lawrence Block’s name appeared in print was when his short story “You Can’t Lose” was published in the February 1958 issue of Manhunt. The first book published under his own name was Mona (1961); it was reissued several times over the years, once as Sweet Slow Death. In 2005 it became the first offering from Hard Case Crime, and bore for the first time LB’s original title, Grifter’s Game.
LB is best known for his series characters, including cop-turned-private investigator Matthew Scudder, gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, globe-trotting insomniac Evan Tanner, and introspective assassin Keller.
Because one name is never enough, LB has also published under pseudonyms including Jill Emerson, John Warren Wells, Lesley Evans, and Anne Campbell Clarke.
LB’s magazine appearances include American Heritage, Redbook, Playboy, Linn’s Stamp News, Cosmopolitan, GQ, and The New York Times. His monthly instructional column ran in Writer’s Digest for 14 years, and led to a string of books for writers, including the classics Telling Lies for Fun & Profit and The Liar’s Bible. He has also written episodic television (Tilt!) and the Wong Kar-wai film, My Blueberry Nights.
Several of LB’s books have been filmed. The latest, A Walk Among the Tombstones, stars Liam Neeson as Matthew Scudder and is scheduled for release in September, 2014.
LB is a Grand Master of Mystery Writers of America, and a past president of MWA and the Private Eye Writers of America. He has won the Edgar and Shamus awards four times each, and the Japanese Maltese Falcon award twice, as well as the Nero Wolfe and Philip Marlowe awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, and the Diamond Dagger for Life Achievement from the Crime Writers Association (UK). He’s also been honored with the Gumshoe Lifetime Achievement Award from Mystery Ink magazine and the Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement in the short story. In France, he has been proclaimed a Grand Maitre du Roman Noir and has twice been awarded the Societe 813 trophy. He has been a guest of honor at Bouchercon and at book fairs and mystery festivals in France, Germany, Australia, Italy, New Zealand, Spain and Taiwan. As if that were not enough, he was also presented with the key to the city of Muncie, Indiana. (But as soon as he left, they changed the locks.)
LB and his wife Lynne are enthusiastic New Yorkers and relentless world travelers; the two are members of the Travelers Century Club, and have visited around 160 countries.
He is a modest and humble fellow, although you would never guess as much from this biographical note.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
May 11, 2018
After being attacked by some underworld thugs, instead of a rolling over and playing the victim, a couple decides to get revenge on their attackers.
This was originally one of Donald Westlake's (aka Richard Stark) ideas, which his friend Lawrence Block asked to use since Westlake didn't think he would ever have the time to get around to it. As Richard Stark, he was busy pumping out volumes in his Parker series. Block took the idea and ran with it. Without realizing it, his course veered somewhat from Westlake's original idea, so by the time he was done, he had completed his own book, one that would not have existed without his personal touch.
The story itself is solid. The execution is decent. Since Block's career spans from the '50s to today, this late '60s book could be called an early work. As such it suffers somewhat. Block's easy, flowing style wouldn't really click into place until the '70s. So Deadly Honeymoon feels a little stiff in places. Generally it's not bad, but for instance, towards the beginning the narrative skips an emotional beat and that threw me off for a while. I needed the closure of a certain reaction from one of the two main characters that I didn't get and didn't set right with me. It took a while for me to get over it and except that it just wasn't going to happen. Eventually though, the thrilling tale that is this book took over and I could enjoy it to its satisfying conclusion.
This was originally one of Donald Westlake's (aka Richard Stark) ideas, which his friend Lawrence Block asked to use since Westlake didn't think he would ever have the time to get around to it. As Richard Stark, he was busy pumping out volumes in his Parker series. Block took the idea and ran with it. Without realizing it, his course veered somewhat from Westlake's original idea, so by the time he was done, he had completed his own book, one that would not have existed without his personal touch.
The story itself is solid. The execution is decent. Since Block's career spans from the '50s to today, this late '60s book could be called an early work. As such it suffers somewhat. Block's easy, flowing style wouldn't really click into place until the '70s. So Deadly Honeymoon feels a little stiff in places. Generally it's not bad, but for instance, towards the beginning the narrative skips an emotional beat and that threw me off for a while. I needed the closure of a certain reaction from one of the two main characters that I didn't get and didn't set right with me. It took a while for me to get over it and except that it just wasn't going to happen. Eventually though, the thrilling tale that is this book took over and I could enjoy it to its satisfying conclusion.
February 9, 2014
Second go round with this book, the first time I've encountered this bug in the GR engine that doesn't allow you to read the same book several times. Needless to say it's still impressive and highly influential to me.
Yet another quick and enjoyable read from the Grand Master.
This standalone Block is the story of a young couple beaten and raped on their honeymoon who decide that their own revenge rather than talking to the police is the best course of action.
Block (apparently with the guidance of Donald E. Westlake) sets out to tell this very specific story and doesn't deviate from the path for even a second. This is not a brilliant piece of noir but it's a purely entertaining pulp novel from start to finish told with a kitchen sink kind of naturalness that appeals to me a great deal; he spends as much time on looking at maps and discussing driving directions as he does to the violence Dave and Jill dish out. In filmic terms this is more Jim Jarmusch than Oliver Stone, more Mike Leigh than Quentin Tarantino, what's not to like?
I can't say it's a good example of the great man's large body of work but it's worth a read nonetheless, I haven't read a Block I haven't enjoyed to date and I can't see it happening any time soon.
Yet another quick and enjoyable read from the Grand Master.
This standalone Block is the story of a young couple beaten and raped on their honeymoon who decide that their own revenge rather than talking to the police is the best course of action.
Block (apparently with the guidance of Donald E. Westlake) sets out to tell this very specific story and doesn't deviate from the path for even a second. This is not a brilliant piece of noir but it's a purely entertaining pulp novel from start to finish told with a kitchen sink kind of naturalness that appeals to me a great deal; he spends as much time on looking at maps and discussing driving directions as he does to the violence Dave and Jill dish out. In filmic terms this is more Jim Jarmusch than Oliver Stone, more Mike Leigh than Quentin Tarantino, what's not to like?
I can't say it's a good example of the great man's large body of work but it's worth a read nonetheless, I haven't read a Block I haven't enjoyed to date and I can't see it happening any time soon.
December 19, 2011
Dave and Jill are just beginning their honeymoon when they witness a murder. The killers give Dave a savage beating and rape Jill while Dave can only listen helplessly. But they made one mistake. They let them live...
Deadly Honeymoon is a fairly standard revenge plot, masterfully paced by the esteemed Lawrence Block. I picked this up after reading about it in Telling Lies for Fun and Profit, Block's spectacular writing book. It's a good example of building suspense.
Dave and Jill aren't hugely detailed characters. Block's done a lot better but this was really early in his career. The couple's tracking down of their enemies was believable and well done. The story felt a little dated at times but was still an enjoyable read. It was almost orgasmic when the hitmen finally got what was coming to them.
Deadly Honeymoon is a fairly standard revenge plot, masterfully paced by the esteemed Lawrence Block. I picked this up after reading about it in Telling Lies for Fun and Profit, Block's spectacular writing book. It's a good example of building suspense.
Dave and Jill aren't hugely detailed characters. Block's done a lot better but this was really early in his career. The couple's tracking down of their enemies was believable and well done. The story felt a little dated at times but was still an enjoyable read. It was almost orgasmic when the hitmen finally got what was coming to them.
March 10, 2019
One of Mr. Block's early hard-hitting, fast-moving crime novels. Enjoyable fare. Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake could've made the film noir.
June 10, 2012
Now sometimes it happens that I buy a book because its cover makes it look exciting and interesting and I get it home and begin to read and the cover shows itself to have been desperately misleading. At other times I find titles fascinating or intriguing, their very weirdness or beauty can entice and draw me in and you have to congratulate the imagination of the writer but in this case it was an ebook so the cover is nothing and the story does exactly what is 'says on the tin'. Jill and Dave Wade drive from their Wedding ceremony to their honeymoon in a small lodge by the side of a Lake. Here they witness a brutal murder and the hitmen beat up the young husband and then proceed to rape Jill who had remained a virgin so as to enable her husband to be the first.
The story is of their revenge on the two perpetrators. They follow them to New York and during the course of the first week of their married life they proceedThat is the story, that is what happens and i suppose therefore the title , though supremely lacking any sort of inspiration, is a perfectly adequate one but my only reason for harping on in this way is because I feel the blandness of the title doesn't do justice to the actual piece of writing.
Yes, it is about revenge and killing but it is a more sophisticated story then that I think. Though written in the third person we see everything through Dave's eyes. We do not know Jill's feelings unless she states them. All our impressions are Dave's. It is through his eyes that we feel and see and act. We feel his fear, his tension, his worry. He can only guess at Jill's reaction and indeed on a number of occasions he guesses quite wrong. Block has written a story which cleverly opens out questions of how well do we or indeed can we know another person. I was surprised at how tense I became as I read but it was because Block used Dave's tension, his stress to communicate the action. His were the nightmares we saw, his was the sweaty hand with which we felt the gun, it was his sexual desire which, for the sake of his violated wife, we had to control. This is nothing new of course but his style, sparse and sharp, worked this well.
There were holes in the logic. I still cannot understand why the hitmen would not have also killed the two young people who witnessed the original murder. That seemed a silly inconsistency though obviously necessary for the plot but it still grated especially considering the fact of their evident brutality. The ease with which the two newly-weds found the necessary links and contacts, the way in which Jill showed hidden depths of ingenuity and insight of which her husband new nothing seemd a trifle far fetched too but, though they jarred, none of these things subtracted to any great extent to what was, over all, a quick and exciting read.
The only big struggle I had was This struck me as callously unlikely. I felt the reaction of both should have been more horrified and the fact that it was not suggested that they had both been hardened and made brutal to an irreversible degree and i would not hold out much hope for their 'return to normal' no matter how much healing love-making they got in on their three days rest in between the close of the revenge-moon and their return to their new married life.
The story is of their revenge on the two perpetrators. They follow them to New York and during the course of the first week of their married life they proceedThat is the story, that is what happens and i suppose therefore the title , though supremely lacking any sort of inspiration, is a perfectly adequate one but my only reason for harping on in this way is because I feel the blandness of the title doesn't do justice to the actual piece of writing.
Yes, it is about revenge and killing but it is a more sophisticated story then that I think. Though written in the third person we see everything through Dave's eyes. We do not know Jill's feelings unless she states them. All our impressions are Dave's. It is through his eyes that we feel and see and act. We feel his fear, his tension, his worry. He can only guess at Jill's reaction and indeed on a number of occasions he guesses quite wrong. Block has written a story which cleverly opens out questions of how well do we or indeed can we know another person. I was surprised at how tense I became as I read but it was because Block used Dave's tension, his stress to communicate the action. His were the nightmares we saw, his was the sweaty hand with which we felt the gun, it was his sexual desire which, for the sake of his violated wife, we had to control. This is nothing new of course but his style, sparse and sharp, worked this well.
There were holes in the logic. I still cannot understand why the hitmen would not have also killed the two young people who witnessed the original murder. That seemed a silly inconsistency though obviously necessary for the plot but it still grated especially considering the fact of their evident brutality. The ease with which the two newly-weds found the necessary links and contacts, the way in which Jill showed hidden depths of ingenuity and insight of which her husband new nothing seemd a trifle far fetched too but, though they jarred, none of these things subtracted to any great extent to what was, over all, a quick and exciting read.
The only big struggle I had was This struck me as callously unlikely. I felt the reaction of both should have been more horrified and the fact that it was not suggested that they had both been hardened and made brutal to an irreversible degree and i would not hold out much hope for their 'return to normal' no matter how much healing love-making they got in on their three days rest in between the close of the revenge-moon and their return to their new married life.
November 9, 2016
Great book. Quick read. The plot for this book actually came to Block via Donald Westlake. After Westlake gave him a brief outline of the plot, Block asked him of he was going to write the book. When Westlake told him he wasn't, Block said he'd take a crack at it.
It's about couple on their honeymoon who witness a murder, then the murderers knock the guy out and rape his newlywed wife. They then take justice into their own hands.
It's about couple on their honeymoon who witness a murder, then the murderers knock the guy out and rape his newlywed wife. They then take justice into their own hands.
November 20, 2019
Good story. Lawrence Block always delivers an interesting story.
June 20, 2016
It’s wonderful that many books that would have disappeared into the ether never to be read again are being reissued as ebooks. Lawrence Block is resurrecting many of his early books, some written pseudonymously and now released under his true name. Pulp fiction and cheap paperbacks were often the best way for writers to break into the business and to support themselves early in their careers.
Deadly Honeymoon is just such an early Block and the first book of his to be optioned for movie rights. It follows David and Jill, newly weds (she’s still a virgin at 24 true to the morays of the fifties) and they are unfortunate enough to witness the mob hit on a man hiding from gangsters in the cabin next to them while on their honeymoon. They are seen and David is beaten while Jill is being raped. They mention none of this to the police who come to investigate the killing, but immediately plot their revenge and much of the book follows their search for the killers about which they know very little. Their investigation presages the detective work of Block’s later protagonists like Scudder.
My only complaint, and this is related more to the novella’s anachronistic content, was the prosaic and utterly predictable ending.
Deadly Honeymoon is just such an early Block and the first book of his to be optioned for movie rights. It follows David and Jill, newly weds (she’s still a virgin at 24 true to the morays of the fifties) and they are unfortunate enough to witness the mob hit on a man hiding from gangsters in the cabin next to them while on their honeymoon. They are seen and David is beaten while Jill is being raped. They mention none of this to the police who come to investigate the killing, but immediately plot their revenge and much of the book follows their search for the killers about which they know very little. Their investigation presages the detective work of Block’s later protagonists like Scudder.
My only complaint, and this is related more to the novella’s anachronistic content, was the prosaic and utterly predictable ending.
September 25, 2011
Conceived by Westlake, birthed by Block, 'Deadly Honeymoon' is violent vengeance served in cold blood. Unlikely protagonists and newly weds Dave and Jill were honeymooning at a secluded cabin when they witnessed a mob hit. The hit men then beat Dave and raped Jill taking her humility as well as virginity. Rather than seek justice from the long arm of the law, they embark on a journey to ensure the hit men reap what they sow. The dramatisation and constant battle to maintain a sense of normalcy in such a difficult and tumultuous time sees Jill walk dreamlike through life not knowing if her sleep state is better than wake for her rapists faces haunt her every moment. While Dave's determination and apprehensive blood lust was derived from helplessness as much as it was a want to make things the way they were. Not your run of the mill gun toting protagonists but more accidental hero and all heart. The plot didn't deviate and its delivery was designed to be simple yet effective. I enjoyed 'Deadly Honeymoon' from start to finish - especially the more memorable scenes that turned a wholesome American into Tony Montana in flash of a gun barrel. 4 stars.
February 25, 2016
Deadly Honeymoon is a less irritating version of Wilderness. Two newlyweds, Dave and Jill, get revenge on who .
February 11, 2023
I love this guy's prose. It's sharp, lean and intense. My only issue is --- VERY MINOR SPOILER AHEAD -- is the outdated view of the importance of a woman's virtue. It's of it's time, and that's fine. It just ruffled my feathers a bit, but otherwise, this standalone did my feathers right.
June 9, 2019
COUNTDOWN: Mid-20th Century North American Crime
BOOK 250 (of 250)
Here we go! I've eliminated the worst (anything that received at least one zero for my five elements: Hook, Pace, Plot, Cast, Atmosphere and of course stacks of books I wasn't even able to finish).
CRIME: Joe Carroll at a Lake dead by Gunshots.
2nd CRIME: Dragging this from the cellar and printing it.
HOOK - 1 star: Honeymoon couple kissing and saying sweet nothings...pages later they go swimming....pages later they go out to eat...this is a textbook case of how NOT to start a crime novel. Good title, though: good enough that it caught my attention. But I'm sorta mad as it took 3 hours of my life.
PACE - 1: The newlyweds have three weeks...and they use it to read maps and make phone calls and eat and read more maps and drive and read more maps. Oh, they have coffee also, and a lot: "He ordered more coffee. The coffee, surprisingly, was very good there."* Now, since this issue is brought up, how is it surprisingly good? Is it at a perfect temperature with slight hints of berries and fresh mountain air? Is the mug nice? Did it come with free refills served by a big gorgeous redhead who is about to go on break and has a studio apartment over the diner? (The latter is a trope of pulp fiction, but it's a good one and oh how it was needed here!)
PLOT - 1: Mr. and Mrs. David Wade see 2 men shoot to death a Mr. Joe Carroll. The 2 killers notice the Wades standing nearby, seeing everything, but they just drive off, leaving 2 witnesses. Oh, but before they drive off the 2 killers rape the virgin Mrs. Wade. (Get this great line from a killer/rapist: "You don't mind a little screwing just to keep you alive, do you.") She's embarrassed and refuses to report the rape or see a doctor, see, because she's been taking exercises from a 'marriage manual' instructing her how to use certain muscles so 'it' won't hurt so bad. I kid you not. They suddenly decide they are private investigators and hunt up the killers on their own. After all, "Three weeks [of a honeymoon] is plenty of time." Good authors in good books run the clock down in a day or so. I thought about giving this a 2nd star for comedy elements, but oh it's just so boring. Mostly, they read maps and drive. There is a gun, described as such: "The absence of a hammer facilitated quick draws (cause Quick Draw McGraw might be just around the corner)...He rotated the cylinder so that there was no cartridge under the hammer (but...but...there is no hammer) and so that nothing would happen if the trigger was pulled accidentally.)* And about 2 weeks in they are no longer embarrassed at seeing each other naked. Do they ever do "it"? Read this is you MUST, or have a root canal instead.
CHARACTERS - 1: Everyone is dumb as doorknobs.
ATMOSPHERE - 1: There was an old copper kettle hanging on the wall of a restaurant. That's about it.
SUMMARY: 1.0. *The above 2 examples of a poorly written sentences tells us no one edited this book in 1967, and no one bothered to edit it on the production date of July 19, 2016. That's just an insult to readers. Block can author some good books (he takes pulp fiction to the limit in "Borderline" and "Sinner Man" is very good.) But this book should never have been dug up from the past. And I think Block would agree. To those people deciding which books to include in "The Classic Crime Library", I'm questioning your definition of 'classic.' (Could it be $$$?)
BOOK 250 (of 250)
Here we go! I've eliminated the worst (anything that received at least one zero for my five elements: Hook, Pace, Plot, Cast, Atmosphere and of course stacks of books I wasn't even able to finish).
CRIME: Joe Carroll at a Lake dead by Gunshots.
2nd CRIME: Dragging this from the cellar and printing it.
HOOK - 1 star: Honeymoon couple kissing and saying sweet nothings...pages later they go swimming....pages later they go out to eat...this is a textbook case of how NOT to start a crime novel. Good title, though: good enough that it caught my attention. But I'm sorta mad as it took 3 hours of my life.
PACE - 1: The newlyweds have three weeks...and they use it to read maps and make phone calls and eat and read more maps and drive and read more maps. Oh, they have coffee also, and a lot: "He ordered more coffee. The coffee, surprisingly, was very good there."* Now, since this issue is brought up, how is it surprisingly good? Is it at a perfect temperature with slight hints of berries and fresh mountain air? Is the mug nice? Did it come with free refills served by a big gorgeous redhead who is about to go on break and has a studio apartment over the diner? (The latter is a trope of pulp fiction, but it's a good one and oh how it was needed here!)
PLOT - 1: Mr. and Mrs. David Wade see 2 men shoot to death a Mr. Joe Carroll. The 2 killers notice the Wades standing nearby, seeing everything, but they just drive off, leaving 2 witnesses. Oh, but before they drive off the 2 killers rape the virgin Mrs. Wade. (Get this great line from a killer/rapist: "You don't mind a little screwing just to keep you alive, do you.") She's embarrassed and refuses to report the rape or see a doctor, see, because she's been taking exercises from a 'marriage manual' instructing her how to use certain muscles so 'it' won't hurt so bad. I kid you not. They suddenly decide they are private investigators and hunt up the killers on their own. After all, "Three weeks [of a honeymoon] is plenty of time." Good authors in good books run the clock down in a day or so. I thought about giving this a 2nd star for comedy elements, but oh it's just so boring. Mostly, they read maps and drive. There is a gun, described as such: "The absence of a hammer facilitated quick draws (cause Quick Draw McGraw might be just around the corner)...He rotated the cylinder so that there was no cartridge under the hammer (but...but...there is no hammer) and so that nothing would happen if the trigger was pulled accidentally.)* And about 2 weeks in they are no longer embarrassed at seeing each other naked. Do they ever do "it"? Read this is you MUST, or have a root canal instead.
CHARACTERS - 1: Everyone is dumb as doorknobs.
ATMOSPHERE - 1: There was an old copper kettle hanging on the wall of a restaurant. That's about it.
SUMMARY: 1.0. *The above 2 examples of a poorly written sentences tells us no one edited this book in 1967, and no one bothered to edit it on the production date of July 19, 2016. That's just an insult to readers. Block can author some good books (he takes pulp fiction to the limit in "Borderline" and "Sinner Man" is very good.) But this book should never have been dug up from the past. And I think Block would agree. To those people deciding which books to include in "The Classic Crime Library", I'm questioning your definition of 'classic.' (Could it be $$$?)
July 21, 2017
“Deadly Honeymoon” is a 1967 selection by Lawrence Block. The premise is simple and it has been talked about enough that, to explain it, is not giving anything away. A young couple (Dave and Jill Wade) goes to a motel/cottage complex for their three-week honeymoon. On their wedding night, they hear voices and look out their window and see a man (Joe) they had met in a nearby cabin begging for his life from two hoods who then blow his brains out. When Jill involuntary lets out a scream, the hoods grab the young couple, beat the man to unconsciousness and rape the woman. Figuring they weren’t paid to kill the young couple, they leave them alive. There is not enough information for the young couple to go to the police with, barely one name (a first name perhaps) for one of the hoods and not much of a description. They are shamed by what happened. And, instead of reporting to the authorities what happened, they take off and plot vengeance.
What follows is a story about two innocents who decide to hunt down two contract killers in New York City. They don’t know their way around. They don’t have any training. They have three weeks to do it before anyone from their hometown starts missing them. But, they go up against mobsters and well-heeled hoods in a way that surprises them. Although at first the reader wonders if the story will hold together, it does succeed because of the sparse prose that Block uses and because Block humanizes these two characters, showing how the incident changes them and their thirst for vengeance strips their innocence. Block also shows the awkwardness between the young lovers after the incident.
Although at times, Dave and Jill speak as though they have read many mystery stories, the story succeeds and does so quite well. At times, the story feels dated, it is a solid read.
What follows is a story about two innocents who decide to hunt down two contract killers in New York City. They don’t know their way around. They don’t have any training. They have three weeks to do it before anyone from their hometown starts missing them. But, they go up against mobsters and well-heeled hoods in a way that surprises them. Although at first the reader wonders if the story will hold together, it does succeed because of the sparse prose that Block uses and because Block humanizes these two characters, showing how the incident changes them and their thirst for vengeance strips their innocence. Block also shows the awkwardness between the young lovers after the incident.
Although at times, Dave and Jill speak as though they have read many mystery stories, the story succeeds and does so quite well. At times, the story feels dated, it is a solid read.
August 14, 2024
Dave and Jill are ready to finally consummate their marriage on their wedding night. Their planned bliss is interrupted by an argument on the porch of the next cabin, and then they see two armed men shoot another man in the head five times. Jill screams…
The killers let them go ("I don't like killing nobody without I get paid for it."), but not before they violate Jill in front of her young husband. Both of them, twice.
The next day Dave and Jill decide to track down the two men and kill them…
This 1967 crime novel was written for the classic Gold Medal line of paperback originals. It is exactly what you expect: tight plotting, terse prose, hardboiled.
My favorite scene is the second chapter, in the aftermath of the attack. Neither character talks about going to the police or seeking counseling. Dave just looks at his bride and says, "We'll go to New York… We'll get a room in a hotel, and we'll find out who they are. And then we'll find them and we'll kill them… We have three weeks."
Jill responds, "Three weeks is plenty of time."
Neither Dave nor Jill feel they can be intimate with each other until her rapists are dealt with. On some level, their deaths will make her a virgin again. So, the newlyweds wade headlong into the cesspool of hired killers and mobsters.
The plot is thin at times. The cops are not too bright. It is too easy to track down the bad guys. But there are fist fights to the death, shootouts in rented rooms, and plenty of whiskey guzzling on sleepless, sexless nights.
This book was published by Macmillan after Gold Medal passed on it. It is Lawrence Block's first hardcover novel and his first novel to be adapted (badly) for film.
I alternated between my Kindle edition and the audiobook narrated by Alan Sklar.
3 stars
The killers let them go ("I don't like killing nobody without I get paid for it."), but not before they violate Jill in front of her young husband. Both of them, twice.
The next day Dave and Jill decide to track down the two men and kill them…
This 1967 crime novel was written for the classic Gold Medal line of paperback originals. It is exactly what you expect: tight plotting, terse prose, hardboiled.
My favorite scene is the second chapter, in the aftermath of the attack. Neither character talks about going to the police or seeking counseling. Dave just looks at his bride and says, "We'll go to New York… We'll get a room in a hotel, and we'll find out who they are. And then we'll find them and we'll kill them… We have three weeks."
Jill responds, "Three weeks is plenty of time."
Neither Dave nor Jill feel they can be intimate with each other until her rapists are dealt with. On some level, their deaths will make her a virgin again. So, the newlyweds wade headlong into the cesspool of hired killers and mobsters.
The plot is thin at times. The cops are not too bright. It is too easy to track down the bad guys. But there are fist fights to the death, shootouts in rented rooms, and plenty of whiskey guzzling on sleepless, sexless nights.
This book was published by Macmillan after Gold Medal passed on it. It is Lawrence Block's first hardcover novel and his first novel to be adapted (badly) for film.
I alternated between my Kindle edition and the audiobook narrated by Alan Sklar.
3 stars
April 22, 2024
This was my first Lawrence Block book! This was a very short “novel” but got a lot done in a couple hundred pages. Interesting premise about newlyweds becoming involved on their honeymoon in a murder. The killers then beat the husband and rape the wife for seeing what happened. What would you do next? Block takes the story a step further and takes our main characters to search for the killers. It was a “fun” read in the sense that I was also rooting for the killers to be caught and killed.
December 1, 2019
The couple in this story irritated the hell out of me. They could have given the cops a plethora of information to go on to catch the bad guys but instead they keep everything they know a secret and opt to 1.) Ruin their honeymoon 2.) Risk their lives and 3.) Risk their futures should they get caught in the act of killing them. But of course then the story wouldn't exist at all and the point would be moot. But that still doesn't justify what they do. I think the author realized this plight and does do a semi decent job of justifying their vigilantism. But I still couldn't help but cringe at what they were doing. Other than that this story is great. I love anytime ordinary people get thrown into an extraordinary circumstance and that's what we have here. The good guy's chase after revenge plays out superbly and is entertaining as can be. Even if I couldn't look past the ridiculousness of the couples decision to chase them in the first place.
November 4, 2025
Dave and Jill Wade are celebrating their honeymoon at a cabin in the country. They meet Joe Carroll who is staying in the next cabin. That evening, two men come for Joe. Dave is beaten and Jill is assaulted. Dave, barely able to walk decides they will kill the two men.
They have one clue.
This is a tense read. You want them to succeed, but they are amatuers.
They have one clue.
This is a tense read. You want them to succeed, but they are amatuers.
April 6, 2024
Great little story. The plot is simple enough and the taut atmosphere really helps the setting come alive. The two main characters are strong, however the other characters were thin. Overall a fun novel and quick read.
May 9, 2012
In essence, this is a simple, relentless revenge tale. Dave and Jill are young newlyweds on their honeymoon, bright-eyed and eager for the future, until they witness a murder and become victims themselves—the bad guys beat Dave senseless, and, almost on a whim, brutally rape Jill. Thankfully, Block doesn’t go into detail on this (after all, who wants to read a rape scene?) but in his clinical, almost detached vagueness, Block succeeds in horrifying you. It’s the sudden shift that does it, the juxtaposition of a young couple so happy and naïve just pages earlier, confronted with a sort of violence they never could have conceived of.
Instead of going to the police, Dave and Jill decide to take matters into their own hands. Something has been taken away from them, they feel; something that can only be paid for in blood.
The two of them go to New York on the trail of the enemy, and over the course of tracking them down discover how deep the darkness in their own hearts goes. They still love each other, still want each other, but their desire for vengeance tests everything they think they know about themselves.
DEADLY HONEYMOON is an immensely satisfying novel, moving along at a breakneck pace, lingering only briefly on their fumbling and bittersweet attempts to hold onto each other. A lot of the anxiety in reading it comes from your fear that, after all this, will they ever be able to return to any sort of normalcy. And Lawrence Block keeps you on edge about that until the final pages.
An absolutely top-notch, brilliant novel.
Instead of going to the police, Dave and Jill decide to take matters into their own hands. Something has been taken away from them, they feel; something that can only be paid for in blood.
The two of them go to New York on the trail of the enemy, and over the course of tracking them down discover how deep the darkness in their own hearts goes. They still love each other, still want each other, but their desire for vengeance tests everything they think they know about themselves.
DEADLY HONEYMOON is an immensely satisfying novel, moving along at a breakneck pace, lingering only briefly on their fumbling and bittersweet attempts to hold onto each other. A lot of the anxiety in reading it comes from your fear that, after all this, will they ever be able to return to any sort of normalcy. And Lawrence Block keeps you on edge about that until the final pages.
An absolutely top-notch, brilliant novel.
October 4, 2011
I often wondered why many famous authors make it difficult for readers to sample their very early work. After reading Deadly Honeymoon I think I might have the answer. Up front I have to say that Lawrence Block is one of my favourite authors and Matt Scudder one of my favourite characters in the crime fiction world. So when Mr Block started e-publishing and promoting some of his very early work I thought I would have a look.
Deadly Honeymoon is a straight out and out revenge tale. A young couple on their honeymoon witness a gangland murder and then the two hitmen decide to beat the husband and rape the wife. The reason they don't kill them is because one of the goons decides "I don't like killing nobody without I get paid for it". Then in less than half a page of dialogue the couple decide they will head to New York, track the two men down, and kill them.
What follows is a very,very linear story with more detail given to street directions than fleshing out the characters. Interestingly Block says in the afterword that Gold Medal (who had published some of his other earlier stories) turned this book down.
Full kudos to Lawrence Block for making his earlier work available to readers. If you are a Block fan this may be of interest to you. If you want to sample his earlier work I would suggest those books published by Hard Case Crime which are much stronger than this. If you are new to Block don't start here!
Deadly Honeymoon is a straight out and out revenge tale. A young couple on their honeymoon witness a gangland murder and then the two hitmen decide to beat the husband and rape the wife. The reason they don't kill them is because one of the goons decides "I don't like killing nobody without I get paid for it". Then in less than half a page of dialogue the couple decide they will head to New York, track the two men down, and kill them.
What follows is a very,very linear story with more detail given to street directions than fleshing out the characters. Interestingly Block says in the afterword that Gold Medal (who had published some of his other earlier stories) turned this book down.
Full kudos to Lawrence Block for making his earlier work available to readers. If you are a Block fan this may be of interest to you. If you want to sample his earlier work I would suggest those books published by Hard Case Crime which are much stronger than this. If you are new to Block don't start here!
July 30, 2018
Judging from the title and cover art, I was expecting this to be a horror novel, probably of the slasher variety. What I actually got, though, was a lean 'n mean noir thriller, written in Block's usual hardboiled prose. And though the main characters are a newly-wedded couple seeking violent retribution for a brutal rape, the story plays out like a 50's crime caper rather than a bloodbath-in-waiting.
It's a very simple story, told without frills and comprising less than 200 pages. Nothing about the plot particularly stands out, but Block does invest you in the characters right away, and I love how old-fashioned the whole thing is. DEADLY HONEYMOON made me long for the days of public telephones, all-night diners, corner drugstores, newsstands, microfiche, and saving yourself for marriage. I spent every page on the edge of my seat wondering if the newlyweds would ultimately get their revenge...but also whether their relationship would survive the ordeal either way.
Update: The other night, I had a chance to check out the movie version, NIGHTMARE HONEYMOON starring Dack Rambo. The movie is basically a lobotomized version of the book, and it's more your stereotypical horror/thriller than hardboiled crime story. The whole thing is melodramatic and rather badly acted, so you're better off skipping it.
It's a very simple story, told without frills and comprising less than 200 pages. Nothing about the plot particularly stands out, but Block does invest you in the characters right away, and I love how old-fashioned the whole thing is. DEADLY HONEYMOON made me long for the days of public telephones, all-night diners, corner drugstores, newsstands, microfiche, and saving yourself for marriage. I spent every page on the edge of my seat wondering if the newlyweds would ultimately get their revenge...but also whether their relationship would survive the ordeal either way.
Update: The other night, I had a chance to check out the movie version, NIGHTMARE HONEYMOON starring Dack Rambo. The movie is basically a lobotomized version of the book, and it's more your stereotypical horror/thriller than hardboiled crime story. The whole thing is melodramatic and rather badly acted, so you're better off skipping it.
March 15, 2014
A revenge tale about a likable young couple, just married and looking for a quiet private honeymoon together. Instead they run into a couple of sociopathic hitmen. It's a lean novel, short and tense. No room, no time and no regard for questioning the meaning of it all, Dave and Jill are going to find the men that hurt them, and make them pay.
September 4, 2011
Quick read, but boring. Wouldn't recommend.
September 18, 2017
Not so good. very predictable.avoidable
December 24, 2024
This is one example of a genre of plot that often shows up in crime novels and Hitchcock movies. An ordinary person encounters extraordinary circumstances that lead him (it's usually a him) into the world of crime or espionage. He makes some mistakes along the way but is resourceful and strong and survives some dangerous events as he goes deeper and deeper into the netherworld of criminal enterprise. Movie examples are North by Northwest and The Man Who Knew Too Much.
In this one Dave and Jill, a newly married couple in the 1960s, are on their honeymoon at a cabin in Pennsylvania. The man in the cabin next door is murdered by two hitmen and Dave and Jill are witnesses. The hit men beat Dave and rape Jill. Instead of reporting the crime, Dave and Jill decide to track down the killers and kill them.
The story from there on is pretty good and the details of everyday life at the time show the big difference between someone writing at that time as Block was and someone trying to recreate the era. But the premise was hard to swallow. Why would the killers let them live when they know they can identify them? Why wouldn't Dave and Jill report the crime? Neither of those questions are adequately answered. Ultimately what happens just doesn't fit with the characters. Rather it's what was needed to generate the plot. Disappointing. 2.5 stars
In this one Dave and Jill, a newly married couple in the 1960s, are on their honeymoon at a cabin in Pennsylvania. The man in the cabin next door is murdered by two hitmen and Dave and Jill are witnesses. The hit men beat Dave and rape Jill. Instead of reporting the crime, Dave and Jill decide to track down the killers and kill them.
The story from there on is pretty good and the details of everyday life at the time show the big difference between someone writing at that time as Block was and someone trying to recreate the era. But the premise was hard to swallow. Why would the killers let them live when they know they can identify them? Why wouldn't Dave and Jill report the crime? Neither of those questions are adequately answered. Ultimately what happens just doesn't fit with the characters. Rather it's what was needed to generate the plot. Disappointing. 2.5 stars
August 15, 2024
WARNING NOTE: Book opens with a rape scene, neither long nor detailed.
Deadly Honeymoon is a reprint of Lawrence Block‘s first hard bound book. It reads like something John D. Macdonald would have written (coming from me, that’s not a compliment). For the basic plot recall Kenny Rogers’ “Coward of the County”.* If you liked the song then, you might enjoy the book now - I didn’t (either song or book). It is offensively sexist and it trivializes the effects of forcible rape. But then I don’t enjoy revenge-focused novels anyway,** no matter what century’s values they reflect.
Block is a fine writer, especially of short stories; his mature work is great. I suggest that a reader sample his collection Enough Rope.
*those who were not listening to country music 30 or 40 years ago can find it on the web
**Revenge itself puzzles me. It seems to imply a false equivalency; because the damage is irreversible, there is no such thing as “getting even” for a life-changing injury.
Deadly Honeymoon is a reprint of Lawrence Block‘s first hard bound book. It reads like something John D. Macdonald would have written (coming from me, that’s not a compliment). For the basic plot recall Kenny Rogers’ “Coward of the County”.* If you liked the song then, you might enjoy the book now - I didn’t (either song or book). It is offensively sexist and it trivializes the effects of forcible rape. But then I don’t enjoy revenge-focused novels anyway,** no matter what century’s values they reflect.
Block is a fine writer, especially of short stories; his mature work is great. I suggest that a reader sample his collection Enough Rope.
*those who were not listening to country music 30 or 40 years ago can find it on the web
**Revenge itself puzzles me. It seems to imply a false equivalency; because the damage is irreversible, there is no such thing as “getting even” for a life-changing injury.
September 8, 2023
I needed a quick, straight forward book to read after the last very twisty novel that left my head spinning. Block never fails me and he doesn't again with Deadly Honeymoon, a short, very tight revenge novel. A couple on the honeymoon witness a hit the problem is they're seen by the hit men. Rather than kill them, they rape the still virginal wife, (a short scene that fortunately does not spend much time on the rape) and beat down the husband. The newlyweds very quickly (maybe too quick for me) make the decision to hunt down and kill the hit men that harmed them. The story is mostly about their tracking down the hit men and eventually accomplishing what they set out to do. I would have wanted more dialog between the husband and wife along the way but putting that aside this was a good read.
June 18, 2024
One of the early Block books that, under normal circumstances, would be long forgotten & never read. However, much of his early work is being reissued in EBook form. If you are a fan of Block, & familiar with his writing, these early pulp books are fascinating reading.....you can see the future Edgar Award winner developing. If you know nothing of Block, & read this co,d, you may or may not be motivated to read more of his work.
June 2, 2018
Fast, mean little book of revenge. A honeymooning couple comes across two contract killers. They beat him and rape her. The couple don't tell the cops. They go to New YOrk City and track and kill the two hit men. It was taut and violent and wasn't long enough to be annoying or to over stay its welcome. Well written of course, because Block is a fine craftsman.
January 3, 2021
I really liked this story. In fact, I am surprised I had never read anything by Lawrence Block in the past. This book was published in 1967!
I am in the process of checking out other Lawrence Block stories. This one was very enjoyable and exciting.
I am in the process of checking out other Lawrence Block stories. This one was very enjoyable and exciting.
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