What do you think?
Rate this book
A Party to Murder
"a brutal killer stalked among the guests at a party".
First published January 1, 1966
15 people want to read
About the author
Lionel White
94 books38 followersLionel White was a crime reporter who wrote around 38 suspenseful thrillers beginning with The Snatchers in 1953 and ending with The Walled Yard in 1978.
Most of his books were translated into a number of different languages and his earlier novels were published as Gold Medal pulp hard-boiled crime fiction, but when Duttons began a line of mystery and suspense books, he also wrote for them.
He was most well known for what a New York Times review described as "the master of the big caper."
A number of his books were made into movies and Stanley Kubrick liked his book 'Clean Break' (1955) so much that he licensed the rights for his film "The Killing" in 1956.
In Quentin Tarantino's film "Reservoir Dogs", Lionel White is listed as an inspiration for the film in the credits.
Gerry Wolstenholme
May 2011
Most of his books were translated into a number of different languages and his earlier novels were published as Gold Medal pulp hard-boiled crime fiction, but when Duttons began a line of mystery and suspense books, he also wrote for them.
He was most well known for what a New York Times review described as "the master of the big caper."
A number of his books were made into movies and Stanley Kubrick liked his book 'Clean Break' (1955) so much that he licensed the rights for his film "The Killing" in 1956.
In Quentin Tarantino's film "Reservoir Dogs", Lionel White is listed as an inspiration for the film in the credits.
Gerry Wolstenholme
May 2011
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 12, 2024
Lionel White is on my Mt. Rushmore of 50's-60's noir authors. The guy was really good. Sadly, this novel, from 1966, was a disappointment. Not terrible, mind you. Just not one of his better efforts.
The story centers around a beautiful young woman who is murdered in a New York City hotel room. Because she was notoriously promiscuous, the police Lieutenant who is assigned the case finds at least a half dozen people (her husband and several former lovers and their wives) who had a reason to want her dead.
I give Mr. White credit for trying an unorthodox approach to this novel. Each chapter has one of the characters speaking to the reader. As their explanations, theories, excuses, and alibis are presented, the mystery begins to unfold. In my opinion, there are just too many characters. I found myself having a hard time remembering who was who. The writing is good and there are many outstanding chapters, but I felt confused a few times, especially in the first half of the book. I also felt the ending was not up to White's usual standards.
If you love vintage crime/noir and you haven't read Lionel White, you should. Just know that he wrote many books that are far better than this one.
The story centers around a beautiful young woman who is murdered in a New York City hotel room. Because she was notoriously promiscuous, the police Lieutenant who is assigned the case finds at least a half dozen people (her husband and several former lovers and their wives) who had a reason to want her dead.
I give Mr. White credit for trying an unorthodox approach to this novel. Each chapter has one of the characters speaking to the reader. As their explanations, theories, excuses, and alibis are presented, the mystery begins to unfold. In my opinion, there are just too many characters. I found myself having a hard time remembering who was who. The writing is good and there are many outstanding chapters, but I felt confused a few times, especially in the first half of the book. I also felt the ending was not up to White's usual standards.
If you love vintage crime/noir and you haven't read Lionel White, you should. Just know that he wrote many books that are far better than this one.
May 2, 2023
Lionel White was a classic crime-fiction novelist of the '50's & '60's who churned out many noir-ish books. His writing can be compared to Ed McBain with city settings and a fair amount of who-done-it. A Party to a Murder (1966) is not his best but it's a good place to start & sample one of his novels. It's well written & a fast read with each chapter of the book told in first-person by one of the many characters. Using this technique White builds up a case of mystery & murder leaving the reader on edge till the very end. The plot line is an attendee of an office Christmas party is murdered later that night and all the party-goers are suspects...Simple but engaging, and quite trashy in a '60's sorta way. Fun stuff...give A Party to a Murder a read sometime...3.5 outta 5.0, I'll bump it up to a 4.0....
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews