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If I Die Before I Wake
Laurence Planter is a handsome ex-sailor, unable to resist the lure of a lovely woman but dreaming of a better life. When his boss's business partner Grisby offers thousands of dollars to help fake his own death, Laurence senses that trouble's afoot and when Grisby turns up dead one night, that trouble seems to be in the form of his boss's beautiful wife Elsa.
Heading for Death Row for a murder he didn't commit, all Laurence can do is try to piece together the strange events of that hot summer night. Yet with friends indistinguishable from enemies, who can he trust?
Heading for Death Row for a murder he didn't commit, all Laurence can do is try to piece together the strange events of that hot summer night. Yet with friends indistinguishable from enemies, who can he trust?
150 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1938
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
February 27, 2025
Sherwood’s novel, “If I Die Before I Wake” was released in film as Orson Welles’ and Rita Hayworth’s The Lady From Shanghai“ in 1947, which considerably altered the novel, including the name of the lead character. It was originally published as part of an Ace Double along with Michael Morgan’s “Decoy.” The novel is short, tersely-written, and asks the reader to suspend belief in a couple of things. First, that anyone would plead guilty to a murder they did not commit, trusting that it would all play out properly even after the arrest. Second, that any judge would allow an attorney to continue to represent a client who is accusing that attorney of having committed the very murder at issue in the trial. Putting aside the credibility of these things for literary purposes, Sherwood’s novel is a rather interesting detour into a world of noir and twisted logic.
Laurence Planter is the lead character and he is generally a seaman, that is, a guy who works now and again on tramp steamers. He is between jobs and a wealthy Long Island attorney has, without references and barely without qualifications, decided that Laurence would make a great chauffeur. So Laurence moves into the apartment over the garage and works for Bannister, who is crippled, and his gorgeous young wife, Elsa.
The genius of Sherwood is that he does not immediately center the story on a love triangle between Laurence and the Bannisters. Rather, he opens the story with Planter having a conversation with Bannister’s law partner, Grisby, a conversation about murder and getting away with murder. And, that’s when Grisby ropes Laurence in. He tells the reader: “It’s like when a slick salesman gets hold of you. You don’t want what he’s selling, maybe, but you take it. You take it because you’d rather do that than let him think you weren’t so smart after all.”
Grisby tells Laurence that he wants to get away from his wife and head off to the South Seas and that the only proper way to do this and not have her chase after him is to fake his death. So, for five thousand clams, Laurence is going to pretend they had an argument with Bannister, that Laurence shot Bannister, and tossed him off the end of the pier. He assures Laurence that, without a body, Laurence will never be prosecuted. Meanwhile, many miles away, Grisby would kill the real Bannister, but no one could be held for it since Laurence would have an alibi (killing Grisby) and Grisby would be supposedly dead. Little about this makes much sense and Laurence takes the money, but hides it under the bed, not knowing if he would go through with pretending to kill Bannister.
The twist comes quickly as the police are quickly after Laurence and he runs from them, thinking that they want to arrest him for killing Bannister. But, lo and behold, they want to arrest him for killing Grisby down on Wall Street and the five thousand dollars hidden under his mattress was the motivation. What’s more Grisby died clutching Laurence’s chauffeur cap and there is a scene in the courtroom later where the prosecutor places the cap on Laurence’s head, yelling it fits, making any astute reader realize where Johnny Cochran got the idea about the glove not fitting years later.
The heart of the matter is that Laurence – foolish everyman Laurence – is on trial for murder – having told the police a crazy story about he had an alibi because he was busy committing a different murder – and then admitting that the original story was a lie and that he pretended to kill Bannister so Grisby could kill Bannister. It is a Kafka-esque nightmare of logic for Laurence who has dug himself into a hole so deep he can never get out.
Sherwood’s slim novel may have a few problems with believability – but maybe Laurence was dense enough to believe smart lawyers like Grisby – and the book will keep you the reader interested in how Laurence could possibly scrape his way out of this situation that he has talked his way into.
Laurence Planter is the lead character and he is generally a seaman, that is, a guy who works now and again on tramp steamers. He is between jobs and a wealthy Long Island attorney has, without references and barely without qualifications, decided that Laurence would make a great chauffeur. So Laurence moves into the apartment over the garage and works for Bannister, who is crippled, and his gorgeous young wife, Elsa.
The genius of Sherwood is that he does not immediately center the story on a love triangle between Laurence and the Bannisters. Rather, he opens the story with Planter having a conversation with Bannister’s law partner, Grisby, a conversation about murder and getting away with murder. And, that’s when Grisby ropes Laurence in. He tells the reader: “It’s like when a slick salesman gets hold of you. You don’t want what he’s selling, maybe, but you take it. You take it because you’d rather do that than let him think you weren’t so smart after all.”
Grisby tells Laurence that he wants to get away from his wife and head off to the South Seas and that the only proper way to do this and not have her chase after him is to fake his death. So, for five thousand clams, Laurence is going to pretend they had an argument with Bannister, that Laurence shot Bannister, and tossed him off the end of the pier. He assures Laurence that, without a body, Laurence will never be prosecuted. Meanwhile, many miles away, Grisby would kill the real Bannister, but no one could be held for it since Laurence would have an alibi (killing Grisby) and Grisby would be supposedly dead. Little about this makes much sense and Laurence takes the money, but hides it under the bed, not knowing if he would go through with pretending to kill Bannister.
The twist comes quickly as the police are quickly after Laurence and he runs from them, thinking that they want to arrest him for killing Bannister. But, lo and behold, they want to arrest him for killing Grisby down on Wall Street and the five thousand dollars hidden under his mattress was the motivation. What’s more Grisby died clutching Laurence’s chauffeur cap and there is a scene in the courtroom later where the prosecutor places the cap on Laurence’s head, yelling it fits, making any astute reader realize where Johnny Cochran got the idea about the glove not fitting years later.
The heart of the matter is that Laurence – foolish everyman Laurence – is on trial for murder – having told the police a crazy story about he had an alibi because he was busy committing a different murder – and then admitting that the original story was a lie and that he pretended to kill Bannister so Grisby could kill Bannister. It is a Kafka-esque nightmare of logic for Laurence who has dug himself into a hole so deep he can never get out.
Sherwood’s slim novel may have a few problems with believability – but maybe Laurence was dense enough to believe smart lawyers like Grisby – and the book will keep you the reader interested in how Laurence could possibly scrape his way out of this situation that he has talked his way into.
August 27, 2018
The basis for one of the greatest film noir, 'The Lady from Shanghai' (1947), which has stood the test of time seventy years on, this pulp story still has the ability to thrill in its courtroom and final death row scenes.
It was Orson Welles' genius to transpose the tale from Long Island and Sing Sing to a yacht trip, based on no more than a hint in a novel written about that grey territory between workers surviving the depression and insurance scams and murder amongst rich and bored people.
The hero is pretty dim and weak - not the most heroic of working men. Sherwood King captures well the pawn-like existence of workers in a world run by the clever and rich. After all, it was written in 1938, just under a decade after the Great Crash and a time like our own in some respects.
The writing is not enormously imaginative. King writes in a terse way at the beginning that may charitably reflect the intelligence of the narrator while there are points outside the taut plot where things might not hang together so well. Orson Welles does improve on it somewhat.
However, this all changes once the events that lead up to the courtroom scenes are over. Suddenly we are drawn into unbearable suspense over whether Laurence Planter will go to the electric chair, a suspense that is maintained right until the last few pages.
There is a hint of questioning of the death penalty since, unless you think stupid and desperate people should be allowed to be executed even if they are innocent just because they are stupid and desperate, the story plays up the ability of manipulative cleverness to direct judicial murder.
The story line and the characters will be familiar from anyone who loves 1940s film noir and to say more would be to suggest spoilers. Not only Orson Welles' masterpiece but 'Double Indemnity' might spring to mind.
January 12, 2020
I picked this up because it was the basis for The Lady From Shanghai (1948) directed by Orson Welles, which is one of my favorite movies. I wanted to see what Welles took from the source material, and what he changed. Some story elements made the leap from page to screen intact, but many others are completely different. As books and movies are different media, the storytelling needs of each are different. So this was a worthwhile lesson.
But reading this little book turned out to be, for me, so much more than an intellectual exercise—I got sucked in, all the way. And when the story diverged from the film, I was in complete suspense about what would happen next.
It's a slim volume, only 150 pages. But no other book has left me so dizzy from all the surprises, just twist after twist.
Orson Welles made from this book an excellent film. But Sherwood King's book was already excellent, in its own distinct way. Spend an afternoon with it; you'll be well rewarded for your time.
But reading this little book turned out to be, for me, so much more than an intellectual exercise—I got sucked in, all the way. And when the story diverged from the film, I was in complete suspense about what would happen next.
It's a slim volume, only 150 pages. But no other book has left me so dizzy from all the surprises, just twist after twist.
Orson Welles made from this book an excellent film. But Sherwood King's book was already excellent, in its own distinct way. Spend an afternoon with it; you'll be well rewarded for your time.
January 20, 2023
Looking forward to see the movie now, the book is relatively short, but story has its plot twists, like Rashomon, trial drama/detective story is always about partial view from the narrator, until it unfolds.
July 24, 2018
The prose is tight. Real tight. No word wasted. A very sharp noir crime thriller.
The female charater is a male fantasy, two dimensional femme fatal stick on. Caught between a young, adonis, with a hard body and film star looks and a jealous castrated father figure, murder quickly ensues. The plot simmers with a hot serving of greed and lust, resolving itself in just under 150 pages. Not a bad book choice for a rainy afternoon.
The female charater is a male fantasy, two dimensional femme fatal stick on. Caught between a young, adonis, with a hard body and film star looks and a jealous castrated father figure, murder quickly ensues. The plot simmers with a hot serving of greed and lust, resolving itself in just under 150 pages. Not a bad book choice for a rainy afternoon.
September 2, 2018
Started off inspired and tightly crafted; ended with a bit too much exposition. In this case the film, despite its flaws, is far superior.
January 2, 2016
Really enjoyed this novel, with all of the twists and turns in the plot - kept me guessing right until the end.
Written on the late 1930's it is a typical film noir type of novel, with murder, under lying sexual tension and characters who you don't know whether to trust or not.
A great little novel.
Written on the late 1930's it is a typical film noir type of novel, with murder, under lying sexual tension and characters who you don't know whether to trust or not.
A great little novel.
October 16, 2023
It's impossible to say why this is such a good book without spoilers. It's good.
December 9, 2023
A noir pulp story about a young chauffeur who gets caught up in a seemingly perfect crime plot, just to have the rug pulled under his feet.
This novel was the base for Orson Welles‘ film ‚The lady from Shanghai‘ with Rita Hayworth and if I remember correctly the movie is somewhat more engaging and thrilling as a noir film than the literary source.
The novel is easy to read with a very clean and efficient prose but only in the second half of the book real tension comes up whether our hero will escape the death sentence or not. The typical arsenal of noir characters such as the detective, lawyer, shady business man and femme fatale can also be found here and overall it’s a nice quick read for anyone who‘s interested in slightly old-school crime stories with a twist.
This novel was the base for Orson Welles‘ film ‚The lady from Shanghai‘ with Rita Hayworth and if I remember correctly the movie is somewhat more engaging and thrilling as a noir film than the literary source.
The novel is easy to read with a very clean and efficient prose but only in the second half of the book real tension comes up whether our hero will escape the death sentence or not. The typical arsenal of noir characters such as the detective, lawyer, shady business man and femme fatale can also be found here and overall it’s a nice quick read for anyone who‘s interested in slightly old-school crime stories with a twist.
October 16, 2023
A great lean hardboiled tale of cold-blooded murder that was adapted into the film noir The Lady from Shanghai by Orson Welles. I look forward to re-watching having read the source novel in the near future.
March 11, 2023
You feel attached to the characters. It's a book of twists and turns
February 10, 2021
Pulp novels may have been designed to have been disposable but that doesn't mean they don't end up with unexpected longevity -- for example, here I am in 2021 wanting something light and quick to read and remembering I had this book on my shelf from when I'd bought it ages ago, thus fulfilling pretty much the exact same purpose it had when published 83 years in the past.
I may have read it in a very handsome Penguin Modern Classics edition, but I'll make no bones about this book being some kind of secret literary classic. It's not great. It's a hardboiled pulp noir from the classic period of that style, and I've read much better, much more literary examples of this type that probably should be in so respectable a printing but aren't.
I'm usually good at knowing most crime and pulp authors, even lesser-known ones, but the name Sherwood King is a total mystery to me. The Penguin bio (the smallest I've ever seen) states only that he "[...] left a legacy of classic suspense writing, much copied and later immortalised in film". In terms of literary legacy the man's no James M. Cain, and in terms of cinematic immortalisation, IMDB lists only one: Orson Welles' The Lady From Shanghai, based on this book. Which is without a doubt an absolute masterpiece, one of my favourite noirs of all time, but beyond the main spine of its narrative is virtually unrecognisable with the amount of extra meat Welles put onto the bones of this very meagre story.
Still, if you know the work of Orson Welles you know how little the man cared about coherent narratives, and after Citizen Kane how obsessed he was in utterly abstracting and post-modernising his storytelling style to all but erase viewer comprehendability in its entirety. Shanghai, along with his later noir Touch of Evil, are two of the best examples of this cinematic cubism -- so in that way, reading the pure, undiluted version of its plot is a pretty interesting exercise in case you've ever seen the movie and had no idea what the hell was going on, who shot who, who double-crossed who, or why any of it mattered at all.
If I Die Before I Wake shares a lot in common with another source text for a cinematic behemoth, Boileau & Narcejac's Vertigo, in both being very modest novels with incredibly original and well-thought-out suspense novel hooks. The latter uses its hook very well to have a book that can still stand on its own, but in the case of the former, its story is best expanded beyond its own limitations since its book just doesn't do it the justice it deserves. The writing is deeply flavourless (its tension marked not by its own internal style, but by the author using exclamation points every two sentences) and the characters are stuck in old-fashioned hardboiled tropes without being given much life (Elsa Bannister, the best character in the movie, is here underdeveloped to an almost satirical degree).
Still, nothing beats a good story, or a good time-filler. Sherwood King, whoever he was, might have never achieved prolificness, but he managed those two in the end.
I may have read it in a very handsome Penguin Modern Classics edition, but I'll make no bones about this book being some kind of secret literary classic. It's not great. It's a hardboiled pulp noir from the classic period of that style, and I've read much better, much more literary examples of this type that probably should be in so respectable a printing but aren't.
I'm usually good at knowing most crime and pulp authors, even lesser-known ones, but the name Sherwood King is a total mystery to me. The Penguin bio (the smallest I've ever seen) states only that he "[...] left a legacy of classic suspense writing, much copied and later immortalised in film". In terms of literary legacy the man's no James M. Cain, and in terms of cinematic immortalisation, IMDB lists only one: Orson Welles' The Lady From Shanghai, based on this book. Which is without a doubt an absolute masterpiece, one of my favourite noirs of all time, but beyond the main spine of its narrative is virtually unrecognisable with the amount of extra meat Welles put onto the bones of this very meagre story.
Still, if you know the work of Orson Welles you know how little the man cared about coherent narratives, and after Citizen Kane how obsessed he was in utterly abstracting and post-modernising his storytelling style to all but erase viewer comprehendability in its entirety. Shanghai, along with his later noir Touch of Evil, are two of the best examples of this cinematic cubism -- so in that way, reading the pure, undiluted version of its plot is a pretty interesting exercise in case you've ever seen the movie and had no idea what the hell was going on, who shot who, who double-crossed who, or why any of it mattered at all.
If I Die Before I Wake shares a lot in common with another source text for a cinematic behemoth, Boileau & Narcejac's Vertigo, in both being very modest novels with incredibly original and well-thought-out suspense novel hooks. The latter uses its hook very well to have a book that can still stand on its own, but in the case of the former, its story is best expanded beyond its own limitations since its book just doesn't do it the justice it deserves. The writing is deeply flavourless (its tension marked not by its own internal style, but by the author using exclamation points every two sentences) and the characters are stuck in old-fashioned hardboiled tropes without being given much life (Elsa Bannister, the best character in the movie, is here underdeveloped to an almost satirical degree).
Still, nothing beats a good story, or a good time-filler. Sherwood King, whoever he was, might have never achieved prolificness, but he managed those two in the end.
May 15, 2021
Pithy, hard-boiled noir. With a clever & compelling set up, this novel gives Chandler a run. The dialogue carries the story succinctly and economically. The ante is upped throughout by various dilemmas and conflicts of interest. Although the plot begins to become a little incredible towards the end, nevertheless it is a fine piece of suspenseful writing and storytelling at a sustained level of entertainment.
It is a shame that, the otherwise brilliant, Orson Welles butchered this work with his adaptation, The Lady of Shanghai. It’s best not to reference the film before or after reading this work. Sherwood King’s novel is an artful, stand-alone piece of adrenalin. Sherwood King has left an indelible mark with this slim volume of crime and it surprises me how little known she is today.
It is a shame that, the otherwise brilliant, Orson Welles butchered this work with his adaptation, The Lady of Shanghai. It’s best not to reference the film before or after reading this work. Sherwood King’s novel is an artful, stand-alone piece of adrenalin. Sherwood King has left an indelible mark with this slim volume of crime and it surprises me how little known she is today.
October 16, 2025
A short, punchy, pulpy, crime fiction.
Perfect length and pacing to carry the reader along the tribulations of Laurence following the unexpected murder of an associate.
The dialogue is witty and characterful, and at all times I was left with a great feeling of purpose from each chapter. No time is wasted.
The 5 stars is a rating for achieving precisely what it sets out to achieve - not for being a world altering work of fiction. It isnt that. But if you are looking for a short and gripping read, I cannot recommend it more.
Perfect length and pacing to carry the reader along the tribulations of Laurence following the unexpected murder of an associate.
The dialogue is witty and characterful, and at all times I was left with a great feeling of purpose from each chapter. No time is wasted.
The 5 stars is a rating for achieving precisely what it sets out to achieve - not for being a world altering work of fiction. It isnt that. But if you are looking for a short and gripping read, I cannot recommend it more.
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February 20, 2022Sherwood King’s novel “If I Die Before I Wake” provided a smidgen of material for Welles’s richly incoherent thriller “The Lady from Shanghai,” and there’s more inspiration in almost any frame of the movie than in the totality of King’s tangled, tricky book. Fun to see how freely the great filmmaker’s imagination roamed, though, as it left its supposed source text lying in the lurch. The auteur beats the author by a zillion miles.
June 25, 2018
Interesting! I can see what drew Welles to this, the twisted relationships and bizarre court room scene. Though why he played it as an Irishman I have no idea.
The whole book is saturated in sex, like Postman, but in a much more noir way than that.
Laurence is one of life’s victims, manipulated by everyone...
I found this exhilarating and great fun in a pulpy way.
The whole book is saturated in sex, like Postman, but in a much more noir way than that.
Laurence is one of life’s victims, manipulated by everyone...
I found this exhilarating and great fun in a pulpy way.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 10, 2020
The Lady From Shanghai is a great film, though a little pantomimical, and I was curious to see what this, the source novel, was like.
And it’s a fine, if unremarkable noir. It’s slight in a way that the film isn’t, and is principally an exercise in plot structure whereas the movie has a much more pleasing grasp of bathos.
Fun to see the bare bones though, and it doesn’t hang around.
And it’s a fine, if unremarkable noir. It’s slight in a way that the film isn’t, and is principally an exercise in plot structure whereas the movie has a much more pleasing grasp of bathos.
Fun to see the bare bones though, and it doesn’t hang around.
January 21, 2024
There are a lot of better noir novels; this one has a plot that is at first overly complicated (by design; the narrator doesn't understand it either), but it's really obvious who the real criminal is pretty much all the way through. The courtroom drama isn't that dramatic. I bet the movie is much better.
August 13, 2018
Hey, this was great. King Fu Kenny. Oh wait, a different thing. But yeah, it's not trying to be anything other than that it is. A slim, sharp, slice of noir. Kept me guessing. No real moral resolution. 3.7
October 14, 2017
A handsome young chauffeur makes a big mistake when he gets involved in a criminal plot involving his employer and his beautiful, much-younger wife. A well-written hard-boiled novella. I enjoyed it.
February 22, 2019
A fast paced and concise classic crime noir. A thoroughly entertaining read which kept me gripped, before I knew it I had finished.
May 25, 2019
A twisty turny perfect crime gone wrong pulp noir masterpiece.
November 19, 2019
Sufficiently noire, but telegraphed story (not helped by Penguin’s blurb and cover)
April 11, 2023
The cover spoils the entire plot twist, but a great novel nonetheless.
October 4, 2024
It’s hard to beat the real thing, original American Noir from the 1930s. The best femme fatales and boy, what dialogue … “All right, but no phony stuff, or I’ll pop you.”
January 16, 2025
Quick vintage noir read from the 1930s if you like that sort of thing, which I do.
June 16, 2025
«Te digo de veras que querré ir a la silla eléctrica contigo».
LA DAMA DE SHANGAI de Sherwood King
LA DAMA DE SHANGAI de Sherwood King
June 28, 2025
Was interesting enough to finish, but relied way too much on the surprise of the woman - who is too in love, too nice, too inclined to faint at any conflict - being the killer.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Want to read
March 4, 2019Synopsis: when the firm's partner offers thousands to help fake his death, Laurence senses trouble. Then the partner is killed; guess who is charged?
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