by Ira Levin
First published 1960
A handsome young man walks across campus with calculated steps. He has chosen Dorothy, a wealthy college student, not for love but for her family's money. His charm wins her over easily. She trusts him completely. When Dorothy tells him she's pregnant, his carefully laid plans begin to crumble. The pregnancy threatens everything he has worked toward. He cannot let a baby destroy his path to wealth and status. Cold calculation takes over where charm once worked. He decides Dorothy has become a problem that requires a permanent solution. What follows tests how far someone will go to protect their ambitions. The story unfolds through different viewpoints as the consequences of his actions ripple outward. Each perspective reveals new layers of his deception and the true cost of his ruthless pursuit of money and social position.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, psychological-thriller
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Campus
Period: 20th-century
222 pages · Paperback · Penguin
Content warnings: murder, violence