Murder for the Bride: A Novel

By John D. MacDonald and Dean Koontz

Murder for the Bride, one of many classic novels from crime writer John D. MacDonald, the beloved author of Cape Fear and the Travis McGee series, is now available as an eBook.
 
Down in Mexico on a business trip, Dillon Bryant is obsessed with thoughts of his wife, Laura, a striking blonde he’s known for a matter of just weeks. After a blissful three-day honeymoon, being away from her is like torture—especially once word reaches him that she’s in deep trouble. But Dillon returns home to New Orleans too late: Laura is dead . . . and the police are of little help in finding her killer. Craving revenge of the most violent sort, Dillon begins his own investigation into Laura’s last days—and her dubious past. He soon finds that the truth behind this web of lies is more fantastic than he ever could have imagined—and more sinister than he could have feared.
 
Features a new Introduction by Dean Koontz
 
Praise for John D. MacDonald
 
“The great entertainer of our age, and a mesmerizing storyteller.”—Stephen King
 
“My favorite novelist of all time.”—Dean Koontz
 
“To diggers a thousand years from now, the works of John D. MacDonald would be a treasure on the order of the tomb of Tutankhamen.”—Kurt Vonnegut
 
“A master storyteller, a masterful suspense writer . . . John D. MacDonald is a shining example for all of us in the field. Talk about the best.”—Mary Higgins Clark

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Jun 11, 2013
• ISBN: 9780307826992

Reviews for Murder for the Bride

[waldhaus1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

We forget or discount the fear of Russia and communism in the US of 1951. The story is an interrupted first person narrative. It certainly requires a willing suspension of disbelief. The characters are all well developed. The new Orleans being evoked seems quite a different place than the New Orleans of today, simpler and less closed to strangers.

[lamour_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Dillon Bryant is searching for oil in a Mexican swamp when he receives a letter that he should return home because his wife is in trouble. When he gets home he finds that she has been murdered and that she had a very dangerous and mysterious past. Aided by a newspaper reporter, Jill Townsend, Dil tries to unravel his wife's past and find who murdered her. Turns out there are Nazis and communists in her background.This is a tight fast moving mystery with copious amounts of violence.

[deltaqueen50 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Murder for the Bride by John D. MacDonald starts off like many of his mysteries with the main character getting embroiled in a crime and having to become the investigator. In this case, Dil Bryant comes home to New Orleans from a business trip to Mexico to find that his new bride has been murdered. Dil couldn’t believe that Laura was dead and even worse that she was being slagged off by the police as a worthless tramp who had seen him as an easy ride. It’s not until he’s taken aside by two black suited government men that he learns the truth. Laura came to America on a false passport, in reality she was a German girl, mistress to a prominent Nazi during the war. She slipped away to Russia after the war and was involved with a Russian Colonel who was in a very high position. It is believed that she stole important Communist secrets and then came to America by way of South America. Although it is believed that she was murdered by Russians, her old lover, the Nazi had been seen in her company just before her death. Dil goes on the hunt for answers and vengeance. I found Murder For the Bride a solidly entertaining story, and very much a product of it’s time with both Nazis and Communists lurking about. Dil is the every-man American hero who gets pulled into a Communist conspiracy and fights for decency and truth. Although originally published in 1951, there were enough twists and turns to keep this far-fetched story readable and although not his best work, I thought the book distinctly showed the promise of this author’s exciting work to come.

[datrappert · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In this book, you'll learn:- How to outwit 2 thugs you have you in a speeding car on the way to a certain death- The usefulness of a trash can lid in an alley fight- How to choose your friends- How to quickly get over the death of a wifeWith John D. MacDonald as your teacher, you can be sure the lessons will be memorable, though they will probably leave a bad taste in your mouth, and that the character he uses as an example isn't somebody you'd like to hang around very much.This book starts off very intriguingly, then strays a bit into sort of a kitchen sink approach to bad guys, friends, bosses, and of course women. The setting is a bit different for MacDonald, however, as this book takes place in New Orleans, which is rendered in an appropriately seedy and murky manner. The parts of the story are better than the whole, reminding you of just what a good writer MacDonald can be, but making you a bit sad when you compare it with some of his other early novels (this one was 1951) such as Dead Low Tide, the Damned, or the End of the Night. Perhaps if he had slowed down his production a bit, he might have produced a few more minor masterpieces like those.As I have said before, however; if you are a MacDonald fan, you'll want to read this one.

[andyray_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A good tale about a man naive about women. I surely can relate to that! It's a page turner, but what slows me down is the savory descriptions and wonderful metaphors. Sometimes I'm downright chucking for long minutes.