A murder told from the viewpoints of the four main characters.

A woman is shot in the face when she answers the front door. She is identified as Laura, the woman who rents the apartment. The damage to her face is so extensive that some of the people have doubts.

Waldo Lydecker, a snide, self-centered gossip columnist claims to be a close friend of Laura, and also to have strong feelings for her.

Shelby Carpenter, a smooth, southern gentleman, who is engaged to Laura. They were to married the day after the day she was murdered.

Mark McPherson, the detective assigned to the case, finds he is fascinated by Laura to the point that he is possibly falling for her. A distraction he doesn’t need to succumb to.

Lydecker and Carpenter each make good suspects. For McPherson either one would do, but he is a man for truth and not publicity. He takes his time and learns more about Laura than he expected. Each suspect has secrets regarding their friendship with Laura.

Obsession, guile, subterfuge, suspicion and sarcasm run throughout the book. Sifting through layers, the relationships separate to disclose the murderer.

A classic read, that was also a hit movie. Between the two, the book was better for mood and tension. ( )

First appearing in Collier's Magazine in 1942, this fantastic mystery/romance novel by Vera Caspary is sometimes overshadowed by the magnificent film it spawned, starring Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney. Director Otto Preminger's masterpiece is one of the finest mysteries in the history of motion pictures. But that does not detract from how wonderful the story is in novel form. Quite simply, this is one of the finest and most unusual mystery novels ever written. Caspary used an unique narrative structure to create an atmospheric and involving mystery which has stood the test of time.

The story revolves around Detective Mark McPherson's investigation into the murder of Laura Hunt. McPherson has somewhat of a celebrity status within the department due to some front page cases with which he has been involved. But he is unprepared for the high society circles Laura moved in, and Caspary allows the reader to see through the detective's eyes the affectations of the rich. It is a world where people begin their insults with endearing terms like darling, then proceed to use words the roughest seaman wouldn't use to tear you apart.

Laura's benefactor and sometimes companion, Waldo Lydecker, is the poster boy for such behavior. He uses his well known newspaper column to destroy all of Laura's would-be suitors. Only the man she was set to marry, Shelby Carpenter, was able to withstand the glare of Lydecker's poison-pen scrutiny. But on the weekend before she was to be married, a knock on the door late at night, followed by a shotgun blast, cuts her life short.

Waldo Lydecker begins the narration, then McPherson picks up where he left off. It is during McPherson's narration we get to see events as they really are, bringing about for the reader an understanding of the detective's thought process and actions so twisted out of context by Lydecker. Caspery's descriptions of the encounters between Lydecker and McPherson are splendid. You can almost feel the breeze in the popular open-air restaurant where they dine and hear the young woman going from table to table singing, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes. Caspary also allows the reader to feel McPherson's frustration with the pretty-boy, Shelby Carpenter. Above all this, however, Caspary paints a picture of Laura that allows us to understand how McPherson has fallen in love with a dead girl, because we have also.

Laura could not have been more different than these people, her inner beauty inspiring loyalty in her working-class maid, Bessie. McPherson soon begins to wonder how a smart girl like Laura managed to surround herself with such morally empty people, their arrogance and gutter ethics only surpassed by their lack of character. But Caspery is smart enough to let us see into a woman's heart as well, and make us understand.

On a rainy night in Laura's swanky 5th Avenue walk-up apartment, while McPherson sits underneath her painting looking through her diary, searching for a clue to her murder, Caspary suddenly turns an already great mystery-romance novel into a classic. We simply can't put it down at this point. It is a fantastic read and stands with a handful of others in the genre as one of the best ever written. It is timeless, as fresh today as it was in 1943. This is one book in the mystery genre you don't want to miss. ( )

2.5 stars
Mark mcpherson, from the "detective bureau," first comes to question Waldo lydecker, a fat creep who is in love with Laura and who writes a column in a local newspaper, to see what he knows about Laura's "murder." I caught the author in a blooper. Lydecker says he's known Laura since 1934, but later he has a memory of having dinner with her in 1933. I can't stand this character. He has a "Filipino houseboi." What a jerk!
After McPherson leaves, Lydecker reflects on his observations about him. Moreover, he reveals to us that he knows what he is:
"...his remarking upon my preference for men who are less than 100% exposed his own sensitivity. Reared in a world that honors only 100%, he has learned in maturity what I knew as a miserable, obese adolescent, that the lame, the halt, and the blind have more malice in their souls, therefore more acumen. Cherishing secret hurt, they probe for pains and weaknesses of others. And probing is the secret of finding.
...
"for an hour after he had gone, I sat upon the sofa, listless, toying with my envy. That hour exhausted me. I turned for Solace to Laura's epitaph. Rhythms failed, words eluded me. Mark had observed that I wrote smoothly but said nothing. I have sometimes suspected this flaw in my talent, but have never faced myself with the admission of failure. Upon that Sunday noon I saw myself as a fat, fussy, and useless male of middle age and doubtful charm. By all that is logical I should have despised mark mcpherson. I could not. For all of his rough edges, he was the man I should have been, the hero of the story."

When Laura comes back from the dead, McPherson is with her in her apartment and Shelby Carpenter comes rushing in and performs a scene that fools nobody, pretending that he didn't know she was still alive.
"the bell rang again. When I opened the door, Shelby pushed past.
'Where is she?' He shouted.
'Oh, you know, then?'
I heard the back door open, and I knew that he had met Bessie on the stairs.
'God damn women,' I said.
Then Laura came out of the kitchen. I saw at once that Bessie wasn't the woman who deserved my curses. The lovers' meeting was too perfect. They embraced, kissed, and clung. An actor after a dozen rehearsals would have groped for his handkerchief in the same dazed way. An actor would have held her at arm's length, staring at her with that choir boy look on his face. There was something pre-arranged about the whole scene. His tenderness and her joy.
I turned my back. Laura's voice was melted syrup. 'Happy, darling?'
he answered in a whisper.
My pipe had gone out. If I turned and got a match from the table, they would think I was watching. I bit on the cold stem. The whispering and muttering went on. I watched the minute hand creep around the dial of my watch. [This next part had me perplexed.] I thought of his sweetheart's house. It had been four above 10:00 and by midnight it was below zero. I had waited in the snow and thought about the gangster lying warm in the arms of his fat slut. I turned and saw Shelby's hand feeling, touching, moving, moving along the tan material of Laura's dress.
'How infinitely touching! What inexpressible tenderness! Juliet risen from the grave! Welcome, romeo!'
It was, of course, waldo. He had not only recovered his strength, but his bounce."

Here's a really ugly part where Laura is talking to McPherson about how she liked to do "menial" work, which Shelby disapproved of her doing:
"...He always said that I shouldn't do menial work, I could afford to hire service; he could never know the fulfillment of working with your hands in your own house. My people were plain folk; the women went West with their men and none of them found gold. But Shelby came from 'gentle' people; they had slaves to comb their hair and put on their shoes. A gentleman cannot see a lady work like a nigger; a gentleman opens the door and pulls out a lady's chair and brings a whore into her bedroom. I saw then, working on my knees, the pattern our marriage would have taken, shoddy and deceitful, taut emotion woven with slack threads of pretense."

I wasn't very impressed with this book; I don't know why they say it was Caspary's best book. I haven't seen the movie, But it was so cheesy, and to be honest, I saw from early on that lydecker had probably murdered Laura, at least he meant to. When McPherson was examining his Cane, and Lydecker snatched it back, McPherson had noted that it was heavy. As soon as he said that, I knew that it was some kind of gun.
( )

Snappy with good one-liners. Enjoyed the multiple narrators and didn't really see Laura as the femme fatale she's said to be. She seemed more the modern working woman who wasn't afraid to use her brain and just happened to be beautiful. Will watch the 1944 movie adaptation asap. ( )

I remembered the movie from too many years ago to count, with the beautiful Gene Tierney as Laura. As I read, I began to remember the plot, which was a bit of a spoiler for me, but it was a fun read nonetheless. If you do not know the story, it is a terrific piece of noir with a detective that really works!

Now I have the music running through my mind:

Laura is the face in the misty light,
Footsteps that you hear down the hall.
The laugh that floats on a summer night,
That you can never quite recall.
And you see Laura on the train that is passing through.
Those eyes, how familiar they seem.
She gave your very first kiss to you,
That was Laura, but she's only a dream

( )

Haven't read a lot of noir, but I picked it up because I did a presentation on the Feminist Press in one of my classes and it was at my school's library.
I'm not sure how to say how much I loved it (probably because I haven't read a lot of noir and don't know what to compare it to), but it's definitely a book I'd like to re-read sometime. It's made me curious about other noir novels so I'll probably try reading some over the summer.
Also I'm not sure how I haven't watched the movie yet, considering one of my brother's ex-girlfriends was obsessed with Gene Tierney and got me into old movies, so I'm definitely gonna try to watch it sometime for comparison. ( )

If you are familiar with the film version of this novel, then you know the story. The film is pretty faithful, although the afterword of the Femmes Fatales publication provides an interesting account of how the author disagreed with the director on certain decisions he made. What interested me in reading this was the insight into Laura's character, particularly found in the section that is written in her voice, which was the best part of the novel, in my opinion. She is not a femme fatale as we may think of that stereotype, but rather a woman who believes in independence as achieved through work, and a woman who can take a frank look at herself and see her own flaws and mistakes, but also who knows what she wants from life and doesn't apologize for it. Her character was more in-depth and multilayered than I was expecting, and it elevates this novel above mere pulp noir. ( )

Basis for the movie Laura, the book is written in three voices--Waldo, Mark McPherson, and Laura. Each has their own point of view on the people and actions that occur.

I enjoyed the book. It is different from the movie but the basics are there. Of course, you get a deeper feel for the people and the actions in the book because you get the thought processes that are not available in the book. Waldo is a piece of work. I'm glad Laura finally sees through him and Shelby, her fiancé. Mark finally figures it all out and comes to the rescue. This really give a sense of time and place. A piece of noir. Still worth reading. ( )

Perhaps if I hadn't seen the wonderful 1944 movie adaptation, I would have given this the full 5*. Even knowing the solution, this is a great mystery novel. ( )

Unlike many reviewers, I haven’t seen the famous Otto Preminger movie although I had heard of it so I went in blind and that’s the best way to experience this book because of an unexpected event that happens relatively early on. I won’t call it a twist because I don’t think it is, but it mirrors events in the book and we are deceived.

The story is set up by Waldo Lydecker, a scathingly witty writer who is Laura’s mentor and a fabulously fussy queen. If you don’t believe me, behold - “...I unscrewed the carnelian cap of the silver box in which I keep my saccharine tablets. Although I spread butter lavishly on my brioches, I cling religiously to the belief that the substitution of saccharine for sugar in coffee will make me slender and fascinating.”

In this scene he’s indulging Detective Mark McPherson who has been assigned to investigate Laura’s murder. Mark questions, Waldo answers, but Waldo seems to feel that he is the one controlling the conversation. They meet several times and the popular subject of their talk is Shelby Carpenter; Laura’s fiancee. Those three men and their question, lies and subterfuges make up the first part of the book. Then there’s Laura’s diary which I have to say had some of the best lines and passages about her relationship with Shelby.

“I had used him as women use men to complete the design of a full life, playing at love for the gratification of my vanity, wearing him proudly as a successful prostitute wears her silver foxes to tell the world she owns a man. Going on thirty and unmarried, I had become alarmed. Pretending to love him and playing the mother game, I bought him an extravagant cigarette case, fourteen-karat gold, as a man might buy his wife an orchid or a diamond to expiate infidelity.

And now that tragedy has wiped away all the glib excuses, I see that our love was as bare of real passion as the mating of two choice vegetables which are to be combined for the purpose of producing a profitable new item for the markets. It was like love in the movies; contrived and opportune. And now it was over.

Two strangers sat at opposite ends of the couch. We tried to find words that had the same meaning for both of us.”

It’s a pretty wonderful summation of the illusion of having it all. Laura is a successful career woman and already she is inadequate and incomplete. A man in her position, for example her fiance, wouldn’t be thought of the same way. His remaining a bachelor would make him seems sensible, desirable and mysterious. But when a woman does it, she’s made to feel small and defective.

That cigarette case is a pivotal prop in the story although it’s not used in a way many crime writers would use it. To say more would be to give away too much. In the end the manipulator becomes the manipulated and there’s a pretty nice take-down scene. Just prior there is a terrific moment where a seemingly kind and gentle character turns sinister in just a few paragraphs. It’s a light touch and it works beautifully to make you feel unease. Bravo! ( )

Laura Hunt, a young socialite is gunned down in her own apartment one night just days before her planned wedding, causing her closest friend to despair, her fiancée to act squirrely, and the detective on the case to become obsessed with a woman he never knew in life.

After reading Vera Caspary's Bedelia last year, I knew it was just a matter of time before I got to Laura. While the two books are actually vastly different, I enjoyed them both and it was a close call saying which one I liked better. Unlike Bedelia, Laura is written from a variety of perspectives, which was particularly unique for a noir/thriller type book from the 1940s. Each person had a distinct voice; my only qualm with this was that the first narrator, Laura's friend and patron Waldo Lydecker, was the most difficult one to enjoy reading with his pretentious airs and affectations. Starting the book with his narration made it a bit more difficult to get into the novel at the outset. Once the first switch was made to Detective MacPherson's point of view, I found the book much easier to get into and was eager to keep reading to see what would happen next. The characterizations were all vivid and realistic (even admittedly Lydecker's), and this was a definite bonus in addition to the intriguing plot.

Despite being from the 1940s and having occasional pop culture references or slang words that were specific to that era, this book felt surprisingly fresh and modern. Laura's issues of trying to make a successful career and to fit in with a popular crowd are still applicable and relatable as is her questioning of her life choices, particularly regarding her romantic relationships with men. (An afterword in the book describes Caspary's writing style as "[making] murder a context in which both male and female characters resolve their own mysterious lives, as though the crime itself were a metaphor for the conundrum of relationships versus independence.") And the myriads of crime shows on TV right now make it abundantly clear that a noir murder mystery like this one is still entertaining. There are several twists in the plot and some points are kept intentionally vague to keep the reader guessing. The final reveal was a surprise to me, which I always consider a good thing in a mystery novel, but it was not a conclusion too outrageous to be plausible (another bonus).

All in all, I'd highly recommend this title for those who like a compelling read, enjoy a good detective story, or prefer strong female leads in their books. ( )

Although I knew the outcome from the movie of the same name, it was delightful reading this book. Told in different sections from the point of view of the three principals you get a feeling for each character. The author entwines a mystery in a romance and each works equally well. Never stripped down like the film noir it seems to be, you are left to revel in the language. And the name Waldo Lydecker is just delicious. Of the period but still interesting. ( )

this appeared first as a collier's serial. very clever. my last book jan 2014. ( )

174. Laura, by Vera Caspary (read 5 Feb 1945) i read this book on Feb 5, 1945, and said of it: "Not so good, then heard it over Lux Radio Theater tonight. Quite a coincidence." ( )

Laura by Vera Caspary is a great murder mystery which unfolds through the viewpoint of four of the main characters. This novel has elements of mystery, psychological drama and romance mixed together in a very readable story. Unfortunately it has been overshadowed by the 1944 film that remains a classic.

I readily admit that I have trouble separating the novel from the movie as I am a huge fan of the Otto Preminger film. The differences between the film and the book lies mostly in the way Laura is portrayed. Caspary describes Laura Hunt as a “modern” woman, a career orientated, ambitious woman in her early thirties who has great charm and vulnerability when it comes to men and love. Preminger’s Laura was younger, more seductive, elusive and mysterious. I was surprised that although the film is considered a prime example of film noir, the book really has none of the noir elements in it’s structure.

Nevertheless, I still found Laura to be a spell bounding read and the author’s homage to The Woman in White shines through each page, from the four character narration to Waldo Lydecker, who bears not a small resemblance in either features or character to Count Fosco, and of course, to the use of the name Laura.

Overall, I recommend that one indulges in both the book and the film of Laura, as each are classics and well worth the time spent investigating. ( )

I was introduced to "Laura" at an early age...not in book form, but through the magic of cinema. It has remained a favorite of mine.

So when I discovered "Laura" in paper format, I looked forward to a good read, based upon my acquaintance with the film. I was not disappointed.

A woman is murdered, shot in the face at close range, thus bringing a detective into the realm of and amongst the people she knew and loved. As detective Mark McPherson digs deeper into the life of this tragically murdered woman, he finds himself drawn to who she was...and suddenly finds himself in love, with Laura.

Different from and yet similar to the movie of the same name, this mystery held my attention to the end. I especially and thoroughly enjoyed the verbal altercations between the characters. Recommended. ( )

Even knowing what happens---and the movie is pretty close to the book---it's still worth reading. Multiple first-person narrators.

A quote:
"Reared in a world that honors only hundred per cents, he had learned in maturity what I knew as a miserable, obese adolescent, that the lame, the halt, and the blind have more malice in their souls, therefore more acumen." [p. 22] Waldo Lydecker describing Mark McPherson, who lives with the results of a bullet to his leg. ( )

ust finished reading this fabulous book by Vera Caspary in a delightful reprint by Feminist Press. I quite like the old time pulp detective stories with the hard-boiled detectives, the dames, the guns. They feel like comic books.
This is not one of these. Though classified as pulp. this is a wonderful character study of a detective story. The plot is absorbing, the mystery is enchanting and I was kept guessing, but the real genius here is in Caspary's character development. Each character is given a voice, and their lives are detailed enough so that you feel as if you can see them. In every case, the interplay between the characters makes the story multi-dimensional, gripping, and beyond expectations.
I don't find many books that keep me up at night, reading through slitted eyes that want to close. Or, at least, not many that I am able to remember the plots as I doze in and out, struggling to keep reading. This book did. And bravo to Caspary for making Laura a complex, strong, stand-alone character, not just a hanger for clothing. She was one of the first who did in this genre, and she did it fantastically well. Now I have to get "Bedelia" by the same author. I can't wait. ( )

Yikes! I'm not sure what put me further off, its casual racism, the un-ironic misogyny or the incredibly obvious ending.

I know, I know we're supposed to treat this sort of out-moded racist backdrop like hate-speak comments made by elderly people. "Don't be offended, she's from another era..." Yep, an unpleasant, hateful era. One for which I'm not terribly nostalgic.

As a detective story? I don't know, I suppose I'm not sufficiently fond of the genre to give an opinion. It was an easy plot to follow.

WARNING: this review is spoilery. Very hard to discuss this book without spoilers.

This book starts off very well, with an excellently rendered voice for newspaper columnist Waldo Lydecker, describing the circumstances of his dear protégée Laura's murder. However, once the dramatic twist occurs (that Laura was not really murdered, but it was someone who was borrowing her apartment), the book kind of lags a bit. It does pick up toward the last two parts of the book, but the middle was a bit less exciting. Still, it was an enjoyable read and very effectively narrated with multiple perspectives (Waldo, detective Mark McPherson, Laura's fiancé Shelby Carpenter). I would definitely recommend it to fans of pulp fiction or those who can't get their hands on a copy of the movie. Now I have to see the movie! ( )

La niña São, nacida para trabajar, como todas en su aldea, decide construirse una vida mejor en Europa. Tras aprender a levantarse una y otra vez encontrará una amistad nueva con una mujer española que se ahoga en sus inseguridades. São le devolverá las ganas de vivir y juntas construirán un vínculo indestructible, que las hará fuertes. Conmovedora historia de amistad entre dos mujeres que viven en mundos opuestos narrada con la belleza de la realidad. Una novela llena de sensibilidad para lectores ávidos de aventura y emoción. Ángeles Caso vuelve a cautivar con una historia imprescindible para leer y compartir.

As another reviewer mentioned when comparing novel and film versions, Waldo is originally described as fat (I wish I could see version of Woman in White featuring Sydney Greenstreet--maybe that's one reason he was not available to appear in film of Laura?

Book version is told in different writing styles of different characters--I think film only retains the "voice" of Waldo. By the way, Waldo's last name was likely inspired by name of illustrator most famous for his creation of "The Arrow Shirt man" featured in magazine advertisements.

These familiar depictions of handsome young men also probably were the types that made Mark McPhearson think he had seen Shelby Carpenter somewhere before. For interesting discussion of the influence of magazines shaping American ideals, see non-fiction book THE GIRL ON THE MAGAZINE COVER

By the way, Caspary's autobiography, "Secrets of Grown-ups" describes her experiences as a less glamorous "career girl" which must have been one reason she created in Laura a strong woman alternative to typical detective noir femme fatales. See related comments on review of novel TWENTIES GIRL--and follow the clues!

Great characters; still holds up over time; every chapter is in a different voice ( )

Yup, that Laura, the one they made into a movie with Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb, Judith Anderson, and Vincent Price.

You know the story. Det. Mark McPherson is called in to solve the murder of Laura Hunt, beautiful, vivacious young career girl who is killed on the eve of her marriage to Shelby Carpenter, a ne'er-do-well with a bit of the gigolo about him. He falls in love with the dead woman, and then she walks in the door. So who was the woman who took a shotgun blast in the face in Laura's apartment? And was she or Laura the intended victim?

The beginning of the story is told by Waldo Lydecker, aesthete, man about town and well-known newspaper columnist, who is himself in love with Laura. The point of view then shifts to Mark, then Carpenter, Laura, and back to Mark. It's well done.

I'd seen the movie before I read the book, and for once I can say that, despite some changes, the movie is as good as the book. (Though from Caspary's description of Lydecker, the studio ought to have cast Sidney Greenstreet rather than Webb.) It's not great literature; it's not intended to be. But Caspary is good at what she does, describing the life of a woman like Laura and the society in which she moved.

If you liked the movie, read the book.

Quibble from a criminal lawyer: police officers, particularly a homicide detective and his superior, should know that corpus delicti does not mean "corpse"!

Source for the great film Noir classic of the same name; but it is not Noir. A hardboiled detective in the central role; but he treads softly. A femme fatale central to the plot; but played by an portly and acerbic elderly man. A fortune hunting 'doxy' to sow the seeds of confusion; but in the guise of a young southern gentleman. And the hero is a heroine.

Vera Caspary has taken all the elements of the classic Noir tale and turned them upside down. The result is an innovative and subtle mystery. The plot has some minor annoyances, but they are subjugated by a brilliant story.

Writing the novel in first person narrative form, from three separate viewpoints, was an ambitious undertaking. It did not fully succeed. The language too often gets in the way of the narrative: it is just a little off centre. The author's grasp improves with each chapter so that by the final third, it comes fully into focus.

Laura is not masterpiece of writing. It is a masterpiece of story telling. ( )