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To Kiss, or Kill
You never can tell what a big, tough Polish boy will do when he finds a nude blonde in his bathroom. Especially if he is a heavyweight fighter who was born back of the yards, is married to a million dollars, and has a psychiatric record. He might do a number of things. He might tell her to get out. He might yell for his wife. He might blow what's left of his top. He might even do what Barney Mandell did, come to his addled senses. . .
Just out of the mental asylum, no one could blame heavyweight boxer, Barney Mandell, a little overindulgence at a tavern. And when a hot little number wanted to sleep with him, well it had been two years since he was a free man. But Barney remembered his wife, Gale, and thinks he told the cheap floozy that he’d have to pass. But Barney’s mind hadn’t been working so well lately. So when he finds her later that night in his hotel room naked and dead, he’s not really sure if he killed her or not. But the police have little doubts and even his friends and wife wonder if Barney did it.
A compulsively readable thriller from 1951 by Noir Master, Day Keene (real name Gunnar Hjerstedt).
Just out of the mental asylum, no one could blame heavyweight boxer, Barney Mandell, a little overindulgence at a tavern. And when a hot little number wanted to sleep with him, well it had been two years since he was a free man. But Barney remembered his wife, Gale, and thinks he told the cheap floozy that he’d have to pass. But Barney’s mind hadn’t been working so well lately. So when he finds her later that night in his hotel room naked and dead, he’s not really sure if he killed her or not. But the police have little doubts and even his friends and wife wonder if Barney did it.
A compulsively readable thriller from 1951 by Noir Master, Day Keene (real name Gunnar Hjerstedt).
169 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1951
8 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
About the author
Day Keene
168 books33 followersDay Keene, whose real name was Gunnar Hjerstedt, was one of the leading paperback mystery writers of the 1950s. Along with writing over 50 novels, he also wrote for radio, television, movies, and pulp magazines. Often his stories were set in South Florida or swamp towns in Louisiana, and included a man wrongly accused and on the run, determined to clear his name.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
November 16, 2022
"You can never tell what a big, tough Polish boy will do when he finds a nude blonde in his bathroom. Especially if he is a heavyweight fighter who was born back of the yards, is married to a million dollars, and has a psychiatric record." With that opening sentence, Day Keene has indeed told an entire story and more. Here, you have it all in just a few short words. And, that's how good a writer Keene was.
In fact, this is a story about a boy from the wrong side of the tracks who had no way out of the bad side of town other than winning fights with his fists. It is a story about how he gets mixed with a wealthy woman and is convinced that he is nuts, so nuts that on the day he gets out of the fishbowl as he calls it, after a few drinks, he wakes up with a body in his hotel room and not a damn clue how it got there or why. It is explained: "The hallucinations were beginning again. He could swear there was a nude girl in his bathroom. She was lying on her back on the tile, one leg straight, one white knee raised, her pink-tipped breasts pointing upward. More, she was the little blond with whom he'd walked out of Johnny's Bar that afternoon. And she was dead."
Barney Mandell is an ordinary guy, but he is in an extraordinary jam. It looks for all the world like he's stark raving looney-tune mad and violent too and there's barely anyone on his side. Of course, there's the rich princess with her claws into him (Gale) and then there's Rosemary, the neighbor girl all grown up who he never thought to notice before. And, then there's the blonde (or what's left of her) in the tub.
Keene tells a great story, mixing in murder, greed, social class warfare, and a helluva annoying parrot.
Plot-wise, if you've read enough of the 1950's pulp classics, you probably have a lot of figured out well before the end, but so what. This is Day Keene and you gotta enjoy each and every page of this wonderful pulpy novel.
In fact, this is a story about a boy from the wrong side of the tracks who had no way out of the bad side of town other than winning fights with his fists. It is a story about how he gets mixed with a wealthy woman and is convinced that he is nuts, so nuts that on the day he gets out of the fishbowl as he calls it, after a few drinks, he wakes up with a body in his hotel room and not a damn clue how it got there or why. It is explained: "The hallucinations were beginning again. He could swear there was a nude girl in his bathroom. She was lying on her back on the tile, one leg straight, one white knee raised, her pink-tipped breasts pointing upward. More, she was the little blond with whom he'd walked out of Johnny's Bar that afternoon. And she was dead."
Barney Mandell is an ordinary guy, but he is in an extraordinary jam. It looks for all the world like he's stark raving looney-tune mad and violent too and there's barely anyone on his side. Of course, there's the rich princess with her claws into him (Gale) and then there's Rosemary, the neighbor girl all grown up who he never thought to notice before. And, then there's the blonde (or what's left of her) in the tub.
Keene tells a great story, mixing in murder, greed, social class warfare, and a helluva annoying parrot.
Plot-wise, if you've read enough of the 1950's pulp classics, you probably have a lot of figured out well before the end, but so what. This is Day Keene and you gotta enjoy each and every page of this wonderful pulpy novel.
May 7, 2023
08/2018
From 1951. The plot was rather gettable (and I never try to figure out the mysteries), but it was still interesting. I like Day Keene.
From 1951. The plot was rather gettable (and I never try to figure out the mysteries), but it was still interesting. I like Day Keene.
September 12, 2012
Day Keene was one of those middle of the pack Gold Medal Books authors. To Kiss, Or Kill was one of his early paperback originals with Gold Medal. The front cover’s publicity squib reads: “The prize fighter’s lady! Or was she? A novel with a K.O. on every page.” Kiss’s best known feature is its racy opening paragraph where our Polish boxer hero Barney Mandell stumbles in on a nude blonde dead as a dodo in his flat’s bathroom. The mystery unravels from that point. Essentially, Barney spends the rest of the narrative trying to avoid having the blonde’s murder rap pinned on him as more complications arise.
He was just released from the booby hatch where he spent the last two years. Barney had some prodigious heavyweight chops since he’s “the guy Ezzard Charles should have fought instead of Wolcott.” Now, Barney is reunited with his wife, the sexy, affluent socialite Gale Ebbling. Meantime there’s the girl-next-door, Rosemary, from the old Chicago neighborhood, the lady who Barney likes and probably should’ve married in the first place. Mr. Curtis from the Treasury Dept. shows up and bails Barney out of jail, and then is killed by a mysterious gunman. Barney finds himself in even hotter water.
Barney is a good-hearted lug, but I like how he’s not just another poor sap we find in so many noirs. He’s able to use his street smarts and get to the bottom of things. Keene sets up a decent mystery and keeps the pot boiling just hot enough. I’ve read one other Keene novel, and both were satisfactory reading experiences. If you like the old school, not too flashy kind of hardboiled plots, To Kiss, or Kill is a safe bet.
He was just released from the booby hatch where he spent the last two years. Barney had some prodigious heavyweight chops since he’s “the guy Ezzard Charles should have fought instead of Wolcott.” Now, Barney is reunited with his wife, the sexy, affluent socialite Gale Ebbling. Meantime there’s the girl-next-door, Rosemary, from the old Chicago neighborhood, the lady who Barney likes and probably should’ve married in the first place. Mr. Curtis from the Treasury Dept. shows up and bails Barney out of jail, and then is killed by a mysterious gunman. Barney finds himself in even hotter water.
Barney is a good-hearted lug, but I like how he’s not just another poor sap we find in so many noirs. He’s able to use his street smarts and get to the bottom of things. Keene sets up a decent mystery and keeps the pot boiling just hot enough. I’ve read one other Keene novel, and both were satisfactory reading experiences. If you like the old school, not too flashy kind of hardboiled plots, To Kiss, or Kill is a safe bet.
February 25, 2018
To Kiss, Or Kill by Day Keene
Along with contemporaries Harry Whittington, Gil Brewer, and Peter Rabe, the Fawcett Gold Medal paperback original crime novels were defined by the work of author Day Keene (real name: Gunard Hjertstedt). Between 1949 and 1973, dime-store spinner racks were filled with affordable paperback output from Keene and his cohorts.
To Kiss, Or Kill (1951) was Keene’s fifth published novel, and the setup is rather familiar: Our hero finds the corpse of a sexy, nude blonde in his Chicago hotel room and endeavors to clear his name since no one would ever believe that he didn’t snuff the dame. In this case, our wrongfully-accused hero is a former Polish-American heavyweight boxing sensation, Barney Mandell, who is freshly released from an extended stay in an insane asylum. Mandell can’t even be 100% sure he didn’t kill the blonde due to his drunkenness at the time of the discovery as well as his awareness that he’s - until recently, at least - certified crazy.
Mandell’s quest to get to the bottom of the situation takes him into the world of his own humble beginnings before he was a famous prize fighter. One of the fun aspects of this story is that even though he’s been out of the ring for awhile, Mandell is a sports celebrity. People know him and vividly recall his 42 consecutive knockouts in the ring, and while he’s on the run, he’s also encountering fawning fans seeking autographs.
Did Mandell kill the blonde and then suppress the memories? Why was he committed to an asylum? Why are the Feds creeping around this case? What does Mandell’s estranged wife have to do with all this? These are the questions that Keene teases out over the course of the thin paperback.
Unfortunately, instead of a tidy and fast-moving investigation to find the killer, the novel puts the reader through long, rather dull, narrative stretches of exploring Mandell’s own sanity. Does an insane man have the introspection to know he’s crazy? As the bodies around him begin to pile up, it’s clear that Mandell is either completely looney or he’s being set up for multiple homicides.
The ultimate solution to the novel’s central mystery is a bit of a let-down, and the road to get there has lots of dull, talky, repetitive stretches. To Kiss, Or Kill would have been a better 40-page Manhunt Magazine novella, but it felt padded at 160 pages. It’s not an awful book, but there are many better options with similar themes from the same era.
Keene has done better, and so can you. Best to take a pass on this one.
Along with contemporaries Harry Whittington, Gil Brewer, and Peter Rabe, the Fawcett Gold Medal paperback original crime novels were defined by the work of author Day Keene (real name: Gunard Hjertstedt). Between 1949 and 1973, dime-store spinner racks were filled with affordable paperback output from Keene and his cohorts.
To Kiss, Or Kill (1951) was Keene’s fifth published novel, and the setup is rather familiar: Our hero finds the corpse of a sexy, nude blonde in his Chicago hotel room and endeavors to clear his name since no one would ever believe that he didn’t snuff the dame. In this case, our wrongfully-accused hero is a former Polish-American heavyweight boxing sensation, Barney Mandell, who is freshly released from an extended stay in an insane asylum. Mandell can’t even be 100% sure he didn’t kill the blonde due to his drunkenness at the time of the discovery as well as his awareness that he’s - until recently, at least - certified crazy.
Mandell’s quest to get to the bottom of the situation takes him into the world of his own humble beginnings before he was a famous prize fighter. One of the fun aspects of this story is that even though he’s been out of the ring for awhile, Mandell is a sports celebrity. People know him and vividly recall his 42 consecutive knockouts in the ring, and while he’s on the run, he’s also encountering fawning fans seeking autographs.
Did Mandell kill the blonde and then suppress the memories? Why was he committed to an asylum? Why are the Feds creeping around this case? What does Mandell’s estranged wife have to do with all this? These are the questions that Keene teases out over the course of the thin paperback.
Unfortunately, instead of a tidy and fast-moving investigation to find the killer, the novel puts the reader through long, rather dull, narrative stretches of exploring Mandell’s own sanity. Does an insane man have the introspection to know he’s crazy? As the bodies around him begin to pile up, it’s clear that Mandell is either completely looney or he’s being set up for multiple homicides.
The ultimate solution to the novel’s central mystery is a bit of a let-down, and the road to get there has lots of dull, talky, repetitive stretches. To Kiss, Or Kill would have been a better 40-page Manhunt Magazine novella, but it felt padded at 160 pages. It’s not an awful book, but there are many better options with similar themes from the same era.
Keene has done better, and so can you. Best to take a pass on this one.
June 11, 2019
That was a good quick read. A good little murder mystery. You can tell by the writing that it's a bit dated, but who cares. These older stories are still a fun read. I enjoyed it.
June 10, 2025
Keene is in my top 5 of the paperback writers of the Era, twisted, dark and disturbing characters, weaving in and out of insanity and of course murder.
for kicks the other four would be
Harry Whittington
Gil Brewer
David Goodis
Fredric Brown
with a list of runner ups to long to state, but it feels bad to not mention the huge amount of talent that pounded out so many litte gems in this genre and time period.
lol, I didn't use "noir" once, such an overused, misused word.
for kicks the other four would be
Harry Whittington
Gil Brewer
David Goodis
Fredric Brown
with a list of runner ups to long to state, but it feels bad to not mention the huge amount of talent that pounded out so many litte gems in this genre and time period.
lol, I didn't use "noir" once, such an overused, misused word.
April 6, 2024
Barney Mandell, ex-prize fighter, steps out of the exclusive private sanitarium where he has been rusticating for the past two years. His rich wife promised to meet him when he was sprung. She didn’t. All his old from the old neighborhood hate him. And he has doubts that his old homicidal mania won’t return. He took an awful lot of shots to the head in his prize fighter days — that’s what the doctors said who agreed that he needed to commit himself.
So what does a lonely guy do when his girl doesn’t meet him and he’s got no career left and everyone hates him? He drinks. 16 shots. He drank to forget and he succeeded. That’s why when he sees the cheap tramp who tried to pick him up (after drink 12, 13, 14?) dead and naked in his hotel bathroom, he wonders. Did he kill her? Wouldn’t he remember a thing like that? And, anyway, where’s his wife?
So many questions. And our hero has none of the answers. Just cops wanting to throw him in jail, and mysterious people asking more questions he doesn’t know or even understand.
With a setup like this, we are in the sweet spot of the early 50s paperback original, and this one delivers, particularly in the first half. The author adds an additional flavor of proletarian outrage that like appealed to the folks who pick these books up at the local soda shop. This does drag some in its second half, once it becomes apparent how some of the questions are going to be resolved. Still, it’s still pretty good, and the finale is a nice equivalent to the golden age detective story where the detective gathers all the protagonists in a single room and delivers the solution.
Available in audiobook on YouTube, with an excellent narrator.
So what does a lonely guy do when his girl doesn’t meet him and he’s got no career left and everyone hates him? He drinks. 16 shots. He drank to forget and he succeeded. That’s why when he sees the cheap tramp who tried to pick him up (after drink 12, 13, 14?) dead and naked in his hotel bathroom, he wonders. Did he kill her? Wouldn’t he remember a thing like that? And, anyway, where’s his wife?
So many questions. And our hero has none of the answers. Just cops wanting to throw him in jail, and mysterious people asking more questions he doesn’t know or even understand.
With a setup like this, we are in the sweet spot of the early 50s paperback original, and this one delivers, particularly in the first half. The author adds an additional flavor of proletarian outrage that like appealed to the folks who pick these books up at the local soda shop. This does drag some in its second half, once it becomes apparent how some of the questions are going to be resolved. Still, it’s still pretty good, and the finale is a nice equivalent to the golden age detective story where the detective gathers all the protagonists in a single room and delivers the solution.
Available in audiobook on YouTube, with an excellent narrator.
August 19, 2018
Day Keene’s novel, “To Kiss, Or Kill,” is the story of a prize fighter, married to a wealthy socialite, and released from a two year stint in an insane asylum only to become involved in a whirlwind of murder, corruption, and fraud. A very powerful opening scene sets the tone of sex and violence, death and insanity.
A Knock Out Novel
This book is surreal, with an eerie feeling that leaves the reader on edge throughout. Nothing is as it seems: wealth and poverty, good and evil, insanity and sanity, integrity and deceit. Keene’s writing is direct and potent, drawing the reader into the tale and twisting the plot at every opportunity.
The author’s descriptions are spellbinding. As bodies accumulate, death is described: “Death was so cold. So personal. So final. One minute you were capable of love, of hunger, of thirst. The next you were so much flesh.” Looking at class differences in the 1930s and 1940s Chicago: “There were good girls back of the yards. There were good girls in Evanston and Lake Forrest. But to the guys who hung out at Kelly’s all society girls were animated mattresses eager to be pounded, while their own wives two-timed them right and left. And up and down.”
This is an excellent example of 1950s noir and pulp fiction at its best. The book meets the promise of the cover tagline: “A novel with a K.O. on every page!” Day Keene does not waste a word in achieving that goal.
A Knock Out Novel
This book is surreal, with an eerie feeling that leaves the reader on edge throughout. Nothing is as it seems: wealth and poverty, good and evil, insanity and sanity, integrity and deceit. Keene’s writing is direct and potent, drawing the reader into the tale and twisting the plot at every opportunity.
The author’s descriptions are spellbinding. As bodies accumulate, death is described: “Death was so cold. So personal. So final. One minute you were capable of love, of hunger, of thirst. The next you were so much flesh.” Looking at class differences in the 1930s and 1940s Chicago: “There were good girls back of the yards. There were good girls in Evanston and Lake Forrest. But to the guys who hung out at Kelly’s all society girls were animated mattresses eager to be pounded, while their own wives two-timed them right and left. And up and down.”
This is an excellent example of 1950s noir and pulp fiction at its best. The book meets the promise of the cover tagline: “A novel with a K.O. on every page!” Day Keene does not waste a word in achieving that goal.
May 14, 2017
Fresh out of a sanatorium, Chicago boxer Barney Mandell can’t wait to see his wife Gale. Unfortunately, he calls in at a bar and the next thing he knows he wakes up with a gorgeous dead blonde in his hotel room and no idea what happened. From there the situation only gets worse as the cops are after him, he’s not sure if he can trust his beautiful wife and his old neighbourhood friends shun him. To Kiss, or Kill by Day Keene is a delicious guilty pleasure from the heyday of pulp fiction crime novels. It may not reach the supreme heights of Jim Thompson’s The Killer Inside Me but it’s great fun and an easy, breezy read. Enjoy.
July 27, 2017
Noir novel about a former boxer who checks himself into a hotel after 2 years in an asylum. Robbed at gunpoint and KOed in his room by an unseen assailant, he awakens to find a dead naked woman in the bathroom.
Is he crazy? Did he kill her? He must find the answers to these and other questions if he doesn't want to be locked up again.
Solid atmospheric story with good characters, enjoyed it, may look up other works by the author.
Is he crazy? Did he kill her? He must find the answers to these and other questions if he doesn't want to be locked up again.
Solid atmospheric story with good characters, enjoyed it, may look up other works by the author.
June 19, 2025
A solid novel, but not too exceptional. A former boxer, fresh out of an asylum, appears to have killed a woman in his hotel room. The police and news reporters are quick to decide that he’s the murderer. He’s on the run as more bodies show up on the floor, all leading straight to him. A 1950’s Gold Medal book. But it’s certainly not noir.
June 24, 2024
*kill to kiss you de Suicidebybooks*
Ni lo terminé. Empezó increíble, luego parece que la escritora quedó manca y una cría de 11 años (not age shamming) tomó el mando de la historia.
Me frustra mucho porque estoy entrando en un bloqueo lector
Ni lo terminé. Empezó increíble, luego parece que la escritora quedó manca y una cría de 11 años (not age shamming) tomó el mando de la historia.
Me frustra mucho porque estoy entrando en un bloqueo lector
May 10, 2024
A retired boxer is still taking his lumps and is on the ropes.
September 12, 2010
Former boxer Barny Mandell, just out from a two-year stint in the asylum, wakes up from a blackout to discover a dead blonde in the bathtub. All indications point to him as the killer. Classic noir set-up that, unfortunately doesn't quite hang very tight and gets wrapped up too neat by the end. Still, Day Keene could slam them out. Just because this one wasn't one of his best doesn't take the fun out of reading it.
April 16, 2012
Keene is definitely one of the better writers from this period. This one rocked hard.
April 27, 2013
This old pulp is an easy read but a bit too unbelievable for my liking.
August 22, 2020
A fine effort
Day Keene is a fine author who's characters are as believable as they are unique. It's always a pleasure to read one of his books.
Day Keene is a fine author who's characters are as believable as they are unique. It's always a pleasure to read one of his books.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews