Waldo runs out, Mark follows him, and Laura is left behind to write her own version of the past few days. It finally comes to a head when he and Waldo fight over Laura, and Mark spontaneously kisses her. He also struggles with Laura’s loyalty to Shelby, and Shelby’s ultimate betrayal of her. Mark finds more and more evidence that Laura may have been part of the murder, learning the actual victim was having an affair with her fiance Shelby. Now that she is alive, Mark takes over the narration and tries to handle his ever growing love for Laura, with her new position as either a woman in danger of being killed (again), or a suspect in the murder. LAURA IS ALIVE!!!! It’s a case of a mistaken identity, she had lent the apartment to someone else and left town after all, she missed the whole confusing thing. He slowly comes to like Laura based on what he learns of her from the investigation, reading her date book, admiring her taste in her apartment, hearing about her from friends, and so on. It’s one of the all time great plot twists, it starts with Mark investigating Laura’s death and befriending Waldo. And finally to Laura herself, emotional and open and honest. Then it shifts to the practical and dry witted detective investigating the case, Mark McPherson. It’s a novel written from 3 perspectives, first the fussy flourid columnist and best friend of the heroine, Waldo Lydecker. Oh boy oh boy oh boy! First, a brief summary to make sure we are all caught up (it’s a mystery, so if you haven’t read it, and want to avoid twists, don’t read on): But I’m not going to pull the post, you can read it now to have things to think about as you read the book. UPDATE: I messed up! This discussion is supposed to be next week.

Laura vera caspary sparknotes