Writer Levin Falls Prey to Deathtrap

He wrote just seven novels. But boy were they memorable. Ira Levin penned "Rosemary's Baby," "The Boys From Brazil," and "The Stepford Wives" among others during his career as a playwright and novelist.

Together, his novels sold tens of millions of copies, Westberg said. Nearly all were made into Hollywood movies, some more than once. Mr. Levin also wrote the long-running Broadway play "Deathtrap," a comic thriller.

Combining elements of several genres - mystery, Gothic horror, science fiction, and the techno-thriller - Mr. Levin's novels conjured up a world full of quietly looming menace, in which anything could happen to anyone at any time.

We only hope that, in death, Levin was saved from his stories' characters.

[Boston Globe]