The six most memorable bad dates in literature

Wendy Walker is the author of the national and international bestseller All is Not Forgotten and Emma In The Night. Her latest work is The Night Before. At CrimeReads she enlisted some writer friends to come up with their favorite stories of love gone wrong. Liv Constantine's pick:

Looking for Mr. Goodbar, by Judith Rossner

Lynne Constantine’s pick is the 1975 #1 New York Times Bestseller, which would later become a blockbuster film. Inspired by real events, the novel follows a young woman in New York City who is murdered by a man she picks up in a single’s bar – the dating app equivalent of the time. Theresa Dunn has been tormented by love ever since a devastating break-up with a college professor. She turns to the single’s scene to fill the void, eventually juggling two very different men. One presents a chance at a traditional, albeit mundane, relationship. The other is volatile, but exciting. In the end, she rejects both and returns to her favorite spot, Mr. Goodbar, to continue her search for “the one.” It’s there she meets the man who will kill her in her own bed. This cautionary tale examines the inherent dangers of intimacy with strangers, and how the search for love can overpower reason.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue