Small Town: A Novel - Hardcover

Block, Lawrence

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060011904 ISBN 13: 9780060011901

Publisher: William Morrow, 2003

Synopsis

The author of dozens of acclaimed novels including those in the Scudder and Keller series, Lawrence Block has long been recognized as one of the premier crime writers of our time. Now, the breathtaking skill, power, and versatility of this Grand Master are brilliantly displayed once again in a mesmerizing new thriller set on the streets of the city he knows and loves so well.

That was the thing about New York -- if you loved it, if it worked for you, it ruined you for anyplace else in the world.

In this dazzlingly constructed novel, Lawrence Block reveals the secret at the heart of the Big Apple. His glorious metropolis is really a small town, filled with men and women from all walks of life whose aspirations, fears, disappointments, and triumphs are interconnected by bonds as unbreakable as they are unseen. Pulsating with the lives of its denizens -- bartenders and hookers, power brokers and politicos, cops and secretaries, editors and dreamers -- the city inspires a passion that is universal yet unique in each of its eight million inhabitants, including:

John Blair Creighton, a writer on the verge of a breakthrough;

Francis Buckram, a charismatic ex–police commissioner -- and the inside choice for the next mayor -- on the verge of a breakdown;

Susan Pomerance, a beautiful, sophisticated folk-art dealer plumbing the depths of her own fierce sexuality;

Maury Winters, a defense attorney who prefers murder trials because there's one less witness;

Jerry Pankow, an ex-addict who has turned being clean into a living, mopping up after New York's nightlife;

And, in the shadows of a city reeling from tragedy, an unlikely killing machine who wages a one-man war against them all.

Infused with the raw cadence, stark beauty, and relentless pace of New York City, Small Town is a tour de force Block fans old and new will celebrate.

About this title

About the Author

Lawrence Block is one of the most widely recognized names in the mystery genre. He has been named a Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America and is a four-time winner of the prestigious Edgar and Shamus Awards, as well as a recipient of prizes in France, Germany, and Japan. He received the Diamond Dagger from the British Crime Writers' Association—only the third American to be given this award. He is a prolific author, having written more than fifty books and numerous short stories, and is a devoted New Yorker and an enthusiastic global traveler.

Reviews

This is a rare standalone from the Edgar Award-winning creator of Matt Scudder, Bernie Rhodenbarr, hit man Keller and others, and takes a number of risks unusual for its author. For a start, it is very deliberately a post-9/11 thriller, in which a man bereaved by the loss of his wife and children in the Twin Towers sets out to wreak what he thinks of as a sacrificial vengeance on the city by becoming a serial terrorist himself. For another, Block, who wrote some pornography early in his career, has created a female character whose kinky sex antics will definitely ruffle some of his mainstream readers. And while an intimate knowledge of New York and its folkways, and of urban character and conversation, has always been one of Block's great strengths, and is on plentiful show again here, his rather improbable action climax seems carelessly tacked on to the meticulous rest of the book. The novel offers a very crowded canvas whose central characters are the sad figure of the terrorist himself; a former police commissioner who eventually sets out to bring him down; a midlist writer who suddenly gets to be a hot property when he's accused of a murder (the publishing scenes will be delightful for insiders); the aforementioned kinky lady, an art dealer when not playing pierced dominatrix; a gay recovering alcoholic who unwittingly leads the villain to the scenes of his crimes; and, of course, the city itself, which, as the title suggests, is a place where everyone is somehow connected to everyone else's business. It's a bold and flashy effort, but its deliberately disturbing elements may somewhat limit its appeal.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Marilyn Fairchild, a Manhattan real-estate agent, is murdered. John Creighton, a writer with declining sales, is the last person she was seen with. Susan Pomerance is a successful art dealer who purchased her apartment through Fairchild. A murder of someone within her personal circle triggers Susan's sense of mortality, and she responds with a series of life-affirming sexual adventures. Creighton soon becomes the suspect in this high-profile murder as well as a very hot literary property: his proposed first-person account of his ordeal is on the publisher's auction block for millions. Block, the best-selling author of the Matthew Scudder detective series, carefully weaves these key characters--and others--into a rich tapestry of modern life set against the backdrop of beloved New York City. Though murder is the catalyst, the focus is not on the solution of the crime but on how it alters the course of so many lives. Block's shifting third-person narrative draws us into each life, including that of the unnamed killer. This is a novel at once profoundly disturbing, graphically erotic, satiric, and above all, entertaining. A fascinating effort by a writer who never fails to exceed expectations. Expect intense demand. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Block temporarily abandons Matthew Scudder for a standalone thriller set in New York City after the collapse of the World Trade Center towers. Central to the tale is a mass murderer with an agenda.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: William Morrow
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0060011904
• ISBN 13: 9780060011901
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 464