Small Town

January 20, 2003
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. Major ad/promo; simultaneous audio; 15-city author tour.(Jan. 21)Forecast:With movies coming up of both
Hit Man and
A Walk Among the Tombstones, this will be a Block year; but it remains to be seen whether readers are ready for a 9/11–inspired terrorist killer.

October 15, 2002
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. Watch for the 15-city author tour.

Copyright 2002 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2003
Although there are eight million stories in the Naked City, Gotham can feel like a small town when some of those stories converge, brought together by an act of violence. In a break from his popular Matthew Scudder and Bernie Rhodenbarr series, Block explores several such connections in the wake of 9/11. His cast includes a novelist whose next book becomes a hot property after police suspect him of murdering a real-estate agent, a beautiful folk-art dealer whose string of sexual adventures are triggered by the killing, a gay housecleaner who keeps finding his clients dead, and a serial killer who lost his family in the collapse of the World Trade Towers. While the book features beautifully drawn characters and a strong sense of place (readers familiar with New York will recognize many of the places depicted by Block with deep affection), the use of a shifting third-person narrative keeps readers at an emotional distance. There is also a darkness and a sexual explicitness not found in Block's other books, which may disturb some fans. As an eyewitness to the terrorist attack that destroyed so many lives, this reviewer also found the novel's premise a bit repellent. Perhaps it is still too soon for fiction to deal with the emotional aftermath of 9/11. For larger collections. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 10/15/01.]-Wilda Williams, "Library Journal"

Copyright 2003 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 7, 2003
Block (The Burglar in the Library; Eight Million Ways to Die; etc.) is one of today's most well-established mystery and thriller writers, but his gift for crafting compelling narratives does not, unfortunately, translate to a knack for narration. For one, his voice is the nasal half-whine of a New Yorker at its most pronounced. While this might not necessarily be a bad thing—especially since the book deals so intimately with the city and its ways—when coupled with a stilted reading style and a refusal to attempt even the slightest nuance for individual characters, it becomes a distraction rather than an asset. Particularly problematic for this production are the numerous explicit sex scenes. When Susan Pomerance, a beautiful art dealer whose instinct for sexual exploration is awakened by a murder central to the story, is in the throes of ecstasy, Block's reading sounds no different than when detectives are interviewing a subject or patrons are ordering a beer at the local watering hole. The scenes, then, are not only not erotic, but also almost laughable—only slightly less titillating than if read by Andy Rooney. The rest of the story offers a mix of Block's signature street smarts and intrigue, but fans would do well to stick with the book and avoid this disappointing recording. Simultaneous release with the Morrow hardcover (Forecasts, Jan. 20).