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Small Town

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Small Town

By: Lawrence Block
Narrated by: George Guidall
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About this listen

As a Mystery Writers of America Grand Master and multiple Edgar Award winner, Block is one of the premier crime writers of the 20th century. He has written over 50 novels, and five different mystery series. A stand-alone mystery, Small Town just so happens to be one of Block’s best yet! Here, he delivers a mesmerizing thriller that wholly embraces New York, the city he knows and loves so well. Characters include a writer on the verge of a breakthrough, a charismatic ex-police commissioner on the verge of a mental collapse, a folk art dealer plumbing the depths of her own ferocious sexuality, and a quirky lawyer who prefers murder trials because there’s one less witness. And in the shadows of a city reeling from the September 11th terrorist attacks, an unlikely mass murderer begins to wage a one-man war against all.

©2003 Lawrence Block (P)2003 Recorded Books, LLC Suspense Thriller & Suspense Crime Fiction Mystery Exciting

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All stars
Most relevant
I bought this book based on an article in a newspaper. The article was discussing authors who truly "owned" the cities that they write about. Lawrence Block was the suggested writer for lovers of New York.

Block certainly fulfills this, he captures the almost bi-polar nature of New York in a way that few authors do and George Guidall's performance is excellent.

That, sadly, is where the positives run out. The story is bitty and jumps around without enough connection. The title and the premise suggest that all these stories will be interconnected and, in a way, they are but they don't join up to make one full story.

It lacks the impact that its subject matter should allow it to have. Maybe I'll try another Block novel one day, perhaps this is just one of his lesser works. I don't think it will be any time soon however.

So close yet so far.

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As a fan of Block’s other work, I was excited to listen to this book. The performance was excellent, which is just as well because the story and the characters are really badly written. Cliches everywhere, but worst of all is Susan, a woman embarking on a path of sexual discovery. The sex in this book is not only graphic, but it’s graphic as viewed very much with the ‘male gaze’ which is essentially a man’s view of what a woman would experience in such a sexual awakening. It’s like a lifelong teetotaller trying to explain what it feels like to be drunk. I found it all a bit uncomfortable and at the same time eye-rollingly stupid.
The story is formed of a number of intertwined threads in the lives of the characters and the idea is sound enough. The idea of a city as vast as New York being a small town was interesting. The problem is that it never draws together in a satisfactory way. The end is just flat.
Overall, it’s not a great example of the work of a great author.

Very poor

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