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Title: Book was a gift - Glad I didn't spend my money
Review: For Block's reputation and slew of awards, I was disappointed.I read a lot of crime novels, and enjoy the masters -- Leonard, Parker, the MacDonalds, Westlake/Stark, Healy, McBain, Emerson, Kaminsky, Dobyns, Mayor, etc., and none of their novels I have read included the blunders made in this one.* * * Spoilers * * *Just for example:The bad guy is a forensics savant, capable of teaching the writers of the CSI programs new tricks about leaving a crime scene evidence-free, yet he kills 2 victims on crowded subways and the author doesn't mention blood once -- not even on the knife the killer takes with him. The climax reads like a made-for-TV movie, where the intended victim hasn't been left alone for weeks, and, yet, just after Scudder and the intended victim agree that the killer is still in town and still after her, he leaves her alone to get the newspaper! And guess who is just down the hall at that moment? Please!
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