Sunday, December 16, 2007

THE BLONDE by Duane Swierczynski

As a paperback-hoarder, I'm a year or so behind the rest of the crime fiction world. Having enjoyed the fast-paced revenge tale that was The Wheelman, I knew I could expect a similar pace from The Blonde. Beyond that, I knew nothing. This is just the position The Blonde's protagonist, Jack Eisley is in when a strange blonde woman tells him she's poisoned his drink. This is the last thing Jack needs hours before meeting with his wife's divorce lawyer.

I can best describe the novel as an absurdist nightmare race against time as readers, along with Jack, try to piece together the truth of the blonde's story. Increasingly convinced it was the truth, Jack hangs on for dear life as crime fiction collides with speculative fiction.

It's almost as if the book started as a joke over drinks, but one told in a voice so familiar and rye that I gladly kept reading.

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