Well, this is a crime novel that plays in the current idiom of "stupidly overplotted thriller," with a dash of "omnicompetent sociopath"--though there's a reasonable chance the omnicompetent sociopath is not the killer. (I'm not entirely sure I buy every single part of the "resolution" of this novel ...) The fact that in a novel full of unpleasant manipulative asshats the only real "onscreen" death is one of the really good characters does not improve my disposition, here. The story could plausibly not have been *horrible*, but the author couldn't resist throwing stupid twist after stupid twist: It's clear he didn't trust his story to go out into the world less adorned.
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The Elephant of Surprise by Joe R. Lansdale
I don't know that I was looking for a Lansdale novel when I saw this at the library, but that title just made me smile and grab the bo...

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A neat little Horror novel (big shock on the genre, there, I'm sure) that plays some interesting games with PTSD and identity, with ma...
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Reading this novel reminded me a good deal of reading Processed Cheese . America Fantastica is more subtle, and the points it's makin...
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This is early Vachss, all taut and violent, more than a little murky to my mind. It is not good to be a sexual offender in a Vachss novel....
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