Getting Off: A Novel of Sex and Violence by Lawrence Block (writing as Jill Emerson). © 2011 Hard Case Crime. ISBN 9780857682871. Hardcover. Crime / Thriller. 336 pages. Source: ARC provided by the publishers.

“When she walks out there’s a man with her. She goes to bed with him, and she likes that part. Then she kills him, and she likes that even better. She cleans out his wallet and keeps moving, taking a new name for each change of address. She’s been doing this for a while, and she’s good at it. Then a chance remark gets her thinking of the men who got away, the lucky ones who survived a night with her. And now she’s a girl with a mission. Picking up their trails. Hunting them down. Crossing them off her list…” — from back cover

There’s not much to add to the above back cover blurb: our protagonist is Kit Tolliver, a woman [not a girl like the blurb says] set out on killing every name she’s ever slept with.

I can’t say I am all too impressed with this book. Getting Off read like a Skinemax production, and this is coming from someone who reads a good bit of erotica. However, this was just too much. I read that’s it’s a novel of self-discovery but that part must have completely surpassed me because it looked like nothing but sex and death to me.

I know Lawrence Block is one of the most-acclaimed mystery writers (still living that is) but this definitely did not make me want to check out his other books. 1/5.

Teresa

Teresa (nom de plume: Torrance Sené) is a self-proclaimed geek, a Janeite, a lover of werewolves and bad-ass angels, an aspiring novelist and an avid book reader who freelances as a web designer. You can follow her on Twitter at @eireannoir.

Website - More Posts

What Is Mine by Anne Holt. © 2007 Warner Books. ISBN 0-446-57802-9. Hardback. 391 pages. $24.99 US. [ Purchase ]

A translation of the original Norwegian novel, What Is Mine is a suspense-thriller about a child serial killer stalking a usually low-crime town in Norway. With one child missing, and another dead, lead detective Adam Stubo turns to the only help he knows, Johanne Vik, a former FBI profiler. Yet, Johanne is apprehensive to join being already absorbed in another investigation where the suspect has fled to America. But when more children go missing, Vik (a mother of a six-year old) can no longer turn a blind eye to what’s happening in her own country and joins the local police investigation. Could the cold case and the new have something in common?

This is the first suspense-thriller I’ve read, normally they are only good to me in film form, but this was a pleasant surprise. It’s fact-paced and rather enjoyable and I could over look the few seemingly short chapters (something of a peeve of mine). Her characters are believably human and fascinating. The struggle of the small girl is heartbreaking. These characters pull you in and truly make you feel as though you are a part of this well-composed story.

This is a great introduction to the genre and a sure to be pleasurable read for crime story veterans.

Teresa

Teresa (nom de plume: Torrance Sené) is a self-proclaimed geek, a Janeite, a lover of werewolves and bad-ass angels, an aspiring novelist and an avid book reader who freelances as a web designer. You can follow her on Twitter at @eireannoir.

Website - More Posts