Synopsis/blurb.....
Cashed out from the NYPD after 24 years, Doak Miller operates as a private eye in steamy small-town Florida, doing jobs for the local police. Like posing as a hit man and wearing a wire to incriminate a local wife who s looking to get rid of her husband. But when he sees the wife, when he looks into her deep blue eyes... He falls and falls hard. Soon he's working with her, against his employer, plotting a devious plan that could get her free from her husband and put millions in her bank account. But can they do it without landing in jail? And once he's kindled his taste for killing...will he be able to stop at one?
Second time around and I enjoyed it more than last time.
Positives - it's Lawrence Block, so - the plot, the pace, the characters - major and minor, the dialogue, the action, the humour, the sex, the back stories, the outcome.
I love books where someone tries to run a scam, pull a fast one, commit a crime and you root for them, as opposed to them being the villain of the piece and the rasion d'etre being to bring them down.
Negatives - ......
I must admit I'm surprised I was so miserly with my scoring last time.
I probably ought to say that there's a fair bit of action between the sheets which may not be everyone's cup of tea.
5 from 5
Read - (listened to) May, 2020
Published - 2015
Page count - 240 (5 hrs 25 mins)
Source - purchased on an Audible trial, so probably with a free credit
Format - Audible
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PREVIOUS THOUGHTS FROM FIRST TIME AROUND - MARCH, 2016
Enjoyed a few months ago on audio and I have to say, I was kind of glad to be listening to it on my own, as Mr Block's main man Doak Miller enjoys an extremely active sex-life with a variety of willing participants in a variety of different orifices, seemingly favouring one where the sun doesn't usually shine - enough said. Probably too much said - Lawrence Block you'd make a sailor blush!
As for the mystery itself, our PI Miller is engaged by a local cop to entrap a waitress who's suspected of wanting her rich husband dead. Miller takes a good look at the waitress likes what he sees and schemes with her to outwit the sheriff, the husband and still run free to enjoy the proceeds.
Overall I liked it and was entertained by the whole shebang. I do wonder whether the sex elements would have the same impact as just the written word, maybe hearing them spoken gave them a greater power. I'm certainly no prude and chuckled along.
With regards to the plot, I was keen to see if our amorous pair could pull it off. I liked the back story of both, Miller's previous life in New York as a cop and the path travelled by our waitress (name escapes me) in arriving at a place where her husband just has to go.
Amusing and entertaining - you wouldn't expect anything less from Lawrence Block.
4 from 5
Listened to back in March, 2016. AUDIBLE COPY purchased.
It does sound like a great setup for a story, Col. And, as you say, it's Lawrence Block, so you know the writing's bound to be good. Interesting, too, how often he casts people like grifters, thieves, etc., in sympathetic roles. It's not easy to pull that off, but he manages it.
ReplyDeleteMargot, he's an absolute master.
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