THE BLONDE: a second look

A year ago, I wrote this about Duane Swierczynski's genre-bending crime novel The Blonde:

“It turns the genre on its head. No, it actually pulls the genre apart, mixes it with a punk sensibility, then reassembles it into something new and unexpected. Think D.O.A., the old movie with Edmond O’Brien, stirred vigorously with Michael Crichton. Think The Fugitive on crystal meth.

“But none of those comparisons really work. The Blonde is something else entirely. It’s just hard to say what that something else is. A look at the book’s jacket would have you convinced that this is a typical hardboiled crime novel. But it crisscrosses genres faster than you can blink. And it literally ticks like a time bomb…”

If you haven’t read The Blonde yet, fer crissakes, do so. But make sure you pick up the new trade paper edition. It includes a brand new 46-page sequel titled “Redhead” that packs a bigger wallop than most full-length crime books. It’s filled with hellish state-sponsored prisons, interrogators, and sadistic government killers with nicknames like Ana Esthesia, The Surgeon, and Bonesaw. This novella alone is worth the price tag on this new edition.

And yes, The Blonde makes a terrific gift for the holiday.