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DAMNATION STREET
by Andrew Klavan
Harcourt, September 2006
320 pages
$24.00
ISBN: 0151012172


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Private investigator Scott Weiss is ending once and for all the search for a young woman in the third book of this noir-ish thriller series written by Andrew Klavan. Julie Wyant, first introduced in passing in DYNAMITE ROAD, is a hooker on the run. A hitman known as the Shadowman just wants one more night with her. He is perverse and sadistic, and a careful planner. However when it comes to tracking Julie he is at a dead end.

Weiss is aware of her predicament even though he has never met her. It has become his obsession, his reason for living. Julie has been good at covering her tracks, but Weiss is even better at what he does and the Shadowman knows that. Weiss may be over the hill, but he still has a couple of tricks up his sleeve. The Shadowman is astute as well and the last person you would want to cross. He is a master of disguise and an excellent marksman. He is not the type of person you would say no to. Julie did and now she's on the run.

In the last two books, Weiss and Shadowman have been playing cat-and-mouse game trying to find this elusive prey while attempting to keep two steps forward from each other. It all ends here. One will be the victor and one will lose leaving the fate of the third person in question. If you are looking for a book that is all action now and all questions later (if they feel like it) you don't need to look any further than with this book and its predecessors.

Klavan's narrative is tight and he brings all the stereotypes of noir thrillers of the forties and fifties into this new century. Who needs character development? It is all about the action. Men act like men – strong, pounding their chests, saving swooning females type of men. Women can't be looked at as having brains, apart from Julie. They need to be able to cry on cue. Weiss needs to be her white knight because no one else can save her.

You know that there is going to be one hell of a showdown, somewhere in the middle of nowhere where it is only the prey and the hunter. This is the book macho men will identify with and enjoy reading (as well as some women who like to read this type of novel). Feminists would have a field day with this book, but it would be short-lived. And so far this is only talking about one man. I haven't introduced Weiss' partner Jim Bishop or their assistant 'Andrew Klavan'. (Klavan claims in the book's introduction that he was an apprentice at the same PI firm with these characters before he became a writer). You'll definitely have your hands full with these three.

So before picking up this book make sure that you have a couple of moist towelettes around. The pages of DAMNATION STREET just ooze with testosterone. You might change your reading habits after reading this book.

Reviewed by Angel L. Soto, October 2006

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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