They say "don’t judge a book by its cover," but…c’mon. What is one to assume when one sees an image of a nude woman concealing a large knife behind her back as a couple prepares to get intimate?
Happily, one’s assumptions would be correct in this case.
Getting Off by Lawrence Block (who here has dusted off his old pseudonym, "Jill Emerson") is a full-strength dose of depravity. Protagonist Katherine (don’t get too used to the name because she changes it every few days) has one small quirk—she likes to pick up men and kill them post-coitus. Well, usually post. In fact, she decides that she is really bothered by the fact that there are still a half-dozen or so men out there who have "known" her but are still drawing breath. Well, a girl needs a project.
Rest assured that Block pulls no punches and leaves no perversion off the table.
Getting Off is the first entry in the Hard Case Crime Series to merit a hardcover edition, and it is easy to see why. Incredibly, you will find yourself rooting for Katherine as she slowly crosses names off her list, with more than a few deadly dalliances along the way. — MC
Hard Case Crime, $25.99.
