Rating: 
Summary: Murder and sex !
Review: This is an intriguing murder mystery story involving a group of New Yorkers following the terrible days of 9/11. A mass murderer is carrying out seemingly random killings, mostly in Manhattan and a very varied group of people find themselves connected by the murders. Be prepared to delve into the world of dominating and subservient sex, given in great detail and into the mind of a formerly model-citizen type of man, whose life has been torn apart by 9/11 and who sees his revenge as perfectly logical.I found it to be a fascinating (in a terrible way)story and one which a reader would find difficult to put down.
Rating:
Summary: story of many perspectives
Review: Funny how Manhatten can become a small town. At least that's Lawrence Block's premise in writing this crime drama from several folks' perspectives - folks that don't really know each other but bump into each other often. The sexual tension with Susan is pretty extreme -- pretty much an X-rated read with explicit detail.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointment
Review: This book is far too long and detailed for the plot. One must wade through pages and pages to get to the essence of the story. This is not like the usual Lawrence Block writings. Disapponted in this one, but looking forward to his next book.
Rating:
Summary: Very disappointing!
Review: Thankfully, when I decided to read a novel by Lawrence Block I started with the Mathew Scudder series because if I started with SMALL TOWN I wouldn't have read any others. I was very disappointed with this story, although I tried my best to keep reading with hopes I would change my mind, but I just couldn't finish it. It sounded like a great plot at first, but I got bored with the characters quickly. Since I enjoyed the Mathew Scudder series so much I haven't in any way given up reading his novels. I just wish this one had been better.
Rating: 
Summary: La Ronde Redux
Review: Superb book by the Master. Using the device first made famous by Shnitzler (a rondelay - character meets character who meets character, etc.), Block has created an amazing homage to New York post-9/11. The book is worth reading for its voices alone. Block has an astounding knack of altering his style and language for each character, making them real, idiosyncratic and fascinating. If you're only interested in a Matt Scudder thriller, pass this by. This book is literature. The murders and their resolution are just devices. The essence is the people, their internal conflicts, their sexual experimentation and discovery. One of the best books I've read in ages. And a wonderful surprise!
Rating:
Summary: A Love Letter to Post 9/11 New York
Review: I am sure you have heard of an ensemble cast television show, or movie. "Small Town" is an ensemble novel. Block lovingly paints almost a dozen main characters, a writer accused of killing a realtor, an ex-police commisioner, a lawyer, an art gallery owner only to name a few.
This is a mystery/thriller in name but it is so much more. It is a magnum opus, not implying it is or should be Block's last novel but it just covers so many subplots and themes. The reader is treated not only to a suspenseful exciting story, but also to an inside track of a writer's life. The latter allows Block to suggest a theme so the reader ponders the whole universe of fiction, memory and imagination. One character off-handedly comments how any one is capable of murder and in the context of this tale one has to wonder how honest is that statement.
This was my first Block novel so I have nothing to compare it to per se, and am not sure how capable I am of conveying his range as a writer, in this a love letter at heart to the city of New York.
Rating:
Summary: Lots of Good stuff...but all in moderation
Review: I like Block and this is an excellent novel. There are some great ideas here, but it could have been short. Furthermore, there is just too much graphic sex in this book--soft porn almost. Why is that needed? I'm not sure what it adds to the story, even if it about people discovering who they are...I'm pretty open minded, but I really think it distracts from a fascinating story. Block loves NY and is to be commended for that.
Rating:
Summary: Compelling Characters, A Plot Too Far
Review: I felt the strength of this story was the characters. They are riveting and fully rounded. The plot seemed a bit contrived, in that the 'villain' was described but his motivations weren't exactly coherent. However, Block is clearly in love with Manhattan, and his passion is communicated in this book like all his others.
Rating: 
Summary: Block Has Lost His Way
Review: To this point I think I have read all of Lawrence Block's oeuvre. By his established standard Small Town was truly awful and will end my streak. There are several possibilities for his decline. He has "run dry", his gifts are diminishing with age or he is being "trendy" and simply writing for the tin ear of the current reading public. The book is too long (either because editing/pruning is "out of style", that publishers find that it is more economical to sell by the pound or they want to expand the market and put something in for everyone) and too bizarre. Nipple rings and same sex twaddle are best left for the painted windowed purveyors of unabashed pornography. Note that Dick Francis has also succumbed to word bloat but happily to this point not gratuitous sexual deviance. Both Block and Francis used to write a taut, focused narrative but have both have switched styles to absentmindedly stumbling around in rambling subplots. Parenthetically it is hard to imagine any of the nitwits in Small Town tithing their gains (as Matt Scudder engagingly used to do with his windfalls). Two firm thumbs down (both mine).
Rating:
Summary: Homage
Review: First, we have to understand that this is author Block's homage
to his favorite place in the world, New York City, and the story
here concerns the lives of a multitude of people following the
9/11 terror attack.
The title comes from Block's premise that even New York can be
a "small town" in some respects, and even though that stretches
our imagination, he manages to do a very good job of weaving
all these individual stories into a coherent novel.
The point of the novel, the one thing that really keeps us
moving forward through the story, wanting more, is that someone
is killing people apparently at random, at an ever-increasing
pace, and the people whose lives are directly affected by the
killings are connected in a "small-town" way. Those affected
most are eating at the same restaurants, visting the same art
galleries, waving at old friends, talking to the same people,
and even-amazingly-having sexual relations with the same
people.
There are some odd points of view at work here, but Block is a
master at putting them all together so they work, and he is an
experienced story-teller whose skills are revealed here.
This is a very good, moving and fast-paced story whose multiple
characters are all interesting.
Even if New York isn't your favorite city, this novel almost
makes you wish you could be having dinner there with some friends, including some of the characters in this story.
You need to read this one.
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