Rating: 
Summary: Well written and interesting, but fllawed
Review: Author John Blair Creighton is accused of strangling a woman he accompanied to her appartment--he is pretty sure he's innocent, but his memory of the evening is vague. A man whose life was destroyed by the 9/11 attacks decides that New York can only be revived by sacrifice, and nominates himself as the priest. A woman runs an art gallery showing works by the insane and pursues the most outrageous sexual fantasies. A former police commissioner finds that woman's sexual games to be more important than any of his ambitions. Author Lawrence Block combines these elements into a wide-ranging tale of post-9/11 New York. For some, the changes are terrible. For others, like the commissioner, they are mixed blessings. For Creighton, everything comes up roses. Being accused of a terrible crime is good for his writing, good for the interest that publishers shower on him, and certainly good for his sex life (could this be a writer's secret fantasy?). Block has been a mainstay of the mystery novel for decades and his writing is highly polished and readable, his insights into humanity fully developed. What SMALL TOWN lacked, at least to me, was a compelling story line or character arc. The 'carpenter,' the man who decided that New York required a sacrifice, is the character who pulls the others together, but he lacked sympathy or a clear plan. Creighton fell into fortune rather than battling for it. Susan, the art gallery owner, found her calling, but her final development came as something of a surprise rather than a logical progression of choice and consequences. Quasi-protagonist Creighton chose to write a novel based on one of his earlier short stories. To a large extent, that is what SMALL TOWN felt like--one of Block's quirky and fascinating short stories blown up far beyond its requirements. Because Block is such a fine author, he can, almost, get away with it. SMALL TOWN makes interesting reading but falls short of Block's best.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Disappointing
Review: Block says that this is his first book that his mom did not get to read. Whew, I wouldn't want my mom to read this either. To me, sex in a story is like salt in a soup. Every life, every soup needs a dash but in this case when there is scene after masochistic scene of sex torture it's just nauseating. I couldn't even finish this book, the characters were so dull that I didnt even care what happened to them. Up until now I bought Block's books in hardcover. Now I will peruse them in the store before making the mistake of buying them.
Rating:
Summary: What kinda yammerings, yakkings & blahs I got here
Review: I've read all Lawrence Block's Mathew Scudder series, and they're most excellent until the several last of them. The whole scene seems to have changed downhill since then. His petty thief, hitman series to me are all but irresponsible and deteriorating cash-in jokes same as those of Lawrance Sanders' later stage outputs, such as McNally series. This "Small Town", I just don't know how to describe the mixed feelings during my reading. I simply failed to see any goodies out of this "Small Talks" type of book that could be called a good one that all the reviews are given to this particular author I've once loved and respected so wholeheartedly and unreservedly. I don't know what's going on with all the blahblahblah and their purposes. All I know is that he's wasted lot of papers and trees again. I've tried and tried to keep tracking of this particular author's products one by one, hoping he might someday somehow turn around, but now I think it's time to give up and give it a rest permanently.
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Novel of New York
Review: To my way of thinking the protagonist in this excellent book is New York City. While other reviewers have satisfactorily explained the story line, so it doesn't bear repeating, the city as a character should be addressed. I've been an avid Block fan for years and his skill at depicitng the city as a living, breathing entity is masterful. His Matt Scudder series is an excellent example of this. Read this book if you are a New Yorker or former New Yorker. Another great NY thriller in the same vein is "Blood Shot Eyes," by Patrick Picciarelli. It appears as if both writers know the town like the back of their hands.
Rating:
Summary: powerful post 9/11 NYC suspense thriller
Review: New York, New York is a wonderful town even after 9/11 though the locals react differently to the devastation, but for the most part try to get on with life. However, while many still mourn someone responds quite differently to the mass deaths. This unknown assailant may have snapped, but the first victim of his wrath is East Village realtor Marilyn Fairchild. The cops quickly arrest author John Blair Creighton, who was in her home the night she was strangled, but his lawyer, stricken Maury Winters, makes a case for a link to the murders of two prostitutes and their madam. John has an alibi that proves he could not have killed that trio. Alcoholic cleaner Jerry Pankow discovered corpses of the hooker, but soon the police look at him as the possible culprit as the killer blows up three of his customers and bars. As the death toll mounts, the city still reeling from 9/11 cannot cope with the Carpenter, a craftsman who leaves quite a deadly calling card. SMALL TOWN is a powerful suspense thriller in which Lawrence Block takes his audience around the blocks of the five boroughs of New York in a post 9/11 homage to the great international city. The story line is fast-paced as the Carpenter performs his craft while others are pulled inside his sphere whether they choose to be or not. The key characters are all fully developed including the Big Apple that seems as much a protagonist as the cast. Mr. Block provides what might be his best novel to date with this intelligent taut thriller. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Fascinatingly Disturbing
Review: Imagine if you're sitting in a bar and you meet a very colorful character. He starts telling you about his life and adventures and they are absolutely fascinating only... As he goes on you begin to feel uneasy. Nothing specific, at first, just a bit "too much" kinda. Then, it suddenly dawns on you. This guy isn't colorful, he's nuts! Moreover, he could be dangerous! That's the sensation of reading this departure novel from one of the best authors around. It starts off fascinating then, without your being sure of just when, it all becomes "too much of a muchness" and derails. It sorta gets back on track at the end, but for a while, you just gotta hold on by faith.
Rating: 
Summary: New York as a small town
Review: I've many Lawrence Block's novels and this is one of the best. In many ways, it was more developed than his books usually are (not a knock on his other books, I enjoy the quick reads), but sometimes the characters are less vivid. The bad guy in the book is the most unrealistic and the motivation for his actions seem more plot-driven than anything else. It's obvious that the author wanted a 9/11 hook without involving foreign terrorist. The book is overly sexual with very graphic descriptions (be warned).
Rating:
Summary: A Not-So-Small Masterpiece
Review: The story begins with the murder of a female real estate agent who picked up a man in a bar and took him home. When she's discovered the next morning by her cleaning man, the police are quick to settle on John Blair Creighton, a largely unsuccessful mid-list writer, as the likely culprit. (The suspect's profession, not incidentally, allows the author an opportunity to deliciously skewer the venality of the publishing industry.) While true that he did meet her and apparently go home with her, Creighton certainly doesn't remember killing her. Of course, he was very drunk at the time and might have blacked out. Even with Creighton under arrest, however, the killings don't stop. Next to come is a brutal triple murder in a whorehouse, followed by the firebombing of a gay bar. Soon another suspect appears, a bland, ordinary insurance executive who lost everything that mattered to him on 9/11, including, it seems, his very soul. The 2001 terrorist attack on New York City forms an ever-present backdrop to the conjoined stories of Small Town. The many characters that populate it are still reeling from the loss, trying to make sense out of a world gone mad, always reminded by the stark hole in their beautiful skyline. Their pain, the city's pain, is an important of their lives still, and thus an important part of the plot. Block has written a masterpiece for his 52nd novel, a stunning work that draws on all his powers as a storyteller and chronicler of the darker side of the human psyche. Never before has he painted on such a broad canvas, and never before has he attempted to go so deep into the hearts and minds of so many different characters. Breaking out of the more traditional mystery mold was a gamble, but it has paid off in spades. Small Town is one of the finest books of Block's, or any, career. Reviewed by David Montgomery, Mystery Ink
Rating:
Summary: Extraordinarily Clever
Review: I read the book first and then all of the reviews here on Amazon. My take on the book was that the author must have spent a great deal of time organizing and outlining the various plot points. The way that all of the different stories and characters interacted was nothing short of extraordinary.
My take on the reviews is that the long time fans of Block apparently want him to keep writing the same book over again and have no patience for him when he tries something new. Those new to the author were much more accepting. I see that this book isn't selling at all which is odd. This beat the hell out of any piece of popular fiction I've read in the past 5-10 years.
Rating:
Summary: Unexpected Trash
Review: l love reading Lawrence Block's Matthew Scudder novels and many of the author's other works. But this particular effort is, in my opinion, pure out-and-out trash.
Now, the premise is excellent: a man going over the edge because of the trauma and losses from the 9-11 WTC bombings. And, initially, someone else accused of the first murder.
And then begins the trash, much of it totally unnecessary - in particular, the often-depraved and carefully described sexual needs and actions of a female character who manages to become quite unsympathetic and near-lunatic in her acting out of every possible sexual want - not 'need', want!.
Then, there are several just plain hokey and/or unclear aspects: first, the clearing of the first murder suspect (very poorly explained), and second, determining who the murderer is/was, a "yeah, right" reader's reaction. And, a few of the sub-plots just become plain boring.
l find it difficult to believe that the author actually wrote this trashy novel; the only suspicion l can come up with is that his agent or editor took too many liberties in an effort to spice up this l-o-n-g novel.
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