Terry D. (tmdaviss) - , reviewed After the First Death (Audio CD) (Unabridged) on + 72 more book reviews
You are about to be accused of murder... again; and you don't remember a thing. But there is obviously a dead girl in the room with you and you don't remember a thing. This is the situation Alex Penn finds himself in at the start of "After the First Death", a mystery to be solved from the inside.
After the First Death is an early work of Lawrence Block, written in the style of the old gumshoe detective novels of the past. The style is fitting as it helps to set the stage for the novel in the New York City of the 1960's. This book was originally published in 1969, and reissued in 2002 along with others acclaimed novels by Lawrence Block.
The story itself begins inside the head of Alex Penn as he slowly comes back to conciousness and then adjusts to the unexpected world and situation surrounding him. Along with the expanding world the present and the past are explained and as a reader we begin to solve the crime along with the protagonist. Of course, their are twists and turns along the way. And characters very different from those one would find today.
This is a book that will transport you back to an earlier time, both in style and location. It is not the fast paced novel of today, but a story that will envoke the past or even transport you back to the world of the 60's. I found the slow beginning (in Alex's head) something to adjust to before settling into the writing style. Also, the sophistication of our modern thinking is absent; in some ways making this feel like a TV drama that doesn't acknowledge the reader's savvy to understand technology and so forth.
If you want something different, not in a bad way, but kind a throwback, then try out this story. The unabridged CD set lasts 5 hours, 10 minutes. So put on your sharkskin suit and tie and slip back a few decades to experience "After the First Death".
After the First Death is an early work of Lawrence Block, written in the style of the old gumshoe detective novels of the past. The style is fitting as it helps to set the stage for the novel in the New York City of the 1960's. This book was originally published in 1969, and reissued in 2002 along with others acclaimed novels by Lawrence Block.
The story itself begins inside the head of Alex Penn as he slowly comes back to conciousness and then adjusts to the unexpected world and situation surrounding him. Along with the expanding world the present and the past are explained and as a reader we begin to solve the crime along with the protagonist. Of course, their are twists and turns along the way. And characters very different from those one would find today.
This is a book that will transport you back to an earlier time, both in style and location. It is not the fast paced novel of today, but a story that will envoke the past or even transport you back to the world of the 60's. I found the slow beginning (in Alex's head) something to adjust to before settling into the writing style. Also, the sophistication of our modern thinking is absent; in some ways making this feel like a TV drama that doesn't acknowledge the reader's savvy to understand technology and so forth.
If you want something different, not in a bad way, but kind a throwback, then try out this story. The unabridged CD set lasts 5 hours, 10 minutes. So put on your sharkskin suit and tie and slip back a few decades to experience "After the First Death".
