Duane Swierczynski, The Blonde

The Blonde

Duane Swierczynski

St. Martin's Nov 2006, $23.95

ISBN: 0312343795

At the Liberties Bar in Philadelphia International Airport, THE BLONDE sitting next to reporter Jack Eisley calmly informs him she poisoned him by putting something into his beer. She says her name is Kelly White; he will soon have a knot in his stomach informing him her poison is working, and he will be dead in twelve hours if he fails to obey her demands. When his stomach begins to hurt, Jack realizes the truth. Kelly says she must stay within ten feet of a human or die as a hit man is following her. Jack initially flees the crazy woman but realizes she has the antidote he needs so he decides to stay near Kelly and beg. Kelly switched to someone else, but decides to go with Jack when he comes back for her.

Meanwhile lethal CI-6 operative Mike Kowalski seeks a missing professor whose head he is to bring back to his group for lab testing. Mike observes Kelly but decides to follow the reject to his home only to find him dead. He needs to take the victim's head with him to bring to the lab, but first he goes to confront Kelly.

DOA meets 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag in Duane Swierczynski's faster than the speed of light thriller which explodes from the opening line: "I poisoned your drink" until the final triangular confrontation occurs. Jack is perfect as an innocent bystander whose harmless flirting leads to his becoming an innocent victim. Mike is his counterpart as an assassin who works for some mysterious group (government, mob, private lab or a combination of both). However the tale belongs to the blonde who coolly makes the novel fun to read as a combo victim femme fatale though plausibility needs to be left behind starting when Mike begins his head count.

Harriet Klausner