Resume Speed

Lawrence Block is a prolific writer who has been reviewed three times previously in the blog. While the reviews in our blog of his other novels have been lukewarm, this one is nothing but hot. Bill Thompson began the story on a bus which was taking him to Montana. Skilled as a fry cook, he hopped off the bus in a small town, found a diner that needed a new cook, and began a new life there. He was fleeing a town in North Dakota where he had an alcoholic blackout, and awoke with some evidence that he had been in a fight, and he worried that he had done something awful he could not remember. His new boss is Andy Page, and Andy is most impressed with Thompson’s skills and work ethic. Eventually, Thompson meets a new love interest, the librarian, Carlene Weldon. But Block could not put down the drink, and just as it is want to happen, his efforts to carefully control his alcohol consumption gradually and unpredictably slipped to dangerous proportions. Eventually, we learn that at some time in his past, he had murdered a man in one such blackout. Fearful of repeating that pattern, he was still unable to leave his bourbon alone.

The story and dialogue almost reads like a script from “Sergeant Friday.” It was short, direct, and to the point – and at the same time, as the character of Thompson was developed, the story was gripping. To use a cliché, this is a hard hitting work, while also being a short and easy read. Well done Mr. Block.