This is another early Lawrence Block crime novel that he wrote early in his career. In fact, this is considered his first crime novel but not his first published novel. In the afterword to this edition, Block tells how this novel was written in about 1960. Then he was paid and it was sent to a publisher. However, Block never received a printed copy of the book and he wasn't sure if it had actually been published. At that time he was using various publishing houses and his books were published with different titles and by using various pen-names. He remembered the basic plot of the story and used a blog to try to find the book. Then a Facebook friend tagged him with a photo of several books by Sheldon Lord, one of Block's pseudonyms. And finally the book was identified as SAVAGE LOVER published in 1968 by Softcover Library. Block made some edits to the book and it was republished by Hard Case Crime under its original title, SINNER MAN.
The novel is about an insurance salesman named Don Barshter who accidentally kills his wife who falls and hits her head after a slap from Don. Don decides he doesn't want to do time for manslaughter so decides to run and take on a new identity. He travels to Buffalo, New York and changes his name to Nat Crowley. He decides he can't get a job without references so he seeks out the criminal element in the city. He is soon in with the mob there and to move up, he agrees to kill several others in the opposing faction. So will he avoid prosecution for killing his wife? And will he stay away from the police in Buffalo after gaining access to the underworld there?
This was another very compelling crime novel from Block. Some of the sex and violence in the book was quite shocking although Block wrote a lot of erotic fiction before he made it big with his novels in the 1990s. This was written in the late 50s and things have really changed since then. Crowley was able to get a new Social Security card without providing any other form of ID like a birth certificate. He was also able to carry a loaded gun onto an airline in his pocket! I think that Block is one of the best crime writers out there and even his early work is worth reading. Several of his early novels have been republished and I know I'll be reading more of them.
The novel is about an insurance salesman named Don Barshter who accidentally kills his wife who falls and hits her head after a slap from Don. Don decides he doesn't want to do time for manslaughter so decides to run and take on a new identity. He travels to Buffalo, New York and changes his name to Nat Crowley. He decides he can't get a job without references so he seeks out the criminal element in the city. He is soon in with the mob there and to move up, he agrees to kill several others in the opposing faction. So will he avoid prosecution for killing his wife? And will he stay away from the police in Buffalo after gaining access to the underworld there?
This was another very compelling crime novel from Block. Some of the sex and violence in the book was quite shocking although Block wrote a lot of erotic fiction before he made it big with his novels in the 1990s. This was written in the late 50s and things have really changed since then. Crowley was able to get a new Social Security card without providing any other form of ID like a birth certificate. He was also able to carry a loaded gun onto an airline in his pocket! I think that Block is one of the best crime writers out there and even his early work is worth reading. Several of his early novels have been republished and I know I'll be reading more of them.
