Duane Swierczynski in The Blonde comes up with mean slice of revved-up modern Hitchcock thriller. An innocent man gets pulled into situations way beyond his understanding and mayhem and pitch black comedy ensues (with a blonde along for the ride of course). Amoral characters and run amuck nanotechnology keep the action lean and breathless. Pop references like to Jean Patrick Manchette and D.O.A.(the original not the remake) add to the fun . Manchette is a good reference point as he wrote similar...

Jack is on his way to Philadelphia to meet his wife's divorce attorney, so he was pretty sure that his life couldn't get much worse. Turns out, it can. He meets a blonde at the airport bar and they're chatting. He thinks it's going pretty well until she tells him that she poisoned him. He's like, "Yeah, sure, hahaha," but turns out she really did. So now he has to find her again. And when he does, the story she tells him? Well, it gets even weirder from there.This is my fourth of his books (and

Ireally liked the concept. It was fast paced and exciting. It lost me with the science. The whole neuro- toxin thing made my brain hurt.

While sitting in an airport lounge, Jack Eisley is told by an attractive blonde that she had poisoned his drink. Assuming she is merely flirting and not believing any part of her threats, Jack leaves but eventually suffers unimaginable pain and sickness. Upon meeting back up with her, Jack slowly realizes just how true her threats are..Swierczynski had stated he wanted to write a sequel to The Wheelman, I suppose this was his idea. While technically linked to the previous book in the sense that

The most outrageous thriller I've ever read. The action is set at a blistering pace as confusion reigns in a story that defies all reason. Jack Eisley is sat in an airport bar when Kelly White (an attractive blonde seated next to him who's actually a scientist called Vanessa) tells him she's poisoned his drink. Kelly explains to Jack that unless there is someone within 10 feet of her at all times, she'll die. So, if Eisley wants the antidote, he'll have to stick by her. There follows a night of

Awesome book! This was like reading a book on speed. I'd never read anything by DS before but now I definitely will need to again. Terrific concept, great characters and while the storyline required significant abandonment of reality, it grabbed me from the first page and held me through the last, even through the extra "sequel short story" at the end of the copy I bought. This could be a Tarantino movie. Suspend your belief at the door and pick this up!

The blonde ran up to [Jack Eisley] and wrapped her arms around his neck. She whispered, "Go along with this or you'll die." -- page 21Such a disappointment after I much enjoyed author Swierczynski's high-octane and hard-boiled The Wheelman and also his multi-generational crime saga Revolver earlier this year. The Blonde is one of those heartless, down-and-dirty thrillers with a minimal ensemble cast who were uniformly rather unpleasant folks, save for the usual 'Innocent Bystander' protagonist (...

*2.5 Stars* "I poisoned your drink.""Excuse me?""You heard me.""Um, I don't think I did."The blonde lifted her cosmopolitan. "Cheers." And thus starts Duane Swierczynski's bizarre thriller where Jack Eisley is poisoned by a sexy crazy woman in a bar who claims that she has something in her blood that will make her head explode if she doesn't have anyone within ten feet of her at all times, and essentially takes him hostage in exchange for the antidote.It's a set-up that forces you to p...

There's no two ways about it Blondes have more fun. Yeah I couldn't resist that.At least if you think exploding heads, pulp fiction references and a race against time not to mention multiple interested parties who don't have being concerned about your well being at the top of their to-do list is more fun they do.Meet Jack, a loser in an airport bar drinking to get the courage to go sleep in a motel room alone and wake up to meet his wifes divorce lawyer. Meet Kelly, a devastating blonde so despe...

So, last night I went to bed feeling excellent in all respects. I turned on my lamp above the bed and grabbed Duane's The Blonde which I had to rescue from the local library because friggin' Amazon's Kindle store had it on their "sorry folks, but due to formatting errors, we are reviewing this book with publisher" list for over a year now with no progress apparent from either the publisher or Amazon. I called Amazon and told them: ..."either remove the damned book from the Kindle store, or fix t...

I love the ‘The Blonde’ – there is a reason this is a pop culture classic. It has everything a pulp addict could possibly want; basement crazies, dangerous broads, chivalrous men, and hard hitting action. The bonus novella ‘The Redhead’ follows on from the events that transpired in the novel with a more thriller feel than the full length predecessor and closed off the story ark nicely. One has got to wonder if this story has enough legs to warrant a sequel? Fans of Swierczynski, I’m sure are hop...

I'm starting to think that nobody knows how to get pages turning in a crime novel quite like Duane Swierczynski. Need a hook? Need a ticking clock? Need a conflict?Page one,line one, "I poisoned your drink." This is surely enough to get a story moving, but while most writers would allow that premise to coast, Swierczynski just uses it as a jump start before flooring it. Sequence by sequence, scene by scene, the conflicts get boosted, jacked, and blasted. The characters are continually cornered a...

I should read this again. It really blew my socks off when I read it. I'd never heard of the author back in 2006. Think this was his second novel. It's so fast paced it's nuts. You'll want to read it in one go. Totally love this speed-freak of a non-stop thriller. One of the best page turners that I can recall.

“The Blonde” by Duane Swierczynski has the best first line ever “I poisoned your drink.” From there, it just gets better and more complicated. It is a fast-paced thriller that keeps the reader guessing page after page. It is full of puzzles, conspiracies on every level, and tragedy after tragedy. Page after page, the reader is challenged to fit these pieces together in a frantic race against time, and just when things seem to be coming together, here comes another complication.If you want more o...

The Blonde grabbed me from the first sentence and never let go. It’s a face-paced, rocket ride of a book. Sexy, dangerous, a bit kooky, and loads of fun.

Excellent action packed read!!!

Fasten your seatbelts and prepare for a wild ride of Homeland Security assassins, clean-up men, a beautiful blonde who has to be within ten feet of someone or horrible death ensues, an evil man called “The Operator” (what else), nanotechnology creatures called “Mary Kates,” a Sybian Club, and a normal guy who gets caught in something way over his head.Fun. Perfect for a cross-country plane ride or waiting for the doctor to be finished with the cute drug salesperson (ever notice how they always g...

Really good thrill ride. Reminds me of Victor Gischler, Warren Ellis or Chuck Palahniuk. Improbable fun with zany characters- but not silly or immature. The "heroes" are an innocent traveler and a quasi-govt assassin. The "heroine" is a blonde who has caused the death of many men. A lot of fun - I will be reading more of Duane Swierczynski's books.

The Blonde is a quick read, a fast-paced, farcical, nutty and ultimately irreverent tale written in the crime noir style of pulp fiction. You won't come away from the story hoping for a sequel to experience these characters again, but you'll enjoy the madcap thrill ride while it lasts. The comedic story at times requires a good dose of "suspension of disbelief" although it does have one of the best opening lines I've ever read that is sure to hook readers: "I poisoned your drink." The plot takes...

Duane Swierczynski has quite an imagination. His books are unusual, and unpredictable. Such was the case with “The Blonde” (2007).I previously read two of his other books, “The Wheelman” from 2006 and “Severance Package” from 2008.” “The Blonde” would be in the same league as “Severance Package,” both of them dealing an ordinary guy caught up in the machinations of a super-secret government agency which specializes in assassinations. But whereas “Severance Package” takes place in one building du...