A terrific story told in an unorthodox fashion. Why would a serial killer
write to his final victim's brother? What kind of dastardly plot did this
messenger of evil have in mind? Through the technique of letters
being penned by a killer to the victim's family and letters from the
victim's family to the killer, the reader climbs inside the minds of both
the killer and the victim's family. A great psychological study. Lawrence
block has been writing this stuff for fifty years and rarely if ever
misses. A short quick read. Recommended for readers of all types.
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There is no question that William Charles Croydon did, with malice aforethought, abduct Karen Dandridge, repeatedly sexual assault her as well as cause her death by manual strangulation. A brutal crime made worse by the defendant’s claim to not remember the actual murder and his insistence that Karen had enthusiastically participated in the sexual acts and had supplied the drugs that led to her untimely death.

The fact that the evidence clearly showed otherwise brought Karen’s brother, Paul Dandridge, no relief. He never had the opportunity to testify during the criminal phase of the trial that victimized his sister a second time under the guise of the nation’s justice system. A system that brought William Croydon media celebrity and a sentence of death.

The trial verdict does not end the situation in Lawrence Block’s powerful short story Like a Bone in the Throat.” Truly living up to the moniker A Tale From The Dark Side little is what it appears at first blush in this complex story. While the idea at the heart of the tale is a classic one, the execution in the hands of a master is something very good as well as entirely different than expected.

Like a Bone in the Throat (A Tale From The Dark Side)
Lawrence Block
http://www.lawrenceblock.wordpress.com
Self-Published
November 2011
ASIN: B0067DC8JU
Estimated 33 Pages
E-Book
$2.99

Material was picked up during the author’s free read promotion during early July 2013.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2013 ( )