Scott Weiss is a middle-aged former police officer turned private
detective. His partner is Jim Bishop, a younger man with a taste for
women and drugs. Weiss and Bishop fell out in the second book in
this series, SHOTGUN ALLEY. In this third book, DAMNATION STREET,
Weiss is searching for Julie, a prostitute he has feelings for but
has never actually met. Julie went into hiding in DYNAMITE ROAD, the
first in the series. She is running from John Foy aka Shadowman, a
pathological killer who Weiss and Bishop have come up against
before. Foy is obsessed with killing her. Julie phones Weiss begging
him not to look for her because Foy will follow him. Weiss ignores
the pleas, thinking if he finds Julie he can keep her safe. He also
believes he can lure Foy out into the open using Julie as bait. As
Weiss traces Julie's call and starts follows her trail he learns
there is more to her than meets the eye. Predictably, Foy follows
Weiss, intent on being led to his much desired killing frenzy, while
Bishop takes up the chase after he discovers some crucial information
about Foy.

DAMNATION STREET was not a good read. Part of this was that I hadn't
read any of the previous books, so I was immediately at a
disadvantage as author Andrew Klavan didn't back track previous
threads very well to bring readers up to speed. The other reason I
did not enjoy the book was the graphic sex, and dreadful violence.
The story didn't flow; it was jerky and presumed that all the back
stories were already known to the reader. The characters were not
brought alive for me – they were just characters on a page. There was
no depth, no empathy with any of them. The story zipped along pretty
quick earning its thriller tag. But the ending was basically a non-
event. There was a certainly build up, but it was a build up to
nothing. ( )

ANDREW Klavan creates excellent thrillers and deserves to be better known than he is. Anyone who has not read him but has seen True Crime starring Clint Eastwood, do not judge Klavan by that ego- vehicle for an aged actor.

He is good: his writing is tight, intricate, clear and suspense-filled, while his characterisation is usually spot on.

But his latest effort, Damnation Street, is just that — an effort, and a disappointing addition to his generally first-rate stories.

Although many associate “cliff-hanger” scenes with TV serials, they far predate television, having been used in serialised fiction as a hook to entice the reader into buying the next installment.

While Victorian novelists and pulp-fiction writers may be excused for using the device due to editorial pressure and economic necessity, there is no excuse today to manipulate readers with such suspense-enhancing tricks when they have forked out mega-bucks for the complete book.

Damnation Street is told from several points of view: we have the good, kindly, intuitive yet jaded Scott Weiss, head of his own detective agency, who is on a personal mission to track down a prostitute and, in so doing, trap the psychopathic killer who is obsessed with her.

Then there is the killer, “the man who called himself John Foy”, fixated on the hooker Julie Wyant, determined to own, use and ultimately kill her, then himself. Except that Julie has disappeared and is on the run, and Foy realises Weiss is the only man capable of tracking her down.

Jim Bishop worked for Weiss before going on the rampage, but when he learns that his mentor’s life is threatened, he tries to save him, with near-fatal consequences…

Lastly there is the narrator, Klavan himself (although he is never named), who claims to have worked in the detective agency.

He has a relatively minor part in the action, but his love story brings the whole book together.

The narrator is inspired by the woman he loves — who demands he prove himself worthy of her respect — to play a small yet decisive role in the unravelling of the mystery.

His story has a definite happy ending, although the other endings are not as clear cut.

Spoiler alert: the man who called himself John Foy is out-thought, outwitted and ultimately outgunned by Weiss — the whiskey-sodden, prostitute- addicted, morose Jewish former cop is more than a match for the psycho-killer.

Bishop overcomes life-threatening wounds, has a prophetic vision and recovers, determined to stay on the straight and narrow, and fight on the side of the great and good.

However, despite a relatively happy ending, Damnation Street is not as satisfying nor is it likely to have the popular appeal of many of Klavan's other books, including True Crime.

If you are already a Klavan fan, you will buy this book anyway — but if you are new to his writing, rather judge him by The Uncanny or Hunting Down Amanda.

Damnation Street is an exciting page-turner, but it does not do a writer of his calibre justice. ( )