Oddly enough, this was the first writing I read by Jeffery Deaver. Why? No idea, but I quite liked the short story here. I have always enjoyed Block's works, and Keller most of all, so enjoying that story was not a surprise. I will actually go look for some more Deaver books, to see if this was just a fluke or if I have been missing out on an author I enjoy for all these years. ( )

novel, fiction ( )

This volume of Transgressions, edited by Ed McBain, consists of two novellas by New York Times bestselling authors Lawrence Block and Jeffrey Deaver. Deaver’s contribution, Forever, concerns a statistician turned cop who becomes suspicious of double suicide. The cop, Tal Simms, blunders his way through an investigation until he is finally able to convince Homicide that it may be a case for them after all. The story builds nicely, but the ending seems a bit sudden. An enjoyable tale, nonetheless. Block’s novella, Keller’s Adjustment, concerns a successful hitman who becomes philosophical about his life and lifestyle after 9/11 and the ensuing security measures. Block is able to present his hitman, Keller, as almost the opposite of a sociopath. Any writer who has the singular ability to get his readers sympathising with a hitman is worth reading. Block’s is arguably the better of the two novellas. ( )