November 21, 2003

City of the Dead

Can anyone tell me about a thriller-writer from the 1970s named Herbert Lieberman? I've just read, and reviewed, his City of the Dead, which is really good --- about as gruesome as you'd expect a novel about a forensic pathologist dealing with multiple homicides to be, but horrifying far more through its images of personal defeat and moral compromise than mere blood and viscera. It's definitely a period piece, but in ways that make it more interesting, and the feeling that everything is on the verge of complete collapse contributes a lot. So who was Lieberman, and did he write anything else good, and what happened to him?

Notice: If you take this as an opportunity to recommend the novels of Patricia Cornwall, I will ignore your letter, and try, out of charity, to forget you said such a thing.

The Commonwealth of Letters

Posted at November 21, 2003 13:44 | permanent link

Three-Toed Sloth