Getting Off: A Novel of Sex and Violence

Do you know the disappointment of breaking the ear off a chocolate rabbit only to find out that it is hollow? That's the feeling I got reading this book by Lawrence Block, still one of my favorite crime writers. But, this may be his worst effort. It's the tale of a serial killer, a girl in her twenties whose goal is to return to each man she has had sex with and kill them. No reason given. It was clear why she killed her parents, because of years of sexual abuse as a child. But beyond that, she never explains why she is doing it, except that it feels good. Another major weakness: she never comes close to being caught. There's no suspense here. It's just sex, slash, and move on. The book jacket says this is "A Novel of Sex and Violence." The violence is hardly anything. True she kills, but it's quick and done. The sex is fairly plain until she discovers lesbianism. This appears to be a book that Block wrote for the publisher Hard Case Crime, whose stock in trade seems to be sex and violence, but little suspense. I have read a number of their books, but none were satisfactory and this is a perfect example.

I certainly Got Off reading this book! White hot sex with a compelling story.

When potential readers get a gander at the cover of this novel, the sleazy artwork and Block pseudonym could easily clue them to conclude that the book is a reprint from the golden age (with a somewhat nuder cover dame) or a contemporary stab at retro crime pulp. But, alas, it is neither. In fact, calling it a novel is somewhat of a stretch. It's more like the confessional recitations of a serial killer who's attempting to titillate her cellmate. If readers believe they are perusing an actual novel (as this reviewer did), they might readily find the narrative interesting until around the middle of the volume, when the realization begins to sink in that the story smells more like fantasy than hard-boiled crime fiction.
Why Block didn't situate this story in the forties or fifties is a mystery. Then, a woman might have been able to check into decent hotels, board airplanes, and secure employment without using driver's license ID, a credit card, or Social Security number. She might have been able to leave a trail of dead bodies without having her own image on multiple security cameras and being the subject of computer tracking and state-of-the-art criminal investigative techniques. Most of the time, this protagonist, Kit, uses whatever pseudonym pops into her head at a moment's notice. The only precautions she takes are haphazardly wiping up crime scenes and moving to different cities. She's never challenged, seldom refused sexually, and there's not even a hint that the cops might be catching on.
It's just Kit killing, killing, killing.

Getting Off: A Novel of Sex & Violence by Lawrence Block, (writing as Jill Emerson) Hard Case Crime #101, 335-pages.

This novel follows a young woman, early 20’s, who has made a life for herself by having casual sex with men, murdering them, stealing whatever money or other valuable items they may have on them, then assuming a new identity and moving on. She doesn’t seek out specific men, or even a specific type, just random men looking for casual sex. In most instances it ends up being a case of the men approaching her and sealing their own fate.

One day, while living under one of a never ending series of false identities, a random conversation brings to mind the handful of men (I believe the actual number is six) who have slept with her and escaped. This gives new purpose to her life and the deadly game she plays as she sets out to track them all down and eliminate them.

The subtitle sums it all up pretty well. There is a lot of sex in this novel. No, seriously, A LOT of sex. Frankly, for my taste, it all gets a little monotonous. Early on I began to wonder if it was all really necessary to the story, then it became obvious that the sex was essentially what it was all about… It’s not a crime story with sex in it, it’s a sex story with a crime subplot. Sex is what drives the plot forward.

My understanding is that parts of this material were originally published in short form, under the pseudonym Jill Emerson, these short stories were later expanded on or absorbed into this novel - it shows. The whole thing reads like a bunch of random murder scenarios loosely joined together by an ongoing diary of sexual exploits. With the exception of one segment dealing with a veteran of the war in Afghanistan who has returned home horribly wounded there really isn’t much substance to any of it.

The author does try to give it more dimension by examining what drives the main character, the origins of her obsession, the thinking behind her crimes. It doesn’t really work. Because she is such an unlikeable, unsympathetic character and her victims (with the exception of the previously mentioned veteran) aren’t all that much better there is never any real tension to the story. The reader doesn’t really care about the victims, the killer is never in any extreme danger of getting caught as she is not being actively pursued by any agency or jurisdiction. It all ends up being sort of ho-hum.

To be clear, I am not offended by the sex, I am offended by the substandard, lackluster novel that features it. I found it to be overlong and tedious, like a marginally funny joke that has been repeated too many times. Lawrence Block is a great writer, he is able to make this so-so story almost tolerable - almost. There are a few twists and turns, but few of them are truly unexpected. I rated this a little harshly, 2-STARS, based on the fact that Block is a world class writer and Hard Case Crime is a superior publishing imprint and so I have come to expect better from both.

Extreme violence, graphic sex, strong language - most definitely adults only on this one.

I wish more books were like this one.

This novel is quite erotic and dark. It is a book that can certainly test your boundaries and push the limit for some. For others, it is a fresh breath from the prentenious dull bulls*** that the world of books can be polluted with. As a child I really enjoyed reading because it was always a fun journey that expanded my imagination. As an adult, finding a book can be a struggle because there rarely is imagination in adult books. Books aimed at adults are usually pretenious bulls*** littered with symbolism and "life lessons" that only a freshman in college who has just started smoking weed can fake interest for.

This is a book that is entertaining and amazing for anybody who loves exploitation entertainment.

Awful didn't bother to finish.

GETTING OFF, a recent addition to the Hard Case Crime Series, is a 2011 entry penned by Edgar-winning author Lawrence Block, author of several other entries in the series. GETTING OFF really appealed to my OCD side, with its’ insistence of lists, revenge and traveling. Kitty Tolliver is a human praying mantis, a young woman who, after being sexually abused and mislead by her father, makes a career of having sex with men and then killing them, taking whatever money she finds on their person after she’s made quick work of them with a knife, poison or a gun. The book is poorly paced and makes the unfortunate mistake of concentrating on the one character and giving no Javert to Kitty’s Jean Valjean. Kitty makes a quest to find the five men that “escaped” her punishment. That being said, the book is fun if not a bit misogynist, with stilted dialogue and a lascivious Sapphic eye. By the time the coincidences pile up and a the narrative shifts to a cruising couple with a slew of dirty talk Block’s sexually graphic novel is official off the rails, slowing down to a snail’s pace before stopping with a pure-d clunk. But, it’s fun while it lasts.

Genius, pure genius. I've long suspected that I could enjoy reading an instruction booklet for assembling and using a left-hand monkey wrench were it written by Lawrence Block. The man is just simply a great writer with that combination of skill and talent that makes almost everything he's written an enjoyable read. Whether his protagonists are ex-cop private eyes (Matt Scudder), wise-cracking burglars (Bernie Rhodenbarr), paid assassins (Keller), or 'damaged goods/serial killers' like Kitten/Kimmie one finds it easy to sympathize if not empathize with them, root for them, and then long for more of the same.

Billed as 'A Novel of Sex and Violence', GETTING OFF by Lawrence Block is the very epitome of doing what it says on the tin. Anti-heroine, Kit, is on the rampage, bedding and then killing every eligible man across the US in this fun, horror-tinged thrill ride. Pulp fiction at its very finest. Loved it.

I can not believe the negative reviews of this book. It says on the cover "A Novel of Sex and Violence" and there is an image of a naked woman with a knife. Then people say there is too much sex and violence. This book gets into the head of the protagonist in a way the even Silence of The Lambs did not. If you want the good guys to always win, the bad guys to always get caught and pay stick with Miss Marple. This book delivers hot and cool from one of the best writers in the genre. Like all great works of art, enjoy the wonderful ambiguity.