"Redhead" -- Duane Swierczynski

In a move calculated to drive bibliographers and completists up the wall, St. Martin's has reprinted Duane Swierczynski's The Blonde in trade paperback format and added a novella titled "Redhead." "Redhead" isn't a standalone story. You pretty much have to have read The Blonde to figure out what's going on, so it will probably never be reprinted separately. If you want to read it, you'd better buy this paperback. Is it worth it? Hey, what's $13.95? A mere pittance. But if you're a person who thought the ending of The Blonde was just right, then you might not want to know what happens to Kowalski and The Blonde afterward. If you do want to know, then get out the old wallet and spend the cash.

What will you get for your money? I can't say too much about the plot without giving away the good stuff, so I'll just say the story hits the ground running and never lets up. You got your government assassins with nicknames line Bonesaw, The Surgeon, and Ana Esthesia. You got a body count that's somewhere past 75. You got your explosions. And you got Terrill Lee Lankford's apartment, which has now starred in at least two movies and this novella. Can anyone else's apartment say the same?

I guess the lucky people are the ones who haven't read The Blonde yet. They get two great stories for the price of one.