The Tuesday Blade

by Bob Ottum

"The handles were eggshell-white pearl and the days of the week were hand-lettered on each one. She lifted out the Tuesday razor and snapped the case closed…"

Glory-Ann had the kind of body that men wanted badly. That made her a highly salable commodity.

She still bore the scars of the time that young hoodlum charged the hometown guys a nickel each for her in the back of a car.

When she came to New York City in search of the swinging singles scene, the pimps marked her down as a natural.

But Glory-Ann had a razor in her lovely hand and she was through with being anybody's victim…

Genres: Mystery, Novels, Horror, Fiction

226 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[Wayne]

One of those books that fluctuates from five stars to two and back. We'll go three. This was the "Death Wish" for the woman's libbers of the 70's. Were as Paul Benjamin, the original Death Wish vigilante has his wife raped and murdered. Gloria, Tuesday Blade, is raped at a young age and anger and hatred bubble up through the years and is unleashed when she comes to New York and has an incident at the Port Authority.

She offs pimps and anyone who demeans woman. Her first victim just so happens to have a set of straight razors with each day of the week printed on them. Tuesday being the keeper. This could have been a solid five stars, but it got to talkie at times. Just lost my interest. Most definitely worth the read for the nostalgia of 70's trashy paperbacks.

[Trevor]

Ultra violent. Ultra sleazy. Ultra awesome. I’m not here to say this is the best book ever, by any means. But if you’re looking for a mean and nasty modern (well, 1976 modern) noir vigilante/slasher tale that feels like William Friedkin, Brian De Palma, and the Grindhouse films of the ‘70s thrown into a blender and mixed into a nice pulp smoothie, you’ll probably get a big kick out of this. I certainly did.

[Hasini | bibliosini]

So, The Tuesday Blade had a good plot line. I liked how Gloria's past influenced and I loved the character of Sergeant DeMario.

But there were some stuff that I did not like at all too. First, the writing style is pretty confusing most of the time. There was too much dialogue with not enough description. Sometimes it was like reading a character's lines in a play.

Also, the ending seemed to lack something. There was no climatic moment in any part of the book and the end of the book just sort of petered out.

I wish there had been more DeMario in the story and that there'd been more of a connection between characters and reader. The only way I can briefly describe is that it was an okay book but it lacked that 'boom!'

[Sean]

i bought this book at a yard sale in rhode island when i was 11. within the week i read it, i regressed 2 years mentally.

[Steve]

This book isn't for the squeamish, but all cutting aside, it is a deceptively engaging book. Great plot and great characters -- and a great read! Moreover, it stands the test of time.

[Gladys]

I have read this book when I was in college, but I can still remember how it made me realize that mystery/thriller genre will always be one of my favorites.

The book was well-written, with enough suspense to make you want to finish the book in a hurry. Its story line is hauntingly good, making it unforgettable. The only thing that I don't like is the ending. It's as if the author only has a few days left to finish the novel, thus reflecting his haste in the ending.

[Scott Drake]

It's like rereading your first high school short story; except this is a bit less coherent. The overly simplistic one major character -- one plot line -- that goes 90% the way to a resounding finale, then spins in a new theme with a show stopping 'what the hell is all this?' and then resolving with a truly uninspired conclusion disappointed on all levels. It gets the second star only for the more developed secondary characters with the first going with an intriguing title and concept.

[Bob Box]

Read in 1977. Don't remember book or author.

[Diana]

Don't, just don't.

[Noah Wilson]

Passively entertaining and has the bones of something a lot more engaging, but loses its way a bit towards the end. Still an enjoyable short read though.

[Paul]

Well, I think it is strong writing even if details are over the top. Highly enjoyed it. There are few novels I keep once read, but this is still on my shelf after 20 years.

[Alix]

A forgotten slasher from the '70s. Glory takes her revenge on pimps and dirty ol' men as her straight-edge razor exposes them for the whole of New York to see. Far from just a cheap thrill.

[William]

An excellent neo-noir! It isn't especially well written, but it is very descriptive; I don't think I have ever seen an author take up nearly two violent pages of a book describing one murder in detail.