The Eye by Bill Pronzini and John Lutz

First published in 1984; published digitally by Open Road Media on April 22, 2014

The Keeper of the Eye kills a drunken old man for committing the sin of rude behavior. He kills a gay man for committing the sin of being gay. He kills his third victim by mistake, but decides the man committed a sin worthy of death by having casual sex with Jennifer Crane. His fourth victim is a woman who is having an affair with an unemployed artist. The killings all occur on the same block. The killer, Lewis Collier, a/k/a the Keeper of Eye, is educated and articulate, but he has the deranged notion that he is the Lord's Avenger. The Eye sees everything and all that it sees is sinful. One of the novel's mysteries is how Collier sees and knows so much about the people on the block (as well as the undercover cops who are roaming about, hoping to find him).

Catching the serial killer is the job of Detective E.L. Oxman. He finds it hard to focus on the case after he meets Jennifer Crane, a woman on whom all men seem to focus. In the tradition of serial killer novels, Collier reveals himself to Oxman without revealing his identity, causing Oxman to worry that the Eye might have his eye on Jennifer Crane. Oxman's wife, on the other hand, is worried that Oxman might have his eye on another woman.

Although most of the novel is written in the third person, Collier tells his story in the first person as he dictates a recording of his thoughts. Bill Pronzini and John Lutz give Collier a distinct voice, educated and chilling, that imparts a creepier tone to his sections of the novel.

The attempt to catch a deranged killer is a familiar theme in crime fiction. This incarnation of that theme is particularly clever. The story winds its way to a twist at the end that I probably should have guessed but didn't. More importantly, The Eye distinguishes itself with its portrayal of the psychological impact of the murders on the intertwined lives of the block's residents. Relationships sour, friendships end, lives change. The disparate characters who live on the block -- including an aspiring actress who shoplifts jewelry to make ends meet, a burglar, a mentally disabled building superintendent who wants to be recognized for his winning streak at gin rummy, and a number of others -- are carefully drawn and generally sympathetic despite their faults, as is Oxman. The ensemble of credible neighborhood characters make The Eye stand out in the world of serial killer crime fiction.

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