In The Washington Square Ensemble, as in most of Bell's novels, the major characters find themselves at odds with a social establishment which has somehow failed them. Lacking confidence in conventional values, often they band together in some kind of alternative society which usually is transitory at best. Frequently the plot line involves the establishment and the breakdown of these social orders. Further, The Washington Square Ensemble and Waiting for the End of the World (1985) are set primarily in New York City, and Bell's only mystery/adventure novel, Straight Cut (1986), begins there. In each of these novels, the drug traffic is a significant plot element. Although New York City is also the setting for the first section of Save Me, Joe Louis, and some of the characters from The Washington Square Ensemble are mentioned in passing, the action quickly moves south and drugs are not important...