Product Description
Matthew Scudder knows that justice is an elusive commodity in the big city, where a harmless man can be shot dead in a public place criminals fly free through holes in a tattered legal system. But now a vigilante is roaming among the millions, executing those he fees deserve to die. He calls himself "The Will of the People"--an ingenious serial killer who announces his specific murderous intentions to the media before carrying through on his threats. A child molester, a Mafia don, a violent anti-abortionist -- even the protected and untouchable are being ruthlessly erased by New York's latest celebrity avenger.

Scudder knows that no one is innocent -- but who among us has the right to play God? It is a question that will haunt the licensed p.i. on his journey through the bleak city grays, as he searches for the sanity in urban madness. . .and for a frighteningly efficient killer who can do the impossible.Amazon.com Review
This is far from the best of Lawrence Block's landmark Scudderseries-too little action or suspense, too much domestic bliss--so I'lljust use its publication as an excuse to introduce newcomers to somepast glories. The best of them all is still When the Sacred GinmillCloses, definitely on my short list of the 100 Best Mysteries. Butclose behind are such other Scudder classics as A Long Line of Dead Men,A Dance at theSlaughterhouse, TheDevil Knows You're Dead, Eight Million Ways toDie, In the Midst ofDeath, A Ticket to theBoneyard, and A WalkAmong the Tombstones. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (25)

A gentle read
Author of Afinidad: A novel of a serial killer
If this is your first Matthew Scudder novel, you will not feel you know the man at the end of the book; he is a man of few words and you don't get a lot of insight into what he is thinking either.But that doesn't matter; there is, after all, a whole series on him if you want to learn more. For the purposes of this book, such reticence from the author makes for an understated but elegant read, especially if you also like your thrillers without much violence and sex.In fact, much of the story line is related through the dialogue between the characters, and that dialogue is fantastic - witty, sassy, and streetwise. The story itself consists of two lines of investigation in New York. One concerns a vigilante killer who selects for his victims those who he believes have escaped the punitive side of the justice system.He announces his intended victims to the city through a newspaper columnist who, incidentally, is such a nasty drunk that you find yourself wishing that he would end up on the hit list himself.The other is a man dying of AIDs who is shot while sitting on a park bench enjoying the sunshine.
The reader is told fairly early on who the killer is in the first investigation, but you are kept in suspense by wondering whether the second line of investigation has anything to do with him.And then a copycat writer starts communicating with the city.
One disappointment, in my view, is how quickly a couple of the murder suspects give it up - just a bit of prompting by Matt and they're spilling their guts like they're on their therapist's couch.I would have thought that if you were facing twenty-five years to life in the slammer, you'd be a bit more reticent.Mind you, Matt is very good at what he does - three mysteries to solve and he cracks them all, for virtually no fees either.One wonders what New York's finest were doing.
If you like a lot of fast and furious action, get an earlier Scudder book.For anyone else, this is a good read.

I didn't really care for this L. Block novel--too lame.
Scudder's defense lawyer friend discovers himself on the list of "The Will"The Will is a serial killer who announces his victims in advance, and seeks to avenge himself on victims who seem to need to be killed.When Scudder's protection is broken and the lawyer is killed, Scudder sets off after the serial killer.
I think this could have been a very good novel if Block would have taken a bit more time with it, and worked with the plot and sub-plots.

Least graphic of Scudder series, enjoyable not thrilling
As mysteries go this was fairly enjoyable.Another reviewer is right, that Scudder turns into a "superslueth," but not so super since everything could be seen a mile off.I got a bit impatient in the middle because of that, but then settled in for the ride, which was slow but not annoying.As mysteries go, you could certainly do worse.This is definitely not the best you'll get from Block, but there are worse ways to spend an afternoon.

Least violent, most cheerful of the Scudder series...
Larry Block has published so many novels over the past 35 years or so that you cannot expect all of them to be masterpieces. He does have a few in that category. While this effort is not one of those, it is enjoyable enough. His aging, alcoholic-in-recovery private snoop Matt Scudder is 55, married and stable in this outing. A mysterious killer knocks off a few nasty guys in NYC, and Scudder ends up solving the case. Unfortunately the reader gets to the right conclusion at the same time as the private eye, which robs the saga of its punch. However, the show is not over, because a copycat takes the stage and creates a second case for our hero to resolve, at the same time that he is puzzling out still another, unrelated killing. While Scudder is never in any personal danger in this book, a situation most earlier reviewers lament, I still liked it. He's a complicated but nice guy, with a nice wife and a semi-adopted son who adds sizzle to his life. If you like your mysteries to avoid gristly murder details and personal danger for the lead character, this book will please you. Be warned: other entries in the Scudder series are much more graphic and have more tension, so if that's what you prefer, start with "A Walk Among the Tombstones" or one of the other, earlier novels.

One of my favorite Scudders
Block's Scudder series is serious business, though his characterizations are phenomenal in all his series.The other two: Burglar/Rhodenbarr and Tanner are much lighter, fun, less serious reading.This particular Scudder continues his personal growth from middle-aged, embittered, alcoholic into maturity.This becomes apparent to readers who have read many of the others in this series before reading this one.Some of action is downplayed in reference to character development, which might put off some readers.A good mystery writer spins a fine tale, but a great mystery writer evolves into a great writer who chooses to write mysteries--evolving the genre into literature.It seems to me that this is Block's objective, conscious or unconscious as the case may be.Certainly his poignant descriptions of Scudder's bout with alcoholism is a work or art.Many sides (some light some dark) are variously depicted in this incredible series.Scudder is all too human.Block also includes many memorable lines (which I add to my quote collection) such as: "'If it turns out there's life on Saturn;' Elaine said, `and we go there, we'll find out they've got three sets of eyes, and five sexes, and something against the Jews'" on page 31; "There is, I have been taught, all the difference in the world between the desire and the act.The one is written on water, the other carved in stone."on page 131; and "The room was thick with two conversations, the one we were having and the one we were choosing not to have." on page 283.I didn't read the series in order, it would be interesting to do so. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Good Lawrence Block detective novel
This is another in the Matt Scudder mystery series. In this one someone is killing off the members of a private men's club that meets once a year. The best thing about it is the characterization. Block is a great writer, and even if the pay off on this one isn't great the story telling is. Recommended.

Good story telling
Scudder paints a nice picture of grimy new york life as a backdrop to an interesting plot. I liked the overall narrative, but also the mini episodes where Scudder interacts and exchanges stories with the other characters. Definitely not a waste of time.

Good Matt Scudder
I'd read anything Lawrence Block wrote, cereal boxes, if necessary--that's how much of a fan I am.His only competitor in a narrow field is Donald Westlake, and Block is a tad or so better.

The plotof "Long Line" involves a tontine, a club of disparate men who meet once per year to see who has died.Unlikely?Yes, but bear with it.After a time it appears that the members are dying faster than normal, and Scudder is hired to find out why.It's been done before with different twists (e.g., Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None"), but it's not bad.I would add only that the first pages were a bit tedious--until Scudder takes the reins.Then the book moves.But it's not the plot that makes this book worthwhile.

Block's characters, the ambience of New York City and the dialogue, especially the latter, are what carry this.Block's people are full of contradictions.Too often writers invent characters who stay on a narrow track, but never Block.For example, unlicensed detective Scudder is devoted to his main squeeze, but now and then he strays.His main squeeze is an ex-call girls who has an artsy Manhattan shop and an eye for what is "in" with the artsy buyers.She can sell "paint by the number" works for hundreds of dollars if the painting is in an expensive frame.Block's African American friend talks jive and straight, and the reader is never sure which is his real voice.

Block invents some streets and byways of the City, but that causes no harm.I wouldn't nitpick that.Block's city is very much alive.His most obvious talent, however, is in writing dialogue.No one does it better.It's funny.It's real.There are very funny throwaway lines.

While this is not my favorite Block novel, it's a worthwhle read--and a good deal better than most other crime novels.

Busted Block
A boring pastiche of "koko" (Peter Straub) and "10 little indians" (Agatha Christie) with the best parts missing. The rest of the plot is a dreary Alcoholic Anonymous polemic. Avoid.

A hard-boiled puzzle
Multi-award winner Block combines the mystery puzzle format with the gritty style of the American private eye iin this 1994 Matthew Scudder novel.

Scudder himself is a somewhat unsettling character - a forthright, thoughtful recovering alcoholic who lives with an ex-prostitute and claims as his best friend a hard-drinking killer.

The story's premise is instantly tantalizing, bristling with curiosities. Scudder's new client, Lewis Hildebrand, belongs to an unusual club - 31 men who meet annually to reflect on the year's changes in their lives and to take reverent note of those members who have died. Members speak of the club to no one, not even wives.

The last living member chooses 30 new members and the club goes on. That day is quickly approaching.

Hildebrand hires Scudder to investigate the alarming death rate among members. As Scudder looks for a thread linking the disparate accidents, suicides and murders, the questions multiply and the angles proliferate. Motive is baffling and the only suspects are the surviving club members.

As always, Block's writing is excellent with a tight plot, unusual characters and intelligent dialogue. One of Scudder's better outings. ... Read more

Product Description

Bookseller and New-Yorker-to-the-bone, Bernie Rhodenbarr rarely ventures out of Manhattan, but he's excited about the romantic getaway he has planned for himself and current lady love Lettice at the Cuttleford House, a remote upstate b&b. Unfortunately, Lettice has a prior engagement—she's getting married . . . and not to Bernie—so he decides to take best buddy Carolyn instead. A restful respite from the big city's bustle would be too good to waste. Besides, there's a very valuable first edition shelved in the Cuttleford's library that Bernie's just itching to get his hands on. Did we neglect to mention that Bernie's a burglar?

Customer Reviews (34)

The Burglar Series
Very good character in the lead of a very well writing plot. As a Mathew Scudder fan, I change direction to the Bernie Rhodenbar series and found it amazingly pleasant. I intend to read the entire series as well as the whole Lawrence Block's collection. He's the very best in the writing field where he moves.

A very fun, witty mystery that seems like Fawlty meets Christie
Let me start by saying this is my first Bernie the Burglar series, but my mother loves them through and through. I must say I agree. Bernie is a burglar, only he runs a bookstore just to seem respectable. But he has a burning passion for breaking and entering, which he fulfills frequently. So when he visits an English townhouse, which possibly contains a very expensive book. But before he can do a thing about pilfering it, someone winds up dead. Great.
This book is not only funny; it is a well plotted mystery. Not long, but still meaty, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the one flaw the fact Block doesn't tie up every loose end, which irritated me, but that's about it.

Lame, lame, lame
Lawrence Block is a very good writer, usually. This "mystery" is chockablock with padded dialog that often seems to go on endlessly and to no purpose. And, to top it off, the "mystery" ends on a totally unbelievable and silly note.

There were four bodies total, that is people "killed" or otherwise departed from this realm of tears. Three were explained at the end, and the other one was simply left hanging, the explanation being that, well, some things just cannot be explained. Gimme a break.

That, on top of the bloated dialog, makes this one of Block's lesser efforts, to put it mildly.

Good Comedy, not his best mystery
While sometimes some of the entries in Lawrence Block's Burglar series can be a bit formulaic (some of the scenes are virtual repeats, at times), this one is a parody of other authors' prior, classic mystery works.Block's characters are simply a riot.The plot has a few flaws, but the emphasis here is on comic mystery not purity.So, if you are looking for a hard boiled or serious mystery, read Block's Scudder series or an Agatha Christie.There is fun in this book and two great quotes for my collection: "Whenever a politician answers a question that you haven't asked, he's lying" on page 282; and "I don't know who picked you to be the head wallaby in this kangaroo court" on page 303.However, this is not, IMHO, his best Burglar/Rhodenbarr book.Try "The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams" or "The Burglar in the Closet."Still, I'd recommend reading them all as light entertainment, somewhat similar to Block's Tanner/pseudo-spy series.

Bernie Has His Busman's Honeymoon
Lawrence Block is one of our most talented mystery authors. In the Bernie Rhodenbarr series he explores how an ordinary, but intelligent, "honest" person might go about pursuing a life of crime as a fastidious and talented burglar who isn't proud of what he does, doesn't like to hang out with criminals, and really gets a big thrill out of breaking and entering . . . and removing nonessential valuables from rich people. As you can see, there's a sitcom set-up to provide lots of humor. But the humor works well in part because Mr. Block is able to put the reader in the Bernie's shoes while he breaks, enters and steals . . . and evades the long arm of the law. To balance the "honest" burglar is an array of "dishonest" and equally easy-money loving cops. As a result, you're in a funny moral never-never land while your stomach tightens and your arm muscles twitch as tension builds. To make matters even more topsy-turvy, Bernie at some point in every story turns into an investigator who must figure out "who-dun-it" for some crime that he personally didn't do. It's almost like one of those "mystery at home" games where the victim comes back as the police investigator, playing two roles. Very nice!

So much for explaining the concept of the series. The Burglar in the Library is the eighth book in the series. I strongly suggest that you begin the series by reading Burglars Can't Be Choosers and follow it up with The Burglar in the Closet, The Burglar Who Studied Spinoza, The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling, The Burglar Who Painted Like Mondrian, The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams and The Burglar Who Thought He Was Bogart. Each story in the series adds information and characters in a way that will reduce your pleasure of the others if read out of order. Despite that admonition, I originally read them out of order and liked them well enough. I'm rereading them now in order, and like it much better this way. The Burglar in the Rye comes next in the series.

The series, always comical and satirical, continues the new turn begun in The Burglar Who Thought He Was Bogart.The spoof expands to the detective/thriller genre in general.I found this change to be a welcome and charming one.Anyone who is an Agatha Christie fan will appreciate the many references to And Then There Were None.

And Then There Were None was my favorite mystery for many years.I loved the way that there seemed to be no solution . . . until the solution miraculously appeared from an unexpected direction.And that was before I knew what a red herring is in a mystery book.Although not duplicating all elements of Dame Agatha's masterpiece, you will find enough reflections to keep you entertained and more than normally amused.

Another delightful element is that parts of the book relate to Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett.In truly spoofish fun, those parts of the story reflect the characterizations and style of those two great mystery writers.

Bernie has once again fallen in love, with one Lettice Runcible by name, who adores anything English, even if it is an English country house set in New England.Bernie has arranged to take her to Cuttleford House (which fits that description) to enjoy the atmosphere, while he checks out the chance that a rare first edition of The Big Sleep resides there unappreciated by the current owners.He plans are desperately derailed when Lettice announces she cannot go because she's getting married instead.Crestfallen, but still curious about the Raymond Chandler volume, Bernie persuades Carolyn Kaiser, his lesbian best friend, to accompany Raffles, the cat, and him.Added to the usual humor between Bernie and Carolyn are the complications of being bed mates and others assuming that they are either married or lovers.

On the way to Cuttleford House, a huge snowstorm sets in that makes travel difficult.Bernie soon begins discovering unexpected dead and live bodies while he tries to check out the library in the wee hours of the night.By the next morning, they are cut off by the storm . . . and the bodies begin to pile up.With no way to reach the police, Bernie had better get to the bottom of what's going on . . . or he may be next!

The mystery is masterfully complicated and rewarding, for those who care about that aspect of the book.

When I finished this one, I was sure that I had found the best book in the Bernie Rhodenbarr series . . . and I still feel that way.This book is amazingly wonderful.

The theme of this book focuses on the importance (and challenges involved in) treating other people with respect, kindness and consideration.Beware:Bad things happen when we do not!

Donald Mitchell
Co-author of The 2,000 Percent Solution, The Irresistible Growth Enterprise and The Ultimate Competitive Advantage ... Read more

Product Description

It's a jungle out there.

Literally. At least for Evan Tanner, eternally sleepless sometime superspy, who finds himself in Africa on the trail of the AWOL ruler of tiny Modonoland. It seems the petty despot's gone missing, and he's taken the state treasury along with him.

No stranger to impossible missions and international peril, Tanner's been in over his head before. This time, however, he's in imminent danger of being buried alive. And it all has to do with the CIA, white supremacists, moderate revolutionaries . . . and a blond jungle bombshell named (no joke!) Sheena. Tanner's always been a sucker for a pretty face and a curvaceous body, especially one that's wrapped in leopard skin. But this red hot renegade daughter of a local missionary is a maneater.

Which means this time Tanner's goose is well and truly cooked.

Customer Reviews (1)

Lots of tongue-in-cheek in this story
Evan Tanner is the spy who never sleeps. His sleep center was destroyed by shrapnel during the Korean War, and he has been productively awake ever since - except for the twenty-five years he was frozen by a jealous coworker. This novel finds him searching for the missing ruler of a new African nation. He has escaped into a remote part of his nation with millions from the treasury and is accompanied by an undercover agent from Tanner's covert group.

The part of the country he must go to is controlled by a rebel group led by a white woman known as Sheena the Jungle Girl. Her origins are unknown, but what is known is that she is ruthless and that no one returns from the area she controls.

On this adventure Tanner picks up a 15-year-old native girl who either accompanies him or dies. She is constantly attempting to seduce him, since she is considered old by her tribe. The number of dysfunctional elements in this novel will keep the reader reeling. You'll uncover missionaries who are not as virtuous as they should have been. A young girl misinterprets what she sees as love in action - and uses love and power to conquer and kill for no other reason than to temporarily quiet her demons. Tanner also discovers allies who are not quite whom they seem to be - and who turn out at various stages to really be enemies.

Armchair Interviews says: You will be thoroughly entertained by this book-as long as you can take it for the tongue-in-cheek novel it was meant to be. ... Read more

Product Description
Somewhere around 1969 I began to grow dissatisfied with the underlying principle of most novels---that a disembodied voice in the first or third person was telling us a story.I liked the idea of novels passing themselves off as documents, and drew inspiration from Mark Harris's WAKE UP, STUPID, and Sue Kaufman's DIARY OF A MAD HOUSEWIFE, the first ostensibly a collection of letters, the second, duh, a diary.(One could, of course, go back further, to the very beginnings of the English novel in the works of Daniel Defoe and Samuel Richardson.)

I also found myself interested in writing with greater candor about sexual topics.I had knocked out dozens of soft-core paperbacks, and wanted to try anew with greater freedom and more realism.

I wrote three paperback original novels for Berkley under the pen name Jill Emerson, two of them in diary form, the third a presumed collaborative novel written in concert by the three viewpoint characters.These were fun to do and worked out well, and they led to RONALD RABBIT IS A DIRTY OLD MAN.Some of the circumstances of the book's emergence are covered in an introduction to a special 1995 limited edition, which I've included at here the end of the text.I wrote the book thinking it would be another pseudonymous paperback, and that no doubt gave me the freedom to write it as I did; after it was written, the friends who read it liked it so much that I was persuaded to publish it as a hardcover novel, and under my own name.

I sent an early copy to Isaac Asimov, who wrote me that it was either the funniest dirty book or the dirtiest funny book ever written.I told him that would be a wonderful blurb, and he said "over my dead body," or words to that effect.Well, Isaac's been gone over fifteen years now, so I feel free to use it.Thanks, Isaac!

Enjoy!

---Lawrence Block ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Humorous Erotic "Mystery"
For some reason, Lawrence Block (known for his humorous and witty Rhodenbarr the burglar, Tanner the pseudo-spy, and Harrison the detective's assistant books as well as his darkly serious Scudder and intriguing Keller books) apologizes for his early works when they are re-published.I like his early works at least as much as his newer ones.Two cases in point are his terrific "One Night Stands" and this book.This book has an interesting structure--written as a series of letters.Be prepared for the eroticism--not for the very squeamish.But, the humor is uproarious.This is far and away his funniest book--I believe I've read ALL of his works except "Enough Rope."It's simply a scream, a laugh riot.Forget the silly TV sitcoms with laugh tracks (which rarely get me to even smile).Read Lawrence Block to chuckle and laugh out loud.

An extremely witty, can't-put-it-down book!
I read this book back in the mid-70's, as I made one of the greatest reading discoveries of my life.Simply put, it is funny and engaging, withsome unexpected twists along the way.Definitely a good trip to go alongon.

It will be back in print
Great and weird book.Subterranean Press is bringing out a trade paperback version in the near future.

A naughty little book that went unnoticed
I came across this book about 25 years ago.My roommate and I giggled and laughed and thought this was the funniest book ever written. Nothing else written by Lawrence Block that I have read even comes close to hinting atthe warped, devlish sense of humour found in this book.If you can findit, buy it.

Ronald Rabbit Out Lolita's Lolita
This book answers the question, what if Woody Allen wrote Lolita.And,what if Lolita had a bunch of 15 & 16 year old bisexual friends whopicked up a despondent writer on the worst day of his life, and giving it a180 degree spin.Written in letter form, this is one of the mostdelightfully manipulative books I've ever read.It is very funny, cleverand sexy.And guys, the ladies love it too, unless you are dating the nextMother Theresa.Enjoy it.I did.M.L.Kelly ... Read more

Product Description

The CIA, the FBI, the KGB, Interpol—not one of the world's premier intelligence organizations knows quite what to make of Evan Michael Tanner. Is he a spy, a mercenary, a footloose adventurer, or simply a screwball sucker for hopeless causes?

(Actually he's a little bit of all of the above. Plus he never sleeps. Ever.)

One thing's for sure: Tanner's a true romantic, which is why he can't refuse a distraught mother who begs him to rescue her lost, pure-as-driven-snow daughter. Phaedra Harrow (nee Deborah Horowitz) once shared Tanner's apartment but not his bed. And now the virginal beauty's been abducted by white slavers in the Afghan wilderness.

Finding Phaedra will be difficult enough. Bringing her back alive and unmolested may be impossible. And first Tanner will have to swim the English Channel, survive trigger-happy Russian terrorists . . . and maybe pull off a timely assassination or two.

Customer Reviews (2)

Voltaire it's not.
I was told this was a modern version of Voltaire's Candide.If so, it is a total flop.

The best modern version of Candide was Terry Southern's Candy many decades ago.

One of the Best Evan Michael Tanner Novels
This entry in the series is extremely funny (the motivation for overthrowing the Russians is a gem!) probably my favorite after "The Thief Who Couldn't Sleep" which started things rolling. I love how the Irish (Tanner contributes and writes articles for the Fenian Society, of course) call him 'Michael' and Eastern Europeans (who know him a Charter Member of The Society for a Free Macedonia, or some such) call him 'Evan': you can just hear the pronunciation -- 'Eh-Vahn'. In 'Tanner's Virgin', the girl in question, who Tanner could never talk into dalliance even though she lived in his apartment, is kidnapped and brought to a brothel in Afghanistan. She goes a little nuts and decides she LOVES the work, but when Tanner rescues her she comes out of her fugue (with some changes still) and can't get over how things have changed. Hearing Tanner finally tell her to shut up about it is quite funny. The ending with 'The Chief' revealing what Tanner actually accomplished in Afghanistan is also funny. All in all, a very successful book. ... Read more

Product Description
No Score is the first of four novels featuring Chip Harrison, and they all bore the lead character's byline when they first appeared as Fawcett paperbacks.The working title of No Score was "The Lecher in the Rye," which sums it up well enough; it's a picaresque account of a young man's desperate attempt to become sexually experienced.

Fawcett did very well with the book, and a couple of years later I wrote a sequel.And, because I liked the voice, I wanted to write a third book, but how many times could he lose his virginity?So in the third book I put him to work for a private detective, and books three and four are mysteries, and could be called Nero Wolfe pastiches.

In 1984 Countryman Press reprinted No Score and Chip Harrison Scores Again in a double volume, and asked the ideal person to write an afterword:

Some Afterthoughts

by Hilton Crofield

I don't know why they asked me to write this.Somebody's original brilliant idea was for me to write an introduction to the new edition of No Score and Chip Harrison Scores Again, and I said okay.Don't ask me why.Then somebody else got the bright idea of calling the double volume Introducing Chip Harrison, which meant that I would be saddled with the job of introducing Introducing Chip Harrison, and I said that, if you really want to know, I'd rather go into the bathroom abd squeeze a pimple.So they said okay, we'll make it an afterword, and I said okay again.Dn't ask me why.It's not as if I was getting paid for this.

Chip Harrson needs no introduction, and I don't suppose he needs an afterword either, so you can stop reading right now. . . .If you're still with me, I just want to tell you that these are my kind of book.Chip Harrison is a sort of a lecher on the wry side.More than that, when you finish the book you want to call him up and talk about it.

Listen, I've got a tip for you.Don't do it.Years ago I wrote a book and dais how sometimes I wanted to call the author in the middle of the night, and this guy named Ottinger had his name down as author, and so many weird kids called him up in the middle of the night that the poor guy lost it.He went up t Maine or Vermont and quit writing and only leaves his house once a year.He always sees his shadow, and it's always six more weeks of winter.

I wouldn't want that to happen to Chip Harrison.I'v e already read the rest f the books, and I know that Chip went to work for Leo Haig and takes care of tropical fish when he's not helping Haig solve crimes. If you have't read those books, go out and get them right now.Instead of wasting your time reading this crap I have to write.

Anyway, I like old Chip.I think Phoebe would like him, too.And Ihope you liked him, but if you didn't, well, tough.What do you expect me to do about it, anyway?

Oh, yeah.The business about the name.Lawrence Block is now listed as the author of the Chip Harrison books, They had Chip's name as author originally, but now they're supposed to be by this Lawrence Block.Same as my book is supposed to be by old Ottinger.

Well, I don't have to believe that if I don't want to.And neither do you. ... Read more

Product Description

Evan Tanner can't sleep. Ever. Which gives him plenty of free time to get involved in lots of interesting endeavors in all sorts of exotic locales.

Now Tanner's in Thailand with a partially baked plan and a butterfly net, hoping to snare a beautiful missing chanteuse who's metamorphosed into an international jewel thief. Tanner hopes everyone will buy his disguise as a rare butterfly researcher. And everyone does . . .

Except the guerilla band holding him captive. They intend to remove his head when the sun rises, so Tanner must put his fate in the hands of a randy Thai youth who will do anything for a woman, even set a suspected spy free. Soon they're running through the jungle together, chased by bandits, soldiers, and yellow fever, and racing headlong into the heart of darkness—and into the flames of war.

Customer Reviews (3)

The Scoreless Thai
Block delivers as usual. Well written, funny, poiniant, really captures the world of the late 60's.

Classic Evan Tanner
Barry Eisler, Vince Flynn, and Brad Thor fans will love this Evan Tanner series, if they can keep their sense of humor and have some notion of what the world was like during the Cold War.I read the entire series in a heartbeat, every book in the series is book-candy.

You must, however, read the first in the series first, The Thief Who Couldn't Sleep.

Not bad for Block's Tanner
According to the author's note in the back of this book, "The Scoreless Thai," is the reprint of Block's 1986 novel"Two for Tanner."Block obviously likes puns in his titles and was, he says, puzzled and disappointed at the pointless title devised by the 1986 publisher.Anyway, the story has to do with Evan Tanner's adventures while venturing through southeast Asia in search of his girl friend, a jazz singer abducted during a tour.The title "The Scoreless Thai" derives from the traveling companion Tanner acquires -- a young Thai lad aching to lose his virginity.(Or did the young lad derive from the title?) The deal is that for having helped Tanner escape imprisonment, Tanner will see that this deflowering is accomplished.This is an amusing little novel with plenty of action.It doesn't suffer from the excessive cuteness Block can sometimes employ. ... Read more

Product Description

Cold War superspy Evan Tanner lost the ability to sleep on a battlefield in Korea. So where the heck has he been since the '70s?

Frozen. Cryogenically. A Tanner-sicle. Which he never thought would happen when he walked into a basement in Union City, New Jersey, more than a quarter century ago. Now he's unthawed and ready to rumble, and his somewhat addled, former super-secret boss, "the Chief," is glad his favorite operative's active again.

Tanner awoke to a different world, though some bad things have remained the same . . . or gotten worse. Even before he can fully acclimate himself to this perplexing future, Tanner's off to Burma (which isn't really Burma anymore) to pose as a monk, destabilize the government, dodge a lethal double-cross, and rescue a beautiful prisoner.

The world's still full of conspiracy, corruption, greed, political chicanery—and beautiful women. So Tanner's back with a vengeance, with a lot of lost time to make up for.

Customer Reviews (22)

Creepy and boring
The first set of Tanner books were mindless fun -- breezy, no substance, very much in tune with the times (they were written and set in the 60s and 70s). A kind of James Bond, boy who never grows up feel to them.

Towards the end, they started to drag -- Tanner was considering marriage, had an adopted daughter and sons somewhere in Yugoslavia. His playboy lifestyle was getting very dated, and he wasn't aging gracefully at all. It's hard to transition a character from all-fun-and-games to something more serious. With Tanner, it never jelled.

With Me Tanner, You Jane, Tanner got bizarre and creepy. His affair with a 14-year-old-girl was just creepy. Not to mention illegal and, again, very creepy. Yecch creepy.

With Tanner on Ice, the author seems to step back from the abyss of the previous book -- but he doesn't go back to the hijinks of the first books, either. The trip to Burma is pointless -- as was the escape from Burma that followed. The plot makes no sense and various details are never explained -- like who was the dead guy in his bed. At least the love interest is a consenting adult.

Implausible Fun
First Sentence:I flew from New York to Los Angeles, then nonstop to Seoul.

Due to a Korean War head wound, spy Even Tanner's sleep center was turned off so he never sleeps.Except now, he's been slipped a Mickey and cryogenically frozen for 25 years waking up in present day New York looking exactly as he did when Nixon was President.Recovered, his "control," send him off to Burma to destabilize the government.Instead he finds drugs have been planted on him, a man murdered in his hotel room, jailed but allowed to escape and find a way to get out of the country with a lovely woman by his side.

Block's humor, love of travel and keen observation of the world are very apparent here.For me, the most interesting part was Tanner catching up with all the changes in the world over the 25 years he'd been frozen. This isn't as fleshed out a story as others of his books but Lawrence Block is one of the few writers who can take a completely implausible plot and make it a completely entertaining read.

Block has good attention to detail
Evan Tanner, the spy who lost his sleep center in the Korean War, has returned. It's been 25 years since the last book about Tanner. No one wants to read about an old spy - so Block uses cryogenics to bring him back at the same age as in his last book. He's been kidnapped and frozen. He's still in the prime of life, but virtually everyone he knows is now old - or dead. Except Minna, his ward, who is now old enough to be the love of his life - but he can't bring himself to think of her that way. Tanner still has his rent-controlled New York City apartment, thanks to her ingenuity - and the city thinks he's lived there the whole time.

So Evan has to play catch up and figure out what to do with his new feelings. And what better way to do that than a new assignment from his super-secret intelligence agency - an assignment to Burma (as he remembers it) or Myanmar as the military junta insists that it be called. So Evan covertly enters the country, comes under the scrutiny of the local police who find a corpse in his room, meets a beautiful woman in distress, is hounded by the secret police, and makes his way across Burma on foot, disguised as a begging Buddhist priest, to meet up with the resistance.

Block's attention to local detail will provide insight into the country and culture as it exists today as you marvel at Tanner's facility with languages and his easy adaptability in the face of adversity.

Armchair Interviews says: This is an easy and a light read.

Worth reading
The major disappointment of this book is not the implausibility of 25 years of Tanner frozen, but having lost 25 years of Tanner stories.Fun, lighthearted Tanner romp.This isn't a Bernie or a Scudder story -- and readers expecting those sorts of stories will be disappointed -- but it was a fine Tanner adventure.

A bit implausible
This is the first of Block's books featuring Evan Tanner that I have read, probably because I hadn't discovered Block twenty-five years ago.Tanner is avery unusual protagonist although some of Block's other characters make strange heroes.Tanner has been frozen for twenty-five years when this story begins.He comes round in a hospital bed looking and feeling the same as he did when he was frozen by a foreign agent.So atsixty-three he has to catch up on a lot of history including the impeachment of Richard Nixon and the presidential terms of Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush senior, and Clinton.Evan spends some time catching up on the missed years, fortunately his adopted daughter Minna has kept his apartment and the only difference in it are due to new technology such as Video andDVD players, and a personal computer.It is some months later that Tanner receives a call from his former boss and an assignment is offered to, and accepted by, him. And a new adventure begins. ... Read more

Product Description

The bear is on the prowl in many different guises.  He may be the master thief stealing into Graceland, an intense young passenger experimenting in terror, or a psychiatrist haunted by his patient's nightmare.  Or maybe he's beautiful, lethal woman in a blood-red scarf.  So beware of the this huge, dangerous beast.  Because first he will enthrall you.. and then he will strike.

Customer Reviews (3)

Good read in great condition
Lawrence Block fans will like this collection. I knocked off a few stories waiting in line at the polls. Condition of book when received was better than I've seen in stores.

Some Days the Bear Gets You
I bought "Some Days You Get the Bear" for the Bernie Rhodenbarr story, "The Buglar Who Dropped in On Elvis". It completed my collection of Bernie stories, and a whole lot more. There's something for everyone here... Three Matt Scudder stories, the first installment in Hit Man, two Martin Ehrengraf stories, and the brilliant "Cleaveland in My Dreams". I expected to read the Burglar story and shelve the title, but I ended up reading the whole book.

Block's short stories hit the mark.
"Some Days You Get the Bear," is one of Lawrence Blocks short story collections. It's the third of four. Collections such as these are difficult to tae 1-5 because each of them in the collection is differentfrom the others. I enjoyed some more than others; and there was one or twoI didn't enjoy at all.

Characters we are familiar with from Blocks novelsare here in the collection. Here we find Bernie Rhodenbarr, burglar andbookseller from the series of books that feature the person by that name.This time Bernie is hired to break into Graceland and hunt down theElvis.

Martin Ehrengraf, a lawyer who never loses a case is here, too.Ehrengraf does not have a series of his own but is featured in Blocksfourth collection of short stories.

Matthew Scudder, Block's awardwinning detective is in at least two short stories. Scudder, as Block fanswill recall, has is own series of more than a dozen novels.

Hit ManKeller, the assassin for hire has an entry here ass well.

All in all"Some Days You Get the Bear," is good reading and a must forBlock enthusiasts. ... Read more

Product Description
She was a beautiful girl with a talent for two-timing: she led two lives, tormented two men—but the one thing she couldn't doublecross was murder!
I'm Ed London, PH. D.—PHILANDERER IN DANGER
Nailing killers is my racket But hiding their victims' corpses, from the law? Better conjure up Houdini, buddy, I'm not the man you want. That's what I should have sai. But I've got a heart as big as a bawdy house. When I saw my sister's marriage going up in smoke because her husband's extramarital flame got murdered, I decided to stick my neck out and plant the body so it couldn't be traced to him. That’s when the fur began to fly—and so, in fact, did the bullets. First the girl had been leading a double life. Second, she had pulled a neat little doublecross that left me holding the bag—a bag with the keys to a priceless fortune and up for grabs to every hood in town.
Also published as Coward’s Kiss
... Read more

Product Description
This is the second of four books about Chip Harrison.I thought it might prove difficult to write a sequel to No Score, but in several respects it's probably a better book.Some of the characters, especially Geraldine, the South Carolina madam, seem to me more interesting and better realized than those in the first book, and I kind of like the story's arc.

Chip Harrison Scores Again was first published by Fawcett Gold Medalin 1971, and reprinted in a two-in-one volume by Countrymen Press in 1984.(The double volume, Introducing Chip Harrison, bears an afterword by one Hilton Crofield, and you may find it in the Kindle description of No Score.)Then in 1996, Signet reissued all four of the Chip Harrison titles as paperbacks, and had the devil of a time packaging them.They wanted to call them mysteries, and the third and fourth books, Make Out With Murder and The Topless Tulip Caper were certainly that, private-eye puzzle mysteries, although not without the dash of levity and erotica that makes Chip Chip.But No Score and Scores Again aren't crime novels by any stretch of the imagination."It is a mystery" the back cover of No Score shouts, not once but three times.But it's not a mystery, no matter how many times they say it is.

Never mind.Chip Harrison Scores Again was a lot of fun to write.I can only hope it's fun to read, too. ... Read more

Product Description

In the era before he created moody private investigatorMatthew Scudder, burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, sleepless spy Evan Tanner, and the amiable hit man Keller—and years before his first Edgar Award—a young writer named Lawrence Block submitted a story titled "You Can't Lose" to Manhunt magazine. It was published, and the rest is history.

One Night Stands and Lost Weekends is a sterling collection of short crime fiction and suspense novelettes penned between 1958 and 1962 by a budding young master and soon-to-be Grand Master—an essential slice of genre history, and more fun than a high-speed police chase following a bank job gone bad.

Customer Reviews (3)

For Hard Core Block Fans Only

25 short stories written by Lawrence Block when he was around 20 years old are the backbone of this book, they were written in one sitting so are referred to by the author as "one night stands." Most of these have an almost high school feel to them an are less than entertaining. Three approximate 50 page stories are included, one is good, one is fair and one is not so good. Block developed into a powerhouse however this should be for his most hard core fans only, seek out "The Mammoth Book of Private Eye Stories" instead.

Great pulp
Great example of vintage pulp writing. The shorts get repetitive if you read them one after another, but they were never intended to be read that way. The Lost Cases of Ed London really stand out as classic hard-boiled detective writing. This is a character I would love to see Block revive.

Chick Lit For Men
Quick short stories. His writing style is similar to the National Enquirer the stories resembling a True Crime tale. All of the stories were pretty much the same; guy kills his wife, wife kills husband, two bit hood pulls a fast one...all awful. The two long stories at the end were OK or I would not have given it any stars at all. I guess the book is a male version of chick lit. ... Read more

Product Description
same isbn but different picture on cover, good condition tight binding and clean pages ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Mediocre and Not User Friendly
While I have read only a few books on the topic of novel writing, this was the most disappointing of the lot. I'm struggling with my "really big idea": do I take the novel approach, or try my hand at screenwriting, a very different format? I just got done reading the excellent "How to Write a Selling Screenplay" by Keane and came away so motivated and psyched, that I ran to my bookshelf, knowing I had a 20 year old copy of "Writing the Novel" and I wanted to see if it would conjure up an equal amount of enthusiasm regarding the novel. Oh my. Compared to the screenwriting book, Block's book was so incredibly boring, self-obsorbed, out-dated, and unorganized, that I skimmed through the whole thing in a half hour and plan to toss it in the waste bin after writing this review.

For one thing, the entire book is just block after block of text. There are few subheadings, no sidebars, bullet lists, helpful hints, or anything that makes it stand out visually or provide a way to quickly reference something you might want to find later on. Just paragraph after paragraph of text. There's just too much nonsense to wade through to get to the helpful bits. Definitely old school.

Swooosh! There it goes.

Really not worth the paper and ink
If you're a very new writer and need some motivation then this cotton candy fluff might be of some use to you. I'm not understanding the rave reviews for this snoozer. It does have a very laid back and easy-to-read style, which is nice, but it doesn't contain enough meat to help you write a good novel. You could save yourself money and glean this same info but better on the website, Fiction Factor. Or check out the Elements of Writing Series or How to Write a Damn Good Novel.

I started with this book
The copy I have is the one I bought for the novel writing class I took in 1983. Block had a burning desire to write and some of his ancedotes are entertaining. The book is good for someone starting out to write a novel.
I've purchase many books on writing since that class. I read Stephen King's book on writing, and Block's book is better. It would nice if it could be updated. I used a typewriter when I took my 1983 class. I'd recommend this book for someone who wants to write a novel. Rewriting, Baby, is what most writers spend most of their time doing!

Nice introduction

I first read this book a decade or two ago.It is an old book.As others have noted, it could use an update in terms of word processing, etc.However, the fact is that I still own the book and look at it more often than just about any other book I've read on writing.There are some great books on writing out there--for instance, I found Orson Scott Card's "Characters and Viewpoint" and Gary Provost's "Make Your Words Work" to be extremely illuminating--but "Writing the Novel" probably provides the best foundation and introduction to writing I've seen.Why?It does more than teaches "technique," which is not always a good thing.Beyond technique, it also teaches you how to think like a writer.It hints at the nuts-and-bolts of a writer's life.It even models what makes for a good attitude (successful) toward the business and the client, which is the reader.More than anything, for those who love quality writing, you will just enjoy reading it.You can certainly move beyond "Writing the Novel" (don't forget to actually write, though!) but you may find yourself coming back to it again and again for understanding of the craft.

Writing the Novel or Rewriting an Earlier Publication
I recently ordered and received Lawrence Block's book, 'Writing the Novel From Plot to Print.' IF you are very serious about writing a novel, this small book provides some thoughtful, though verbose information on tips and tricks and should and shouldn't's.
In the same order package, I purchased 'Telling Lies for Fun and Profit -- A Manuel for Fiction Writers.' I was very dissapointed to find that the second book was an almost verbatim version of the 'Writing the Novel...' book.
Keeping that in mind, if/when you order either of the books, go for the cheapest used version you can get of either because Mr. Block tells the same anecdotes, the same thoughts, and information in both books--almost verbatim.
I just wish that on either of the books information, either in Amazon or Printer's Editorial/Description, it would have been noted that the first book was a rewrite of the second (or vice versa).
As to the value of the information that is provided in either book--it's OK, but nothing earthshattering that will help you write a blockbuster novel. The text itself reads easily, as if you were having a conversation with Mr. Block in the same room. Very friendly and easy to understand--nothing you would need a college degree to comprehend. ... Read more

Product Description

Twelve years ago, Matthew Scudder lied to a jury to put James Leo Motley behind bars. Now the ingenious psychopath is free. And the alcoholic ex-cop-turned-p.i. must pay dearly for his sins. Friends and former lovers -- even strangers unfortunate enough to share Scudder's name -- are turning up dead. Because a vengeful maniac is determined not to rest until he's driven his nemesis back to the bottle...and then to the boneyard.

Customer Reviews (16)

A Killer Goes After A Private Eye and His Girlfriends
This is a mystery about a psychopathic killer pursuing a private eye and his hooker girlfriend.In order to wreak revenge for the past, the killer intends to wipe out all of the private eye's girlfriends.

It is a quick and amusing read but ultimately, unmemorable. I recommend it for the beach or vacation.

Great character study as well as a crime story
Matthew Scudder, P.I., fights the urge to return to the booze as vigorously as he battles an old nemesis who's killing friends, family, associates and even people who share the surname Scudder.

Fortunately Matthew, like Lawrence Block's bookstore owner/cat burglar/sleuth Bernie (THE BURGLAR WHO TRADED TED WILLIAMS), has good friends, including a prostitute ex-lover with whom he rekindles a romance.The dialogue is as sharp and explosive as the action scenes.My personal favorite bit, after Bernie and his ladylove go to a Kevin Costner/Michelle Pfeiffer caper...

"She's (Michelle Pfeiffer) not really pretty, but there's something about her, isn't there?If i were a man, I'd want to ----- her."
"Repeatedly."
"Oh, she does it for you, huh?"
"She's all right."
"'Repeatedly.'"

Well-Written; Suspenseful Book
As always, the novel is well-written with lots of great language.The book moves along quickly.You won't be bored ot tempted to put it down.

Block does a great job confronting Scudder's problems with alcohol, with full descriptions of AA meetings and his AA friends.You really believe that Scudder is an alcoholic.Block also frequently mentions the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, a book that Scudder is reading.Scudder ponders the Meditations as different things happen in the book.The only slight problem with this book is that the ending is somewhat predictable.

Now I am hooked on Block.
I was mildly entertained by Lawrence Block's "Even the Wicked." "A Walk Among the Tombstones" was gritty enough to get me to try my third Matthew Scudder: "A Ticket to the Boneyard."

Now I am hooked, and will read the entire series.

Scudder is an ex-NYPD cop...a flawed, complex, likeable, pragmatic character. Now an unlicensed PI, he investigates for his friends.

The plot in "Boneyard" roars along from page one with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing all the way. Not predictable. The villain is one of the most realistic, despicable and depraved I have run across.

Great hard-edged writing that leaps off the pages.

I am making Lawrence Block a priority.

A Ticket to the Boneyard
In A Ticket to the Boneyard Matthew Scudder is a former New York detective who left because he had a drinking problem. He is involved with a hooker called Elaine.They get into some trouble because of a man Elaine was involved with, James Leo Motley.Parts of the book explain the problems and results in drinking.It also describes the difficulty the main character, Matt, deals with the problem of drinking.Motley was not a normal customer of Elaine; he was new but caused trouble.The story starts out telling the life story about Matt and how he got involved with the hooker, Elaine and the man she was in trouble with. Then it goes to tell how Motley was put in jail, but before he can go he vows to revenge the man who puts him in jail.Motley was in for a number of years and yet he still remembers his vow.His vengeance toward the man who put him into jail encourages him to harm innocent people.The whole book is talks about how Matt and Elaine are scared of Motley and searching for him.Most of the time Matt is plays detective to find Motley and to protect Elaine from any danger from Motley.Although Matt is not a detective anymore he uses some of the skills he acquired and he goes searching around the city of New York for Motley after he got out of jail.
This book was written quite well and people.Although the descriptions of some people and some details do not help as much as other descriptions; the book does paint a good picture of the deaths.The details of how people were killed gave a nice description of how everything came together and how each event occurred in order.Like the saying "Never judge a book by its covers."It is part of what this book is like.The cover changes every once in a while yet it helps depicts what kind of story this is.When I first saw the cover of the book, I thought the book was going to be about a murderer and its victims.But when I finished reading the book it was not close to how the cover depicted the book to be like.I enjoyed his book very much.Some times it put me at the edge of my seat reading faster to find out what was going to occur next.Although there were not many exciting parts it was deep in learning one kind of problems a former detective.I would recommend this book to people who enjoy a nice murder story before they go to bed.Sometime there are scary parts, which you want to put down the book but it is so interesting that you rather finish the book. ... Read more

Product Description
Ariel Jardell, an adopted 12-year-old girl, is possessed, her mother thinks, by jealousy and by forces far more bizarre. An unnerving tale woven together with a fascinating, terrifying child at the center of each twist and turn it takes, this book gives new definition to the old conflict of good versus evil, sane versus insane. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Ariel's Innocent!Blame Her Crazy Adoptive Mother and/or A House Haunted by A Former Owner.You Choose!
Talk about weird reads.My first Lawrence Block.I'm currently reading Harold King,and King and Lawrence Block wrote a novel called Code of Arms and out of all of Block's books this seemed to be the one I would enjoy most.Also, I'm a huge Dean Koontz fan (weighing over 300 + pounds), and Koontz wrote Funhouse based a Larry (Lawrence) Block screenplay.So there you are.Anyway, Ariel reminded me of Andrew Neiderman's Pin, both Pin and Ariel being somewhat repulsive, both novels about an innocent girl paying a huge price because of her screwed up family. Also, it reminded me of Robert Masello's The Spirit Wood because of frequent references to Ariel's pagan flute music and hoofed goat boys.And, V.C. Andrews' Flowers in the Attic, to a small degree, with Ariel's only friend Erskine Wold living in his grandfather's secret attic room.Anyway, Ariel's house may be haunted by a former owner who appears in the middle of the night to warn Ariel's adoptive mother Roberta of deaths about to happen in her life.For various insane reasons Roberta has fallen out of love with Ariel and blames her for everything bad that happens in the house.And it doesn't help matters that Ariel resembles the house's former owner and hangs aportrait of the former owner in her room.

Half-baked Block
There's a lot going on in Lawrence Block's Ariel. Adoption, insanity, crib death, adultery, a mysterious painting found in an attic, teenage angst, and more. Unfortunately, it eventually leads up to, well, not much. Still, it's an interesting book by Block that shows he didn't quite have it when he wrote it. It would have been a far different book if he'd written ten or twenty years later. This one will show Block fans how far he came.

Say What?
I could not "get" this book. Where are the subtle clues to what was going on?
It was like "Turn of the Screw" which was also obtuse.I don't know where
Lawrence Block was going in this book so could not recommend it.

the worst story Block ever wrote
I looked forward to reading this--and only my regard for the writing of Lawrence Block kept me going to the ending.It was, simply stated, the worst book I've read in a very long time.Endless boring and pointless conversations, minimal and dumb plotting, and so on.I'll stick with the Matt Scudder books in the future.

for Block fans
Althoug different from what I am used to expect from Block's excellent novels (or short stories) and not the same taste, I think this is a must reading for Block readers. Character building and relationships in Ariel give strong hints about what came later. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (8)

The contents
I'm not fond of noir, but these are all competent stories, except for the Maan Meyers story "The Organ Grinder." That reads more like the 'teaser' chapter in the back of a book that advertises the author's next book.In fact, it appears to be some pages from the novel The Organ Grinder: A Dutchman Historical Mystery (Five Star Mystery Series), so I wouldn't bother reading both.

I am really just sneaking this in under the guise of a review to give everyone the contents.

CONTENTS: Introduction by Lawrence Block
The Good Samaritan by Charles Ardai
The Last Supper by Carol Lea Benjamin
If you can't stand the heat by Lawrence Block
Rain by Thomas H. Cook
A Nice place to visitby Jeffrey Deaver
The Next best thing by Jim Fusilli
Take the Man's pay by Robert Knightly
The Laundry room by John Lutz
Freddie Prinz is my guardian angel by Liz Martínez
The Organ grinder by Maan Meyers
Why do they have to hit? by Martin Meyers
Building by S. J. Rozan
The Most beautiful apartment in New York by Justin Scott
The Last round by C. J. Sullivan
Crying with Audrey Hepburn by Xu Xi.

It was a good book but not as good as Brooklyn Noir.
I have read many of the Noir series (around 12 or 13) and I would rank this book 4th in the series.

It was good but I will only recomend it to someone who is a fan of this series or genre or a resident of Manhattan.

Excellent Collection
The editor has done a fine job of putting together fifteen short stories. I am usually a bit trepidatious with collections. However, this is fine. I enjoyed all the stories. It was a quick fun read. I'm looking forward to volume two.

Manhattan Violence - Geographical Mayhem - Thankfully, More Fictional Than Not
Fortunately, I did not read Manhattan Noir until shortly after returning from my first visit to Manhattan, a five day stay in a brownstone on Broadway in Harlem not too far south of Washington Heights.I had been told that crime had dramatically decreased in recent years, but nonetheless I had some early misgivings. The stories compiled by Lawrence Block in this anthology would have been anything but reassuring.

For the record Wikipedia statistics show that the actual homicide rate in New York City for 2007 ranks it 50 in American cities with a population over 250,000. New Orleans, St. Louis, Detroit, and Washington D.C. are one, two, three, and four.

The settings - Midtown, Lower East Side, Upper West Side, Battery Park, and so on - would have been recognizable place names, but ones without any emotional content. That changed entirely after just five days in Manhattan.My heart beat faster whenever I encountered a familiar place, street, or subway line in Manhattan Noir.

These stories were written specifically for this collection at the urging of Lawrence Block. They are all quite good, some clearly exceptional. Most are crime stories; most involve violence, but violence is not necessarily the central theme of each story.

Two early stories were among my favorites; The Good Samaritan (Midtown), and If You Can't Stand the Heat (Clinton, or Hell's Kitchen). The last sentence in the latter story is, "Wherever she went, she was pretty sure she'd feel safe". Nonetheless, murder is front and center.

I was disoriented in Rain (moving from Battery Park to 112th and Broadway) as the downpour shifted from place to place, from character to character, from subplot to subplot. It all came together in a second reading, thereby becoming a new favorite. "The rain falls on intrigue and conspiracy, trap doors, underground escape routes, the crude implements of quick getaways."

The longest story, A Nice Place to Visit (Hell's Kitchen again), twists and turns with double-dealings, betrayals, murder, and retribution. The Upper West Side reveals its own gruesome secret in The Laundry Room, not one of my favorites, but one decidedly difficult to forget. The Most Beautiful Apartment in New York (Chelsea) offers a mix of greed, jealousy, murder, humor, and irony while Freddie Prinze is My Guardian Angel (Washington Heights) blends fantasy and noir. (In my limited experience I encountered immigrants from the Dominican Republic rather than Puerto Rico in Washington Heights, possibly indicative of recent demographic changes.)

Manhattan Noir is a good collection. Thankfully, it is classified as fiction.

Just fair
Great idea, but I have a feeling most of the included authors dug through their old manuscripts and submitted previously rejected stories. ... Read more

Product Description

Keller is a regular guy. He goes to the movies, works on his stamp collection. Call him for jury duty and he serves without complaint. Then every so often he gets a phone call from White Plains that sends him flying off somewhere to kill a perfect stranger. Keller is a pro and very good at what he does. But the jobs have started to go wrong. The realization is slow coming yet, when it arrives, it is irrefutable: Someone out there is trying to hit the hit man. Keller, God help him, has found his way onto somebody else's hit list.

Customer Reviews (65)

Stamp collecting
If I wanted to read a book about stamp collecting I would have bought a book about stamp collecting. When I buy a book about a hitman I want to read a book about a hitman.

Block is a good writer, but I don't like the characters in this book.
Lawrence Block's HIT LIST is both a page turning thriller and a big time snooze fest. How can this happen? Bestseller Block has been writing for years and has written novels featuring many characters other than the hitman Keller, who is the star of this book. And, this is the first Block book I've ever read. I'm sure there have been Keller books before this one and so I'm missing some of the back story. With a book polarizing to me like this one, I'll give the pros and cons.

First, Block is a good writer. The dialogue between Keller and all other characters he encounters is fast moving and witty. Keller's account of his life as a hitman going from town to town and assignment to assignment is captivating and entertaining.

The bad: nothing ever happens. Keller spends so much time commenting on life and other little things that the story moves ever so slowly. Not much happens. It works since it is the first Block novel I've read, but I don't know if I'd like the same thing over and over again. Also, just by reading this novel, Keller is an extremely unsympathetic lead character. He kills people and doesn't think twice about it. Fine. But he needs another trait besides being funny to give me a reason to care. Finally, Block makes poor plot choices such as having Keller actually believe what an astronomer tells him about his future. People may believe that stuff, but it doesn't work for me.

This is a rare exception where I didn't like the book but liked the author enough that I will probably seek out other books he has written. And, a day after finishing the book, I like Keller even less. I don't understand his appeal. I really can't recommend HIT LIST.

Funny and at the same time, a Snooze
Typical Lawrence Block. Funny, interesting dialogue, interspersed with bits of a story. This time, however, the plot took too long to get into, and even with the great dialogue, I found myself bored for much of the time.

Weaker than it's Predecessor
I found the introduction to John Keller in Hit Man to be mildly entertaining. I read the novel in less than a day and had only minor qualms about its content. In contrast, Hit List took me over a week to finish and I couldn't help but stop and make mental notes of things that just didn't sit right with me.

The pacing of the story is very off. Things move along so slowly that I found myself counting how many pages were left in almost any given chapter. While the end builds nicely and is probably the only part of the book that approaches being a page-turner, it peters out so unremarkably that the last chapter feels like the wrap up to a Scooby-Doo episode. Especially off-putting is the part where Dot and Keller talk their way into understanding the antagonist and his motivation - that's the closest the reader will get to a characterization of him.

Most of the details and events that happen in Hit List are just plain boring. How anticlimatic is it to have numerous hits in a row end in a bizzare twist of fate? Who really gives a damn about Keller's stamp collection (the only part of Hit Man that had me wishing the pages read even faster)? An astrologer, really? What was the point of the chapters devoted to being on that jury? Also, the expository, dumbed-down conversations between Keller and Dot are more often annoying than not. How excited is a reader supposed to be about the chief conflict of a novel if the anti-hero himself remarks that he hasn't really thought about it in weeks?

It's the same old Keller here, but that may be the very problem. It seems as if Block has added nothing new to the character since the previous installment. References to the previous work are sprinkled throughout but wouldn't detract from a reader's understanding if this was the first Keller novel he or she read. The conversations with Dot, the philately, and even the sexual romps are all familiar things from the first book. But we've seen it all before, except with more interesting circumstances, more challenging hits, and less arbitrary people and situations thrown between the end of the book and whichever page the reader might happen to be at.

DREADFULL!
This is what happens when a succesfull author of many, many books has to write another one.Simply Dreadfull!There is hardly any story and 9/10ths of the book is filler! ... Read more

Product Description
Joe Marlin--clip artist, drifter, pigeon plucker, confidence man. Joe's game was devil-may-care conning, fly-by-night living, bounced checks at plush hotels . . . . Then Joe meets Mona--beautiful and wicked--who gives him a rose-covered dream that turns into the biggest con of them all . . . murder. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

This would make a great TV movie of the week. . .
as the other reviewer said, it's "Body Heat" with an additional plot twist. Whoa, mama! I can't say anymore than that--you have to read it for yourself.Fortunately, it's a fairly quick and easy read.Lawrence Block can make you smell the grimy city one minute and have you basking in luxury the next.If you like his other books, you'll like this one, too.

well-written, well-plotted little tale
This book reminded me of the movie "Body Heat" where a black-widowish femme fatale lures an unsuspecting male into her web.Unlike that movie, however, this protagonist is just a little too sharp to be left holding the bag--not without a fight. That's the point this story really takes off, and the ending is a "gotcha."Enjoy. . ... Read more