Lawrence Block

Page Updated: 14/11/2006

Page 1

Page 2

Page 3

Page 4

Page 5

Page 6

Lawrence Block - Page 3

The Hit Man

Me Tanner, You Jane

Here Comes A Hero

The Burglar In The Library

The Matt Scudder Mysteries

First British Edition Orion (1998)

Paperback - Orion (1999)

The Hit Man
Keller Is an assassin -- he is paid by the job and works for a mysterious man who both nominates his own hits and passes on commissions from elsewhere. Keller goes in, does the job, gets out: usually at a few hours' notice.
Often Keller's jobs take him out of New York City - to other cities, to pretty provincial towns that almost tempt him into moving to the woods and the lakeshores. His gentle demeanour and winning line in bar-room banter are a vivid contrast to the lethal skill with which he carries out contracts on his unwitting victims.
But then one job goes wrong in a way Keller has never anticipated and it leaves him with a dilemma. There's an orphan to be accommodated, but if he lets Nelson into his life it's going to mean a whole lot of changes he's not sure he wants. Keller may even end up sharing his bed...
For more details see Lawrence Block's Newsletter
'Absolutely riveting… Block is terrific' Washington Post
'Bull's-eye dialogue and laser-image description… any search for false notes will prove futile…. [block's] eye for detail is as sharp as ever, and characters almost real enough to touch abound' New York Times Book Review
'Fast-paced, insightful, and so suspenseful it zings like a high-tension wire' Stephen King
'Outstanding… excellent… smoothly paced, deftly plotted, brightly phrased study of perversity' Chicago Tribune
'Cries out to be read at night… First class… Tough and sharp… It would be hard to find a better mystery' People
'What he does best -writing popular fiction that always respects his readers' desire to be entertained but never insults their intelligence' GQ
'There with the very best… The real McCoy with a shocking twist and stylish too' Observer
'Superb… Block writes better than all of them… he gets better and better all the time' Village Voice
'Colourful… fun…' Chicago Tribune

British Pbk Original - No Exit Press (1998)

Me Tanner, You Jane
He is 34 years old and hasn't slept a wink since a piece of shrapnel destroyed the sleep centre in his brain during the Korean War. Evan Tanner loves lost causes and beautiful women. The FBI has a thick file on him; the CIA taps his phone and a super-secret intelligence agency wants him to be their man!
Superspy, Evan Tanner's new assignment is to bring back alive the missing ruler of a new African nation...and the state treasury that's missing with him. But waiting in the heart of Africa is Sheena, a missionary's renegade daughter with an appetite for men and power...a taste that puts Tanner in the lovely arms of this deadly lady and lands him in hot water - the kind that can turn a spy into a cooked goose!
'Wonderfully detailed and inspiring writing' The Guardian

British Pbk Original - No Exit Press (1998)

Here Comes A Hero
See Review by Lynda Ross
Here Comes A Hero is sixth in the series of seven titles featuring Evan Michael Tanner, a 34 year old, who hasn't slept a wink since a piece of shrapnel destroyed the sleep centre in his brain during the Korean War. Tanner loves lost causes and beautiful women. The FBI has a thick file on him; the CIA taps his phone and a super-secret intelligence agency wants him to be their man!
How can Evan Tanner turn down the urgent plea of a mother in distress - especially when the mother has a daughter as beautiful as Phaedra Harrow? Phaedra has disappeared into the hands of white slave traders somewhere in the Afghan wilderness. And Tanner, it appears, has no choice but to find her....
'... if you are coming new to Lawrence Block it will be the beginning of a beautiful friendship' Vincent Banville, Irish Times
'Block is one of the best' Washington Post Kellerman

Paperback - No Exit Press (1998)

First British Edition No Exit Press (1997)

The Burglar In The Library
Bernie Rhodenbarr, burglar extraordinaire and bookseller ordinaire has taken leave of his beloved New York City and gone country. That is, to the New England countryside. Our setting is Cuttleford House, a delightful, English-style inn, where Carolyn and Raffles the Cat have joined Bernie for a wintery weekend. Of course, Carolyn wasn't Bernie's first choice for a romantic weekend, but his intended, Lettice Runcible, turned out to be someone else's intended.
But if you think Bernie's sole purpose is healing his wounded heart, then think again. As a bookseller, Bernie's always in search of a valuable edition, and this time he believes he's found it - a rare first edition of Raymond Chandler's "The Big Sleep", and it's autographed to, of all people, Dashiell Hammett. And it's somewhere in Cuttleford House's library. During his nightly prowl, Bernie finds unexpected company in the form of a corpse.
The next morning everyone else finds the body too. Making matters worse is the fact that all of the guests - including (surprise!) Lettice and her new husband, Dakin Littlefield - find themselves snowbound after a fierce storm during the night. With everyone pointing fingers at everyone else, Bernie decides he's got to catch the culprit - before there's another murder. Isn't there always? And let's not forget that book, which has mysteriously disappeared off the library shelves. The Burglar in the Library is arguably the best in this already remarkable series, securing Lawrence Block's reputation as the finest - and funniest - mystery writer working today.
"Extremely funny and laid back" Literary Review
"A genuine treat" The List
"The pace is brisk, the dialogue snappy... and the hook of the Chandler first edition is lovely" TLS
"..a homage to the golden age of murder mysteries" Donna Leon, The Sunday Times
"America's absolute number one writer of mystery fiction.' Philip Freidman
"There is only one word for Lawrence Block: Fast! Funny! Terrific!" Ed McBain
"The burglar is just adorable." Jenny turner in The Guardian

First British Edition Orion (1997)

The Matt Scudder Mysteries
See Review by Val McDermid - Gold Dagger winner & creator of Lindsay Gordon, Kate Brannigan & Tony Hill
The Matt Scudder mysteries collected here launched one of the greatest career PIs of the last twenty years. Matt is an alcoholic ex-cop now doing favours for friends who take him deep into the underbelly of urban New York to mix with call girl: drug dealers and bent government officials.
The Sins of the Father
A murdered prostitute's father wants the investigation into her death re-opened. And Matt Scudder is lured into a sordid world of phoney religion and murderous lust where children must die for their parents' most secret sins.
Time to Murder and Create
NYPD cop Jerry Broadfield has turned on his own, collaborating in a Special Prosecutor's investigation into police corruption. It's a move that lands him in a jail cell on a murder rap.
In the Midst of Death
The Spinner was a petty crook and a blackmailer, but that didn't give someone the right to bash his head in, throw him in the river and walk away. At least not according to Matt Scudder's code of honour.