New Releases by Lawrence Block

"Ingenious . . . Plunges the reader into a desperate, working-class America now better known through William Lindsay Gresham’s precisely contemporary novel Nightmare Alley and such film-noir classics as Out of the Past and The Postman Always Rings Twice."—Washington Post In the rough edges of 1940s Chicago, the discovery of a corpse in an alleyway isn’t always enough to cause a big stir—especially when the victim is killed in the midst of a night-long bender, caught between barrooms in what appears to be a mugging gone awry. Which is why the police don’t take a huge interest in finding the murderer of Wallace Hunter, a linotype operator who turns up dead after a solitary drinking adventure that led through many of the Loop’s less reputable establishments. But for his teenage son, Ed, and his carny brother, Am, something about Wallace’s death feels fishy, a fact that grows increasingly bothersome when it becomes clear that some of the witnesses aren’t telling the whole story. In order to get to the heart of the matter, they’ll need all the skills Am picked up in the circus life—skills that young Ed will have to pick up on fast. And in the process of discovering the killer, they make another discovery as well: Wallace was a much different man than the father Ed thought he knew. The Edgar Award-winning novel that announced a legendary voice in crime fiction, The Fabulous Clipjoint is the first in Fredric Brown’s long-running Ed & Am Hunter series. The book’s memorable mixture of a hardboiled mystery with an urban coming of age narrative remains fresh to this day.

In the 1980s, Lawrence Block developed an interactional seminar that adapted elements of the human potential movement specifically for writers. Write For Your Life is about making the best out of what you are and who you are.

Here''s CHIP HARRISON--the second series character created by Lawrence Block, bestselling author of A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES... How can a series predicated on the hero''s sexual innocence survive past a second book? How can our Chip remain the same age forever? Simple, Block decided, and put our Lecher in the Wry to work for a private detective, the remarkable Leo Haig. Haig believes that Nero Wolfe really exists, and that if he distinguishes himself professionally he may one day be invited to dine at the Great Man''s table. And Chip hires on as Haig''s eyes and ears--if not his nose and throat. MAKE OUT WITH MURDER is at once a tightly plotted murder mystery, a Nero Wolfe pastiche, and a wildly funny and erotic romp featuring five beautiful sisters and some rare coins. Trust me, you''ll love it.

Happily retired, living under a new name with his wife and daughter, Keller thought he was out of the murder-for-hire business. Until he got the call from his old employer, asking him to tackle the most unusual assignment of his career. The client''s wife is having an affair, and Keller''s been hired to get rid of her lover. But who is this mysterious lover? The husband doesn''t know--he only knows that she has one, and he wants the man dead.It''s an opportunity for Keller to try his hand at the private eye game, investigating the adulterous spouse. And yes, he does buy himself a new hat for the occasion, a fedora worthy of any film noir detective. But in this puzzling situation, with more than one potential lover in the picture and more than one potential solution, is Keller going to be a black hat or a white hat--or something in between...? One of MWA Grand Master Lawrence Block''s greatest creations, Keller is the two-time Edgar Award-winning star of Hit Man, Hit List, Hit Parade, Hit and Run, and Hit Me.

Ever since The Burglar on the Prowl climbed the bestseller lists in 2004, fans have been clamoring for a new book featuring the lighthearted and lightfingered Bernie Rhodenbarr. Now everybody''s favorite burglar returns in an eleventh adventure that finds him and his lesbian sidekick Carolyn Kaiser breaking into houses, apartments, and even a museum, in a madcap adventure replete with American Colonial silver, an F. Scott Fitzgerald manuscript, a priceless portrait, and a remarkable array of buttons. And, wouldn''t you know it, there''s a dead body, all stretched out on a Trent Barling carpet...

A missing person case brings private eye Roy Markham to the remote winter-bound college town of Cliff''s End, New Hampshire. But what began as a routine investigation quickly becomes dark and dangerous. Six pornographic photos and a tidy little blackmail scheme result in a brutal and baffling murder, and no one is safe - especially Markham himself.

Alex Penn wakes up in a squalid Times Square hotel room. This is what he sees when he finally opens his eyes: "The floor was a sea of blood. A body floated upon this ocean. A girl—black hair, staring blue eyes, bloodless lips. Naked. Dead. Her throat slashed deeply. "It had to be a dream. It had to, had to be a dream. It was not a dream. It was not a dream at all. "I''ve done it again, I thought. Sweet Jesus, I''ve done it again." Years before, Alex Penn woke up in similar circumstances, called the police, went to prison. A technicality freed him—and now there''s been another drunken blackout, another dead streetwalker. But something nags at his memory, and he begins to suspect some other hand wielded the knife. And if he didn''t murder this woman, maybe he didn''t kill the other one, either. So he runs, adrift in an urban jungle, hoping to steer clear of the police long enough to solve the crime. AFTER THE FIRST DEATH is sure to appeal to fans of David Goodis and Cornell Woolrich. And, with its gritty New York setting and its undercurrent of alcoholism, it can be considered a precursor to Lawrence Block''s iconic Matthew Scudder series. THE CLASSIC CRIME LIBRARY brings together Lawrence Block''s early crime novels, reformatted and with new uniform cover art. This first volume in the series contains as a bonus the first chapter of DEADLY HONEYMOON.

"Matthew Scudder is dying, one bottle at a time. A young prostitute named Kim Dakkinen is dying too, her life measured out in tricks. She wanted out, had asked for Scudder''s help, but suddenly she wasn''t dying anymore, she was just dead. The former cop turned P.I. promised to protect her, but he failed. Now his atonement is to find her killer. But the secrets in the dead hooker''s past are dirtier than her living, and searching for a killer in a city where everyone''s a victim is a good way to make the role permanent"--

Five-time Edgar winner and MWA Grand Master Lawrence Block wrote a monthly column for Writers Digest Magazine for fourteen years. The Liar''s Bible consists of previously uncollected columns, chosen to illuminate the often dimly-lit path of the writer of fiction. Here''s what one reviewer said on Goodreads: "I am fascinated by the creative process and there are few excellent examples of this that I have found - there is Koestler''s The Act of Creation insightful in a general way- but I have found only two worth their salt about working creators - Trauffaut''s interviews with Hitchcock collected in Trauffaut/Hitchcock and Thomas Hoving''s two interviews with Andrew Wyeth - published as Autobiography and Two Worlds of Andrew Wyeth - but reading Lawrence Block''s collected columns on writing from Writer''s Digest I have discovered outstanding examples of this somewhat mysterious creative process. "Now I am anxious to read his other collected columns - Block of course writes so fluidly that, as one Stephen King fan commented, I would probably read his grocery list - but he also asks brilliant questions of himself and does a terrific job answering and commenting on these. "This is a must read for anyone intrigued by writers, artists, the creative process or those eager to write whether already published or hoping to be soon." And here''s another: "What an absolute treat it is to re-read these columns, nearly 30 years after I first read many of them in the pages of Writer''s Digest. I first started reading WD in high school, and subscribed for years, mostly for Lawrence Block''s fiction-writing columns. This book collects all of his pieces from that era. Sure, a few pieces of advice -- mostly related to the marketplace for fiction -- have since become, oh, just slightly dated, but most of the wisdom still applies, not just for fiction writers but for all writers. These columns were, indeed, my bible in the early stages of my writing life. I owe a lot to Block, and I''m glad to have the chance to reflect back on how his writing influenced not just my own wordsmithing but also my life."

A truly unprecedented literary achievement by author and editor Lawrence Block, a newly-commissioned anthology of seventeen superbly-crafted stories inspired by the paintings of Edward Hopper, including Jeffery Deaver, Joyce Carol Oates, Stephen King, Lee Child, and Robert Olen Butler, among many others. “Edward Hopper is surely the greatest American narrative painter. His work bears special resonance for writers and readers, and yet his paintings never tell a story so much as they invite viewers to find for themselves the untold stories within.” So says Lawrence Block, who has invited seventeen outstanding writers to join him in an unprecedented anthology of brand-new stories: In Sunlight or In Shadow. The results are remarkable and range across all genres, wedding literary excellence to storytelling savvy. Contributors include Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, Robert Olen Butler, Michael Connelly, Megan Abbott, Craig Ferguson, Nicholas Christopher, Jill D. Block, Joe R. Lansdale, Spider Robinson, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Warren Moore, Jonathan Santlofer, Jeffery Deaver, Lee Child, and Lawrence Block himself. Even Gail Levin, Hopper’s biographer and compiler of his catalogue raisonée, appears with her own first work of fiction, providing a true account of art theft on a grand scale and told in the voice of the country preacher who perpetrated the crime. In a beautifully produced anthology as befits such a collection of acclaimed authors, each story is illustrated with a quality reproduction of the painting that inspired it.

"Ed London is the kind of private investigator you call to clean up the mess when your mistress turns up dead. But after he dumps a body in Central Park, it appears this case is still alive and kicking. Seems that the dead girl was in possession of something special that some very shady characters want back. Now Ed, along with his actress friend Maddy, will have to crack the case before he ends up dead himself. But there''s more than a murder here; there''s missing jewels, Israeli intelligence, Nazi spies, and a host of double-dealing, backstabbing thieves." Coward''s Kiss started life as a tie-in novel for Belmont Books, linked to the TV series Markham, starring Ray Milland. When a very young Lawrence Block turned in the book, his agent sent it instead to Knox Burger at Gold Medal, who shared the agent''s enthusiasm. Block rewrote the book, changing Roy to Ed and Markham to London, and Gold Medal published the book with the unfortunate title of Death Pulls a Doublecross. After fulfilling his assignment by writing another book for Belmont (You Could Call It Murder, Classic Crime Library #12) Block tried to write a second Ed London novel, but somehow never managed it. He did write three magazine novelettes with London, and you can find them in One Night Stands and Lost Weekends, a collection of his earliest pulp work. The legendary Anthony Boucher gave the book a nice review in the New York Times Book Review, and if Lawrence Block had the sense to hang on to things, we''d reproduce it here. But he doesn''t, so you''ll have to take our word for it. THE CLASSIC CRIME LIBRARY brings together Lawrence Block''s early crime novels, reformatted and with new uniform cover art.

SO THIS GIRL WALKS INTO A BAR... ...and when she walks out there''s a man with her. She goes to bed with him, and she likes that part. Then she kills him, and she likes that even better. On her way out, she cleans out his wallet. She keeps moving, and has a new name for each change of address. She''s been doing this for a while, and she''s good at it. And then a chance remark gets her thinking of the men who got away, the lucky ones who survived a night with her. She starts writing down names. And now she''s a girl with a mission. Picking up their trails. Hunting them down. Crossing them off her list...

A thief finds himself in the wrong place and suspected of the wrong crime in the “unfailingly entertaining” series from bestselling author (The New York Times). It’s hard to ignore someone with his hands in your mouth. Bernie Rhodenbarr’s all ears when Dr. Sheldrake, his dentist, starts complaining about his detestable, soon-to-be-ex wife, and happens to mention the valuable diamonds she keeps lying around the apartment. Since Bernie’s been known to supplement his income as a bookstore owner with the not-so-occasional bout of high-rise burglary, a couple of nights later he’s in the Sheldrake apartment with larceny on his mind—and has to duck into a closet when the lady of the house makes an unexpected entrance. Unfortunately he’s still there when an unseen assailant does Mrs. Sheldrake in . . . and then vanishes with the jewels. Bernie’s got to come out of the closet some time. But when he does, he’ll be facing a rap for a murder he didn’t commit—and for a burglary he certainly attempted—unless he can hunt down the killer who left him hanging. “Light-hearted crime at its very best.” —Robert Ludlum “Hilarious.” —St. Louis Post-Dispatch “A forgery ring turns up—along with the breezy Manhattan repartee and charmingly crude New Yorkers we’ve come to expect from the likably smart-alecky Mr. Block.” —Kirkus Reviews

Small-time stoolie, Jake " The Spinner" Jablon, made a lot of new enemies when he switched careers, from informer to blackmailer. And the more "clients", he figured, the more money -- and more people eager to see him dead. So no one is surprised when the pigeon is found floating in the East River with his skull bashed in.And what''s worse, no one cares -- except Matthew Scudder. The ex-cop-turned-private-eye is no conscientious avenging angel. But he''s willing to risk his own life and limb to confront Spinner''s most murderously aggressive marks. A job''s a job after all -- and Scudder''s been paid to find a killer -- by the victim...in advance.

Bernie Rhodenbarr is a personable chap, a good neighbor, a passable poker player. His chosen profession, however, might not sit well with some. Bernie is a burglar, a good one, effortlessly lifting valuables from the not-so-well-protected abodes of well-to-do New Yorkers like a modern-day Robin Hood. (The poor, as Bernie would be the first to tell you, alas, have nothing worth stealing.) He''s not perfect, however; he occasionally makes mistakes. Like accepting a paid assignment from a total stranger to retrieve a particular item from a rich man''s apartment. Like still being there when the cops arrive. Like having a freshly slain corpse lying in the next room, and no proof that Bernie isn''t the killer. Now he''s really got his hands full, having to locate the true perpetrator while somehow eluding the police -- a dirty job indeed, but if Bernie doesn''t do it, who will?

Book description to come.

A philosophical yet practical gentleman, Bernie Rhodenbarr possesses many admirable qualities: charm, intelligence, sparkling wit, and unwavering loyalty. Of course, he also has this special talent and a taste for life''s finer things. So he''s more than willing to perform some vengeful larceny for a friend -- ripping off a smarmy, particularly deserving plastic surgeon -- for fun and a very tidy profit. But during a practice run at another address, Bernie''s forced to hide under a bed when the lady of the house returns unexpectedly with the worst kind of blind date in tow. In no time, Bernie''s up to his burgling neck in big trouble. Again. And this time it includes his arrest, no less than four murders, and more outrageous coincidences than any self-preserving felon should ever be required to tie together.

The author of dozens of acclaimed novels including those in the Scudder and Keller series, Lawrence Block has long been recognized as one of the premier crime writers of our time. Now, the breathtaking skill, power, and versatility of this Grand Master are brilliantly displayed once again in a mesmerizing new thriller set on the streets of the city he knows and loves so well. That was the thing about New York -- if you loved it, if it worked for you, it ruined you for anyplace else in the world. In this dazzlingly constructed novel, Lawrence Block reveals the secret at the heart of the Big Apple. His glorious metropolis is really a small town, filled with men and women from all walks of life whose aspirations, fears, disappointments, and triumphs are interconnected by bonds as unbreakable as they are unseen. Pulsating with the lives of its denizens -- bartenders and hookers, power brokers and politicos, cops and secretaries, editors and dreamers -- the city inspires a passion that is universal yet unique in each of its eight million inhabitants, including: John Blair Creighton, a writer on the verge of a breakthrough; Francis Buckram, a charismatic ex–police commissioner -- and the inside choice for the next mayor -- on the verge of a breakdown; Susan Pomerance, a beautiful, sophisticated folk-art dealer plumbing the depths of her own fierce sexuality; Maury Winters, a defense attorney who prefers murder trials because there''s one less witness; Jerry Pankow, an ex-addict who has turned being clean into a living, mopping up after New York''s nightlife; And, in the shadows of a city reeling from tragedy, an unlikely killing machine who wages a one-man war against them all. Infused with the raw cadence, stark beauty, and relentless pace of New York City, Small Town is a tour de force Block fans old and new will celebrate.

Nobody knows better than Matthew Scudder how far down a person can sink in this city. A young prostitute named Kim knew it also—and she wanted out. Maybe Kim didn''t deserve the life fate had dealt her. She surely didn''t deserve her death. The alcoholic ex-cop turned p.i. was supposed to protect her, but someone slashed her to ribbons on a crumbling New York City waterfront pier. Now finding Kim''s killer will be Scudder''s penance. But there are lethal secrets hiding in the slain hooker''s past that are far dirtier than her trade. And there are many ways of dying in this cruel and dangerous town—some quick and brutal ... and some agonizingly slow.

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? But first he''s got to get around a very dead body on the library floor. The plot''s thickened by an isolating snowstorm, downed phone lines, the surprise arrival of Lettice and her reprehensible new hubby, and a steadily increasing corpse count. And it''s Bernie who''ll have to figure out whodunit . . . or die.

Matt Scudder is finally leading a comfortable life. The crime rate''s down and the stock market''s up. Gentrification''s prettying-up the old neighborhood. The New York streets don''t look so mean anymore. Then all hell breaks loose. Scudder quickly discovers the spruced-up sidewalks are as mean as ever, dark and gritty and stained with blood. He''s living in a world where the past is a minefield, the present is a war zone, and the future''s an open question. It''s a world where nothing is certain and nobody''s safe, a random universe where no one''s survival can be taken for granted. Not even his own. A world where everybody dies.

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.

The city caught its collective breath when upscale couple Byrne and Susan Hollander were slaughtered in a brutal home invasion. Now, a few days later, the killers themselves have turned up dead behind the locked door of a Brooklyn hellhole -- one apparently slain by his partner in crime who then took his own life. There''s something drawing Matthew Scudder to this case that the cops have quickly and eagerly closed: a nagging suspicion that a third man is involved, a cold, diabolical puppet master who manipulates his two accomplices, then cuts their strings when he''s done with them. No one but Scudder even suspects he exists. And his worst fear is that the guy is just getting started ...

The New York Times–bestselling author “ratchets up the suspense with breathtaking results as only a skilled, inventive and talented writer can do” (Orlando Sentinel). A man in a Virginia prison awaits execution for three horrific murders he must have committed but swears he didn’t . . . An aging investigator in New York City has seen too much and lost too much—and is ready to leave the darkness behind . . . But a nightmare is coming home—because a brilliant, savage, patient monster has unfinished business in the big city . . . and a hunger that can be satisfied only by fear and the slow, agonizing death of Matthew Scudder and the woman he loves. “Block, who couldn’t write a dull scene even if he tried to, is in fine form here.” —Los Angeles Times “Block, as always, takes his readers on a wildly entertaining ride.” —The Buffalo News “A thrilling, satisfying concoction brewed by a master storyteller in top form.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “An unforgettable tale of violence, death and deceit.” —Lansing State Journal “A page-turning work of art.” —Toronto Sun

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.

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.

The craft of writing is a lot like spinning a web: You take threads and weave them skillfully together, and only you know where this intricate network of twists and turns begin and how it will end. Now, with Lawrence Block''s expert advice, you can learn this art of entrapping your reader in a maze of fascinating fiction. Spider, Spin Me a Web is the perfect companion volume to Block''s previous book on writing, Telling Lies for Fun and Profit, which Sue Grafton noted "should be a permanent part of every writer''s library." As helpful and supportive as always, Block shares what he''s learned over the course of writing over one hundred published books: techniques to help you to write a solid piece of fiction; strategies for getting a reader (or editor) to read—and buy—your book; ideas for increasing your creativity and developing an environment that will nourish you and your craft. Spider, Spin Me a Web is a complete guide to achieving your full potential as a writer.

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.