You might be surprised to learn that back in 1961 Nightstand Books published an inquiry into the heartbreak of scoliosis, but-oh, hang on a minute. You say the title refers to characters who are not spinally but psychosexually bent?Oh.Well, never mind.Dave and Nancy Grantland look for all the world like happy couple leading a comfortable suburban lifestyle. And Lucy King, the regular babysitter for the Gavilans next door, looks for all the world like a normal teenager.But Dave's lost interest in sex with his wife, as he increasingly becomes obsessed with the desire for a much younger partner. Not a Lolita, exactly, but someone a few years under the age of consent.And Nancy's recalling her college days as what we've since learned to call a LUG. (That's Lesbian Until Graduation. But you knew that, right?)And Lucy's ready for sexual experience, but with whom? Someone more knowledgable than her oafish boyfriend?Dave finds a caf in the West 20s where a man named Hassan can supply anything he wants. Nancy finds a job working for a woman named Bobbie, who can supply anything she wants. Lucy finds a man who'll teach her what she wants to learn-and what she doesn't.Can you see where this is going? Well, along the way you'll get to look over Dave's shoulder as he watches a pornographic movie, courtesy of Hassan. I'm not sure which book was the first in which I employed this device, but the editors at Nightstand thought it was a great way to spice up the books, and I was encouraged to include such scenarios in future books. Well, you know, you didn't have to tell me twice...A Google search advises me that in 1959, two years before this book appeared, Gold Medal published Marijane Meaker's suspense novel, The Twisted Ones, under her pen name of Vin Packer. My guess is that it's a better book than mine, but who's to say you won't enjoy them both?
What's the autobiography of a prostitute doing in the Collection of Classic Erotica?I asked myself this very question while weighing its suitability for the collection. On the one hand, it's nonfiction, specifically memoir. On the other, it was entirely an invention, a fabrication, its putative narrator no less a creation of my own mind than, say, Linda Shepard in CAMPUS TRAMP.And then I let Wikipedia wisk me back almost 300 years: "The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders (commonly known simply as Moll Flanders) is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published in 1722. It purports to be the true account of the life of the eponymous Moll, detailing her exploits from birth until old age."By 1721, Defoe had become a recognized novelist, with the success of Robinson Crusoe in 1719. His political work was tapering off at this point, due to the fall of both Whig and Tory party leaders with whom he had been associated; Robert Walpole was beginning his rise, and Defoe was never fully at home with the Walpole group. Defoe's Whig views are nevertheless evident in the story of Moll, and the novel's full title gives some insight into this and the outline of the plot: "The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders, &c. Who was Born in Newgate, and during a Life of continu'd Variety for Threescore Years, besides her Childhood, was Twelve Year a Whore, five times a Wife (whereof once to her own Brother), Twelve Year a Thief, Eight Year a Transported Felon in Virginia, at last grew Rich, liv'd Honest, and died a Penitent. Written from her own Memorandums."It is usually assumed that the novel is written by Daniel Defoe, as his name is commonly published as the author in modern printings of the novel, however the original printing did not have an author, as it was an apparent autobiography. 1] The attribution of Moll Flanders to Defoe was made by Francis Noble, a bookseller in 1770, after Defoe's death in 1731. 2]"The novel is based partially on the life of Moll King, a London criminal whom Defoe met while visiting Newgate Prison."I can but conclude that I SELL LOVE has at least as much claim to be regarded as a novel as does Defoe's groundbreaking work-if rather less in the way of literary merit. He, after all, seems to have had a model. And, while I may have rubbed elbows, among other things, with some hookers over the years, Liz Crowley, unlike Ms. Flanders, has no counterpart in reality.When the Goddess of Design and Production asked if I wanted to drop the afterword by one Dr. Louis H. Gold, I went and had a look at it. My initial assumption was that Charles Heckelmann, longtime editor of Monarch Books, had found some writer to dash off a few words under a medical pen name, all with the aim of legitimizing the text. But the miracle of Google confirms that Dr Gold, born in 1912, was indeed a practicing shrink in Hartford at the time. I presume he was a friend of Heckelmann's, but for all I know he was the man's psychiatrist. We always thought old Charlie ought to get his head examined.
While my first visit to New York was with my father in 1948, it wasn't until the summer of 1956 that I actually lived in the city. I'd completed my first year at Antioch College and was to spend August through October in the mailroom at Pines Publications on East 40th Street. (They had a paperback line-Popular Library-and a string of magazines, ranging from surviving pulps like Ranch Romances to movie magazines and a Readers Digest imitation.) I'd arranged to room with two other Antiochians, Paul Grillo and Fred Anliot, and we spent the first week on the top floor at 147 W 14th, the second on the ground floor at 108 W 12th (that building's gone now), and then found a first-floor one-bedroom apartment at 54 Barrow Street, where we stayed through October before passing the place on to another Antioch contingent. It was a wonderful apartment in a perfect location, and for a while it was where the folksinger crowd assembled on Sunday evenings after the singing in Washington Square shut down for the night. (Then the crowd outgrew the space, and moved to somebody's loft on Spring Street.) It was in the kitchen at 54 Barrow Street that I wrote the first story I ever sold, published in Manhunt as You Can't Lose.A year later I was back in New York; I'd found an editorial job at a literary agency and liked it it enough to drop out of school to keep it. I shared an apartment at the Hotel Alexandria on West 103rd Street with Bob Aronson until the Army took him, at which time the hotel let me move to a single room a few floors below. While I lived on 103rd, I spent most of my time in the Village.By the fall of 1958 I was back at Antioch, more focused on writing than classwork. I'd begun selling magazine stories whileI was at the literary agency, and began writing novels once I'd left, and Harry Shorten was eager to publish them at his new venture, Midwood Tower Books. My third book for Harry, following CARLA and A STRANGE KIND OF LIVE, was 69 BARROW STREET.I'd had the idea of a novel set at a multiple dwelling-in this case, a Village brownstone-with the characters interacting and living their lives. One model for it would have been 79 PARK AVENUE, an early work of Harold Robbins, when A STONE FOR DANNY FISHER let the world take him seriously as a writer of American realistic fiction. (Then he wrote THE CARPETBAGGERS, and that was the end of that.) I decided-nudge nudge, wink wink-that 69 BARROW STREET would be an appropriately suggestive title.Jesus, 54 Barrow Street. Fred Alliot and Bob Aronson, both of whom I'd run into now and then over the years, are gone now. Paul Grillo and I lost touch with each other fifty-plus years ago...Years and years later, I found out that 69 PARK AVENUE had been Harold Robbins' original title. His publishers made him change it. My publishers had no such compunctions, and 69 BARROW STREET it was and shall remain. And now it's back in print, and graced once again by Paul Rader's magnificent cover art.
FOUR LIVES AT THE CROSSROADS is the latest addition to the Classic Crime Library...after a short stay in the Collection of Classic EroticaBack in the late 1950s and early 60s, when I was finding myself as a writer and producing a great quantity of books under pen names, some of the books I wrote were as much crime fiction as they were erotica. Indeed, several of those titles by Andrew Shaw and Sheldon Lord have since been republished under my own name by Hard Case Crime and Subterranean Press-and subsequently astonished me by garnering respectful reviews. BORDERLINE, LUCKY AT CARDS, and A DIET OF TREACLE are examples, and so to a degree is my forthcoming Hard Case title, SINNER MAN. A little light editing made them acceptable crime fiction for a contemporary body of readers.FOUR LIVES AT THE CROSSROADS almost made the cut. After Charles Ardai at Hard Case considered it and ultimately decided against it, I decided to shoehorn it into the Collection of Classic Erotica, but reader reactions have since persuaded me that it's really more a crime novel. A dark, savage tale of an armed robbery gone wrong, It's a better fit in the Classic Crime Library.I did some light editing anyway, much of which consisted of reversing the helpful contributions of some unnamed editor at Nightstand Books. So here's FOUR LIVES AT THE CROSSROADS, available for the first time since its initial appearance in 1962. I can but hope you'll enjoy it
Der Spitzel und Kleingauner Jake Schnipser Jablon macht sich eine Menge neuer Feinde, als er die Laufbahn wechselt und von Informant auf Erpresser umsattelt. Fr her oder sp ter, vermutet er, wird einer seiner neuen Kunden handgreiflich werden, und wen wird das k mmern?Er sitzt an einem Tisch mit Matthew Scudder, schnipst einen Silberdollar an und l sst ihn auf dem Tisch kreiseln. Schlie lich ist das die Gewohnheit, die ihm seinen Spitznamen eingebracht hat. Dann heuert er Scudder an, einen Mord aufzukl ren, der sich noch nicht ereignet hat.Niemand ist sonderlich berrascht, als Schnipser mit eingeschlagenem Sch del im East River treibend gefunden wird. Noch schlimmer: Es k mmert niemanden - au er Matthew Scudder. Der Ex-Cop und Privatdetektiv ist kein pflichtversessener Racheengel. Aber er ist willig, Leib und Leben zu riskieren, um Schnipsers m rderisch-aggressive Kunden zur Rede zu stellen. Schlie lich ist ein Job ein Job - und Scudder wurde bezahlt, einen M rder zu finden. Bezahlt vom Opfer ... im Voraus.Drei am Haken ist die deutsche Neu bersetzung des zweiten Romans mit Lawrence Blocks charismatischster Figur, Matthew Scudder. Von Daseinsangst geplagt, hat Scudder Frau und Kinder verlassen und den Polizeidienst quittiert. Nun lebt er allein in einem Hotel im New Yorker Stadtteil Hell's Kitchen und ern hrt sich von Bourbon und Kaffee in der Kneipe von Jimmy Armstrong um die Ecke. Das Geld, das er zum Leben braucht, verdient er sich als Privatdetektiv ohne Lizenz, indem er, wie er es ausdr ckt, Freunden Gef lligkeiten erweist.Schnipser Jablon war nicht unbedingt ein Freund, und es ist zu sp t, ihm einen Gefallen zu erweisen. Aber Scudder war schon immer ein Mann, der tut, was getan werden muss ...
"Adoro la serie di Matthew Scudder e adoro le storie brevi; e questa la collezione completa delle storie di Scudder. Una delle pi belle Alle prime luci dell'alba, vincitrice del premio Edgar Allan Poe."- Otto Penzler, Los Angeles Times, Ten Most Wanted Books of 2011"La storia che d il titolo alla raccolta un pezzo d'atmosfera, brillantemente raccontato, che piacer a quelli che hanno seguito Scudder nel suo viaggio lungo la vita. E' un raro momento di pura umanit nel mondo di Scudder e serve a fare capire che Scudder molto di pi di un investigatore privato, che la sua storia non si ferma quando non stiamo leggendo di lui."--Russel McLean, Crime Scene Scotland I 17 romanzi di Lawrence Block con Matthew Scudder hanno conquistato il cuore dei lettori di tutto il mondo - oltre a una sfilza di premi, tra cui l'Edgar Allan Poe, lo Shamus, il Philip Marlowe (Germania), e il Falcone Maltese (Giappone). Ed Matt Scudder il principale responsabile per i riconoscimenti che Block ha avuto nel corso della vita: Grand Master (dei Mystery Writers of America), The Eye (della Private Eye Writers of America), e il Cartier Diamond Dagger (della Crime Writers Association britannica).Ma Scudder apparso anche in racconti brevi, che sono tutti raccolti qua: da un paio di novellette della fine degli anni Settanta (Gi dalla finestra e Una candela per la barbona), e poi Alle prime luci dell'alba (premio Edgar), Il misericordioso angelo della morte (premio Shamus) fino ad arrivare a L'ultima notte al Grogan, una storia commovente ed elegiaca mai pubblicata prima. Sono stati i racconti brevi che hanno tenuta viva la serie in varie occasioni, quando la produzione dei romanzi si era interrotta, e che hanno portato Scudder verso nuove strade, mostrandoci una parte del suo mondo non ancora esplorata.Alcune di queste storie sono comparse in riviste come la Alfred Hitchcock's Magazine, la Ellery Queen's Magazine e Playboy. Il breve cameo che d il titolo alla raccolta, La notte e la musica, fu scritta per il programma di un festival jazz a New York City; un altro, Mick Ballou guarda lo schermo nero, era comparso solo come testo di un poster a tiratura limitata. E il racconto finale, che vede Matt e Elaine a un tavolo con Mick e Kristin Ballou in un locale ormai chiuso nella zona di Hell's Kitchen, fa la sua prima comparsa in questo volume.Vari racconti si riferiscono ad avvenimenti del passato, e in essi Scudder ricorda casi della sua vita precedente come poliziotto: prima come agente di pattuglia in coppia con il leggendario Vince Mahaffey, poi come investigatore della polizia di New York che conduce una doppia vita. Ne In cerca di David, Matt ed Elaine sono in vacanza a Firenze, dove si imbattono un uomo che Matt aveva arrestato decenni prima. Ora finalmente Matt conosce il motivo di quel brutale omicidio.Accanto alle undici storie e racconti brevi, La notte e la musica comprende un elenco dei diciassette romanzi in ordine cronologico, e una nota dell'Autore che spiega l'origine e i dettagli bibliografici di ognuna di esse.Dulcis in fundo, Brian Koppelman, famoso sceneggiatore e regista (Solitary Man, Ocean's Thirteen, Il giocatore), nonch grande fan di Scudder, ha contribuito con una introduzione
A partir de su debut en 1977, Bernie Rhodenbarr se ha ganado la entusiasta admiraci n de un p blico internacional cada vez m s numeroso. Este caballero, con su coraz n ligero y sus dedos m s ligeros a n, cuyos talentos detectivescos lo sacan de los apuros en que lo meten sus habilidades de ladr n, se roba de paso los corazones y las mentes de los lectores. Los ladrones no pueden escoger es su primera aparici n.
She was every man's dream--and one man's nightmare. Johnny Hayden and Doug Rance had a scheme to take real estate entrepreneur Wallace Gunderman for all he was worth. But they needed a girl on the inside to make it work. Enter Evelyn Stone: Gunderman's secretary, his lover--and his worst enemy. Gunderman had promised to marry her, but never came through. Now she's ready to make him pay ...
Me encanta la serie sobre Matthew Scudder, y me encantan los cuentos...y sta es la colecci n completa de los cuentos protagonizados por Scudder. Uno de los grandes de todos los tiempos es "A la luz de la madrugada", ganador del Premio Edgar Allan Poe.-Otto Penzler, Los Angeles Times, Los diez libros m s deseados del 2011Mi favorito, creo, es el cuento que lleva el t tulo de la colecci n, "La noche y la m sica", donde Matt y su esposa Elaine se encuentran platicando y escuchando m sica en varios lugares en su barrio de Nueva York. Este cuento es tan elegante y evocativo que me recuerda los relatos breves de Irwin Shaw...Tambi n es de este tenor el cuento final del libro, el recientemente escrito y bien nombrado "Una ltima noche en Grogan's", que tampoco es un cuento de misterio o de crimen. No s si Block vaya a escribir m s acerca de Matt Scudder, y es posible que ni l mismo lo sepa, pero "Una ltima noche en Grogan's" est plasmado de un bello sentimiento eleg aco, y si resulta ser el adi s a la serie, es una buena despedida.-James Reasoner, Rough EdgesLawrence Block ha escrito 17 novelas protagonizadas por Matthew Scudder, las cuales han conquistado corazones de lectores en el mundo entero, y de paso un tropel de trofeos, incluyendo el Premio Edgar Allan Poe (EUA), el Shamus (EUA), el Philip Marlowe (Alemania) y el Halc n Malt s (Jap n). Y Matthew Scudder es en gran medida el responsable de los galardones a la carrera art stica que le han sido otorgados a Block: el Premio Gran Maestro (Mystery Writers of America), el Premio The Eye (Private Eye Writers of America) y el Pu al de Diamante Cartier (UK Crime Writers Association, Reino Unido).Pero Scudder es tambi n la estrella en muchos relatos cortos, y aqu est n todos, empezando por un par de novelas breves de finales de los a os 70 (Sali por la ventana y Una vela para la vagabunda), continuando con A la luz de la madrugada (Premio Edgar Allan Poe) y El Misericordioso ngel de la Muerte (Premio Shamus), hasta culminar con Una ltima noche en Grogan's, un cuento conmovedor y eleg aco que nunca antes se hab a publicado. Las narraciones breves mantuvieron viva a la serie en varias ocasiones cuando la corriente de las novelas se vio interrumpida, y los cuentos llevaron a Scudder por diferentes caminos y nos mostraron regiones de su mundo que no aparecen en los mapas.Algunos de estos cuentos aparecieron en revistas, tales como Alfred Hitchcock, Ellery Queen y Playboy. El microrrelato que le da su t tulo a la colecci n, "La noche y la m sica", fue escrito para un festival de jazz en la Ciudad de Nueva York; otro, "Mick Ballou mirando la pantalla en blanco", ha aparecido s lo en forma de texto para un folleto de edici n limitada. Y el cuento final, donde Matt y Elaine est n sentados ante una mesa junto con Mick y Kristin Ballou, dentro de un bar cerrado en el barrio conocido como la Cocina del Infierno, aparece por vez primera en este volumen.Varios de estos cuentos echan una mirada hacia atr s desde el tiempo en que fueron escritos, pues Scudder narra acontecimientos ocurridos durante su vida anterior, cuando era polic a y compa ero del legendario Vince Mahaffey, un detective del Departamento de Polic a de Nueva York que viv a una vida doble. En Buscando a David Matt y Elaine est n de vacaciones en Florencia, donde se topan con un hombre al que Matt arrestara d cadas atr s; ahora por fin Matt descubre el motivo de un homicidio brutal.Junto con los nueve cuentos y las dos novelas cortas, La noche y la m sica incluye una lista de las diecisiete novelas en orden cronol gico, m s una nota del autor donde detalla los or genes y datos bibliogr ficos de cada uno de los relatos breves.Brian Koppelman, eminente cineasta, guionista y director (Hombre solitario, Oc ano Trece, Rounders) y gran fan de Matt Scudder, le ha a adido sabor al guiso con una introducci n.
Keller es un asesino: profesional, fr o, seguro de s mismo, competente y fiable. Sin embargo, tambi n es una persona compleja: cauteloso y solitario, sin piedad alguna, es eficiente y distante, es propenso a la soledad y a dudar de s mismo, a tener pesadillas y a preocuparse por su carrera profesional. Su terapeuta cree que su trabajo consiste en resolver problemas empresariales, pero Keller es un asesino a sueldo. Lleva la vida de un empresario solitario bien pagado que viaja con frecuencia; acostumbrado a las impersonales habitaciones de hotel, a recorrer tramos inh spitos de autopistas en coches de alquiler y a comer en lugares an nimos. Y, aunque es neoyorquino de nacimiento, fantasea sobre la buena vida en el campo y en cada lugar que visita sue a con empezar una vida, con una nueva casa, lejos de las presiones y de las complicaciones morales que su l nea de trabajo implican.El sicario es el debut de Keller, el primero de los cinco libros que componen la serie. La traducci n de los otros cuatro libros -Hit List, Hit Parade, Hit and Run, y Hit Me- estar pronto disponible.V anse algunas rese as: Durante a os Block ha estado escribiendo las aventuras del fatalista asesino a sueldo J.P. Keller, que deja la seguridad de su apartamento en la Primera avenida para aventurarse hacia una ciudad tras otra de los Estados Unidos a petici n del viejo de White Plains. Keller se enfrenta a la decisi n de si matar o no a un hombre al que ha llegado a apreciar, tiene que acabar un encargo tras haber acabado con el objetivo equivocado, sirve como pe n para asesinos que en un principio parecen m s inteligentes que l, y se desespera cuando tiene que decidir a qu cliente va a fallar entre dos que han pagado por matarse el uno al otro. Entre ejecuci n y ejecuci n tambi n aprende m s sobre el mercado inmobiliario de Oreg n, va a terapia, se hace coleccionista de sellos y se pregunta si saber m s sobre las flores enriquecer a su vida, le compra pendientes a la mujer que saca de paseo a su perro y se preocupa hasta d nde se puede comprometer con ella y con el perro. Es una combinaci n de todo a lo que Keller le da vueltas y a lo que no -"En este negocio no tienen cabida las decisiones morales", le reprende la secretaria del viejo- lo que le da esa fascinaci n melanc lica. Es este libro una novela en s o una serie de historias? Los fans m s sedientos de Block, encantados de ver al menos tres de las obras maestras -Keller monta a caballo; Keller va a terapia; y Keller, el caballero de brillante armadura- reunidas en un solo volumen, no se preocupar n m s de lo que Keller har a. Kirkus ReviewsLawrence Block escribe una sensacional novela sobre un sicario que atraviesa la crisis de los cuarenta. Block nos regala humor a la vez que introspecci n. Conforme se avanza en la lectura, los lectores se encontrar n deseando que el asesino encuentre la paz interior. Boston HeraldUna extra a y atractiva combinaci n de un tipo duro, surrealista y caprichoso. Tras cada aventura Keller nos va gustando cada vez m s, pero tambi n es un asesino a sangre fr a. A diferencia de Keller, a quien le gustan las pel culas en las que se pueden distinguir a los buenos de los malos, los fans de Block pueden agradecer que es un libro en el que no siempre se sabe qui n es qui n. San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle.
Libraio e newyorkese fino all'osso, Bernie Rhodenbarr raramente si avventura fuori da Manhattam, ma ora eccitato per la romantica vacanza che ha organizzato per s e il suo attuale amore, Lettice, a Cuttleford House, un lontano bed&breakfast in campagna. Purtroppo, Lettice ha un precedente impegno - deve sposarsi... ma non con Bernie - cos egli decide di portarvi invece la sua migliore amica Carolyn. Una riposante pausa dalla confusione della grande citt troppo bella per essere sprecata. Inoltre, in uno degli scaffali di Cuttleford House vi la preziosa prima edizione di un libro sulla quale Bernard non vede l'ora di mettere le mani. Abbiamo dimenticato di dire che Bernie un ladro? Ma prima, dovr occuparsi di un corpo, molto morto, sul pavimento di quella biblioteca. La trama si infittisce a causa di una tempesta di neve che isola la casa, fili del telefono tagliati, l'arrivo a sorpresa di Lettice con il suo odioso nuovo maritino, e il numero di cadaveri che continua ad aumentare. Ed Bernie che dovr scoprire il colpevole... o morire. Dalla sua prima comparsa nel 1977, Bernie Rhodenbarr si guadagnato la crescente simpatia di un pubblico internazionale, Questo personaggio, scanzonato e dalle mani leste, i cui talenti come detective riescono a tirarlo fuori dai guai in cui lo hanno messo le sue abilit di ladro, conquista il cuore e la mente dei lettori romanzo dopo romanzo. IL LADRO NELLA BIBLIOTECA la sua ottava avventura.
Mitten im Tod ist die deutsche Neu bersetzung des dritten Romans mit Lawrence Blocks charismatischster Figur, Matthew Scudder. Von Daseinsangst geplagt, hat Scudder Frau und Kinder verlassen und den Polizeidienst quittiert. Nun lebt er allein in einem Hotel im New Yorker Stadtteil Hell's Kitchen und ern hrt sich von Bourbon und Kaffee in der Kneipe von Jimmy Armstrong um die Ecke. Das Geld, das er zum Leben braucht, verdient er sich als Privatdetektiv ohne Lizenz, indem er, wie er es ausdr ckt, Freunden Gef lligkeiten erweist.Hier ist die Meinung eines Rezensenten auf Amazon.com: Zum ersten Mal in der nun aus drei B chern bestehenden Matt-Scudder-Reihe erhebt das Wort >Alkoholiker
Gentiluomo filosofico ma pratico, Bernie Rhodenbarr possiede molte ammirevoli qualit fascino, intelligenza, un brillante senso dello humor e una irremovibile lealt . Ma naturalmente, ha anche un suo particolare talento e il gusto per le cose migliori della vita. Cos , pi che disposto, per piacere ma anche per un buon guadagno, a commettere un furto per vendicare un amico: dovr derubare un odioso chirurgo plastico che davvero se lo merita.Ma nel corso di un piccolo furto con scasso fatto per allenamento, Bernie costretto a nascondersi sotto un letto, quando la padrona di casa ritorna inaspettatamente, in compagnia del peggior partner che potesse trovare. Ben presto, il nostro povero scassinatore si trova fino al collo in grossi guai. Di nuovo. E questa volta pure arrestato, nientemeno che per quattro omicidi, e con una incredibile serie di coincidenze a cui dare un senso che nessun ladro che tenga alla propria salute dovrebbe mai affrontare.Dalla sua prima comparsa nel 1977, Bernie Rhodenbarr si guadagnato la crescente simpatia di un pubblico internazionale. Questo personaggio, scanzonato e dalle mani leste, i cui talenti come detective riescono a tirarlo fuori dai guai in cui lo hanno messo le sue abilit di ladro, conquista il cuore e la mente dei lettori romanzo dopo romanzo.IL LADRO IN CACCIA la sua decima avventura.
"Herausragend", schrieb die Chicago Tribune ber Tanz im Schlachthof und lobte es als "eine extrem spannende, raffiniert konstruierte und milieusichere Studie ber Perversion und Zufall, die immer wieder unvorhergesehene Wendungen nimmt".Tanz im Schlachthof, der neunte Roman mit Lawrence Blocks fesselndster Figur Matthew Scudder, bietet tiefe Einblicke in die dunkelsten Bereiche einer dunklen Stadt. Scudder hat inzwischen dem Alkohol abgeschworen, lebt aber immer noch in demselben spartanischen Hotelzimmer und verdient sich das Geld, das er zum Leben braucht, als Privatdetektiv, der, wie er es selbst nennt, "Freunden hin und wieder einen Gefallen tut".Ausl ser des Geschehens ist Lyman Warriner, dessen Schwester Amanda Opfer eines brutalen Mordes wurde. Warriner ist fest davon berzeugt, dass der M rder Richard Thurman ist, Amandas Mann. Scudders Ermittlungen f hren ihn in New Yorks bedr ckendste Ecken, unter anderem auch auf den Times Square in seinen schlimmsten Zeiten. Dort trifft er auf TJ, einen gewieftenJugendlichen, der im weiteren Verlauf der Serie eine tragende Rolle spielen wird. Auch Elaine Mardell, deren Beziehung zu Matt sich vertieft hat, ist wieder mit dabei. Und am Ende kommt Mick Ballou noch ins Spiel.Die Handlung l sst einen nicht mehr los, das Ende ist hochdramatisch und verst rend. Sie werden es nicht vergessen."Schockierend", schrieb Marilyn Stasio in der New York Times Book Review. "Ebenso d ster wie packend." Entertainment Weekly bezeichnet das Buch als einen "ebenso bedr ckenden wie gekonnt geschriebenen Thriller". Und Matthew Scudder, hei t es weiter, "hat sich zu einem perfekten Noir-Helden entwickelt".
En su cuarta aventura, Matthew Scudder reabre un caso que hab a investigado a os antes como detective del Departamento de Polic a de Nueva York. Louis Pinell, el reci n aprehendido Merodeador del Picahielo, admite libremente haber matado a siete j venes mujeres nueve a os atr s - pero jura que B rbara Ettinger fue asesinada por alg n copi n. Scudder le cree. Sin embargo, la pista que podr a conducir al verdadero asesino de Ettinger es torcida, oscura y peligrosa...adem s de estar ya m s fr a que el cad ver de la joven que Scudder est resuelto a vengar.Su investigaci n hace entrar una nueva mujer en la vida de Scudder, la escultora Jan Keane, y el loft de sta en Tribeca es para l un refugio prometedor. Pero Scudder acostumbra emborracharse, lo cual siempre ha sido un factor y al parecer se est convirtiendo ahora en un verdadero problema...He aqu lo que han dicho algunas rese as: Block sabe tejer una intrincada red. Y cuando alguien intenta enga ar, cosa que sucede con bastante frecuencia en sus libros, se mete en problemas muy feos. Las tramas de Block son apretadas y su di logo es realista, sin exceso de adornos. Los personajes son hombres adustos y hablan como tales.-Rocky Mountain News Extremadamente bien escrita Block es un h bil cirujano, seguro y preciso.-The New York TimesCautivadora...la conclusi n te deja tambaleante.-Publishers WeeklySuspense convincente.-Philadelphia InquirerBlock es muy bueno, su o do para el di logo, su ojo para los personajes de baja ralea y su don para la narrativa r pida y fluida pueden compararse con los de Elmore Leonard.-Los Angeles TimesCuando Lawrence Block entra en ese estilo de su protagonista Matt Scudder, la ficci n de crimen se acerca tanto a la literatura que muchas veces no existe ni un grado de diferencia.-Philadelphia Inquirer
In seinem vierten Abenteuer nimmt sich Matthew Scudder - nun in deutscher Neu bersetzung - eines ungel sten Falles an, mit dem er schon Jahre fr her als Detective beim NYPD befasst war. Louis Pinell, der vor Kurzem gefasste Eispickel-M rder, gibt freiherzig zu, vor neun Jahren sieben junge Frauen ermordet zu haben - aber er schw rt, dass ein Nachahmer f r den Mord an Barbara Ettinger verantwortlich war. Scudder glaubt ihm. Die Spur zu Ettingers wirklichem M rder ist verworren, dunkel und voller Gefahren ... und sogar noch k lter als die Leiche, der er Gerechtigkeit verschaffen will.Scudders Ermittlungen bringen eine neue Frau in sein Leben: die Bildhauerin Jan Keane, die mit ihrem Loft in Tribeca einen vielversprechenden Zufluchtsort bietet. Aber Scudders Alkoholkonsum, schon immer ein Faktor, scheint sich zu einem Problem zu entwickeln ...Hier einige Pressestimmen: Block wei , wie man ein dichtes Netz spinnt. Und wenn bei ihm jemand versucht, mit falschen Karten zu spielen, was in seinen B chern ziemlich h ufig vorkommt, bekommt diese Figur eine Menge Schwierigkeiten. Blocks Plots sind schn rkellos, seine Dialoge realistisch ohne allzu gro e Ausschm ckungen. Seine Figuren sind harte Kerle, und sie reden dementsprechend. - Rocky Mountain NewsAbsolut vorz glich geschrieben Block ist ein geschickter Chirurg, der mit ruhiger und pr ziser Hand zu Werke geht. - New York TimesFesselnd - mit einer erstaunlichen Aufl sung. - Publishers WeeklyBlock ist au ergew hnlich gut, mit einem Ohr f r Dialoge, einem Auge f r zwielichtige Typen und einer Begabung f r schnelles und m heloses Erz hlen, das Elmore Leonard in nichts nachsteht. - Los Angeles TimesWenn Lawrence Block in den Matt-Scudder-Modus schaltet, n hert sich Krimi so sehr an Literatur an, dass oftmals keinerlei Unterschied mehr besteht. - Philadelphia Inquirer
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
In seinem elften Abenteuer wagt sich Matt Scudder wieder einmal in d stere Gefilde vor. Dazu einige Pressestimmen: Es bedarf der sicheren Hand eines coolen Profis wie Lawrence Block, um den hektischen Puls einer Stadt wie New York City einzufangen. Scudder schleppt einigen pers nlichen Ballast mit sich herum. Aber wenn dieser schrullige, abgebr hte Schn ffler aufh rt, aus dem Fenster in den Regen hinauszuschauen, und anf ngt, sein Viertel in Hell s Kitchen zu durchstreifen, ist er nicht zu toppen."Ist das alles, was Sie tun?", will ein verdutzter Auftraggeber von ihm wissen. "Mit Leuten reden und sich anh ren, was sie sagen? Und ihr Mienenspiel beobachten, w hrend sie es sagen?" Ein bisschen komplizierter ist es allerdings schon. Aber Mr. Block verf gt ber die beil ufige Eleganz, um alles ganz leicht erscheinen zu lassen bei seinen pr gnanten Schilderungen der menschlichen Transaktionen im Moloch New York und bei seinen dichten Charakterstudien von transsexuellen Prostituierten, jugendlichen Herumtreibern und isolierten Karrieristen, die dieses unwirtliche Terrain bev lkern und ihr Zuhause nennen.-Marilyn StasioNew York Times Book ReviewBei den Helden von Serienkrimis zeichnet sich ein neuer Trend ab. Mickey Spillane, Nero Wolfe, Sherlock Holmes und ihresgleichen haben sich von Buch zu Buch kaum ver ndert. Ihre Best ndigkeit hat sogar einen Teil ihres Reizes ausgemacht. Dagegen gehen zeitgen ssische Serienautoren wie Bill Pronzini, Robert P. Parker, Joseph Hansen und Lawrence Block einen Schritt weiter und gestehen ihren hartgesottenen Helden ebenso eine pers nliche Weiterentwicklung zu wie gew hnlichen Sterblichen. Ein gutes Beispiel hierf r ist Blocks ehemaliger Alkoholiker Matt Scudder. Von Schuldgef hlen, Angst und Alkohol in die Isolation getrieben, war Scudder der Inbegriff des Einzelg ngers. Doch im Lauf seines nie endenden Entzugs beginnt er sein Spektrum zu erweitern. Einen echten Freund findet er in Mick Ballou, einen Sidekick in dem gewieften jungen Herumtreiber TJ und eine Geliebte in dem ehemaligen Callgirl Elaine. Als Scudder vom Bruder eines obdachlosen Vietnamveteranen, der des Mordes an Anwalt Glenn Holtzmann angeklagt ist, engagiert wird, findet er heraus, dass am Opfer sowohl mehr als auch weniger war, als es den Anschein hatte. Zu seiner eigenen berraschung - denn er liebt Elaine -l sst sich Scudder auf ein Verh ltnis mit Holtzmanns Witwe ein. Die Aufl sung des Falls ist eine logische berraschung und wirft so manche Frage ber die Indifferenz des Daseins auf. Obwohl Scudders Welt so trostlos ist wie eh und je, l sst er diesmal die Sonne ein wenig durchblitzen. Es ist sch n, einen Freund gl cklich zu sehen.-Wes LukowskyBooklist"Block war nie besser."-New York Daily News"Unbedingt lesen ... ebenso stimmungsvoll wie spannend."-Chicago Sun-Times
This second volume of Opening Shots is a collection of twenty-three first stories published by prominent mystery and crime writers. Some of these offerings are remarkably mature, professional work. Others are more obviously early works, before the writers' skills reached full maturity. But every one of them is a pleasure to read, and in each can be seen the seed of the writer's craft. "Each writer has included an introduction worth the price of admission all by themselves," observes Block. "Writers, it seems to me, are never more eloquent or more interesting that when they reminisce about their early days, and recalling one's first success seems a spur of anecdotage for most of us."Following on the heels of the successful first volume of this series, the stories in this stellar field include:"Final Rites" by Doug Allyn • "Don't Kill a Karate Fighter" by William Chambers • "Entrapped" by Harlan Coben • "Yellow Gal" by Michael Collins • "Together" by Jeffrey Deaver • "The Rough Boys" by Harlan Ellison • "Tole My Cap'n" by Joe Gores • "Layover" by Ed Gorman • "A Bunch of Mumbo-Jumbo" by Jan Grape • "The Cure" by David Handler • "Till Tuesday" by Jeremiah Healy • "Village of the Dead" by Edward D. Hoch • "Chalk" by Evan Hunter • "It's a Wise Child Who Knows" by Stuart Kaminsky • "Who Killed Cock Robin?" by H. R. F. Keating • "Medford & Son" by Dick Lochte • "Thieves' Honor" by John Lutz • "Not All Brides Are Beautiful" by Sharyn McCrumb • "Manslaughter" by Joyce Carol Oates • "You Don't Know What It's Like" by Bill Pronzini • "The Disappearance of Penny" by Robert J. Randisi • "A Victim Must Be Found" by Henry Slesar • "Blue Rose" by Peter Straub • "A Bad Night For Burglars" by Lawrence Block
