Lawrence Block

MATT SCUDDER RETURNS. More than 40 years after his debut and nearly a decade since his last appearance, one of the most renowned characters in all of crime fiction is back on the case in this major new novella by Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Lawrence Block. Well past retirement age and feeling his years-but still staying sober one day at a time-Matthew Scudder learns that alcoholics aren't the only ones who count the days since their last slip. Matt's longtime partner, Elaine, tells him of a group of former sex workers who do something similar, helping each other stay out of the life. But when one young woman describes an abusive client who's refusing to let her quit, Elaine encourages her to get help of a different sort. The sort only Scudder can deliver. A Time to Scatter Stones offers not just a gripping crime story but also a richly drawn portrait of Block's most famous character as he grapples with his own mortality while proving to the younger generation that he's still got what it takes. For Scudder's millions of fans around the world (including the many who met the character through Liam Neeson's portrayal in the film version of A Walk Among the Tombstones), A Time to Scatter Stones is an unexpected gift-a valedictory appearance that will remind readers why Scudder is simply the best there is.From Booklist (Starred Review): "Block's unlicensed New York City investigator Matt Scudder debuted 40 years ago but has been absent for the last decade... Block has never been predictable, as this novella demonstrates... A superb book and a reminder to his longtime fans that this crime-fiction master hasn't lost his touch."From Publishers Weekly: "If brevity keeps all the usual supporting characters from returning, some nice nostalgic mentions will reassure fans that they haven't been forgotten. It's good to see Matt back in action."This ebook edition of A Time to Scatter Stones also includes as a bonus Lawrence Block's introduction to his new Subterranean Press anthology, At Home in the Dark.

Keller, l'Uomo Urbano Solitario degli assassini, fa la sua seconda comparsa in Il Sicario nel Mirino (Hit List), ed veramente un grande ritorno. Ecco come ne parla Kirkus Reviews: "Appena terminato il ciclo di racconti brevi Il Sicario (Hit Man, 1998) in cui era il protagonista, il riflessivo killer di professione John Keller, creato dalla penna di Block, finalmente esaudisce i desideri dei suoi fan con un vero romanzo a lui dedicato. "Bench Keller sia un serio cittadino che colleziona francobolli, si presta a fare parte della giuria in un processo, ed esegua con consumata professionalit ogni omicidio commissionatogli - anche se il cliente tanto sconsiderato da identificare il bersaglio mostrando a Keller un biglietto natalizio con la foto di famiglia della futura vittima - le cose non sembrano andargli per il verso giusto. "Sfuggito per poco alla morte mentre esegue un lavoro a Louisville, torna a New York e accetta un altro incarico che appare come una breve storia interpolata. "Proseguendo i suoi sistematici viaggi per dispensare la morte a Tampa, Boston e nella periferia di Chicago, si distrae soltanto con del sesso occasionale con Maggie Griscomb, un'artista di gioielli, e visitando Louise Carpenter, un'astrologa che lo porta alle lacrime. Ma piccoli dettagli che vanno storti in quasi ogni incarico rendono sempre pi chiaro che Keller ha attirato l'attenzione di un killer rivale, il quale pensa che il paese non sia abbastanza grande per entrambi. "Non attendetevi nelle storie di Keller l'alta tensione prodotta dall'ironia principale, ovvero il contrasto tra la sua micidiale professione e il suo stile di vita e le sue opinioni da impiegato. Seguite invece le conversazioni, egualmente ironiche ma terribilmente contorte, tra Keller e la compassata Dot, che gli programma il lavoro. Questi dialoghi, che sembrano solo chiacchiere, sono per chiacchiere nelle quali l'interazione tra banalit e giudizi olimpici - come in James M. Cain e Quentin Tarantino - costituisce il vero cuore di questa moderna favola di samurai."

Una ragazza entra in un bar......e quando esce c' un uomo ad accompagnarla. Va a letto con lui e questa parte le piace. Poi lo uccide e questa parte le piace ancora di pi . Prima di andarsene, gli ripulisce il portafoglio. Continua a trasferirsi e per ogni indirizzo che cambia sceglie un nuovo nome. Lo fa da un bel po' e le riesce bene. Poi un commento casuale la fa pensare agli uomini che le sono scampati, i fortunati sopravvissuti alla notte trascorsa insieme a lei. Inizia a stilare una lista. E ora la ragazza ha una missione. Seguire le loro tracce. Dar loro la caccia. Eliminarli dalla sua lista...Il sottotitolo di Lawrence Block per Godimento "Un romanzo di sesso e violenza"; ed sicuramente cos . anche un ritratto straordinario della crescita e dell'evoluzione di una donna molto speciale. E, meraviglia delle meraviglie, una storia d'amore.

Kellers MetierKeller ist ein Killer. Durch und durch Profi, cool, selbstsicher, kompetent, zuverl ssig. Aber er ist auch eine vielschichtige Pers nlichkeit: in sich gekehrt und zur ckgezogen, eiskalt und gnadenlos effizient, aber zugleich anf llig f r Selbstzweifel und Einsamkeit, Albtr ume und Zukunftssorgen. Seinem Therapeuten gegen ber gibt er sich als "Troubleshooter" eines gro en Unternehmens aus, aber sein eigentliches Metier ist Mord. Sein Leben ist das eines gut verdienenden, aber einsamen Gesch ftsmanns, sein Habitat anonyme Hotelzimmer, unpers nliche Fastfood-Ketten und lange Autofahrten auf endlosen Highways. Ein geb rtiger New Yorker, tr umt er von einem beschaulichen Leben auf dem Land und spinnt sich an jedem Ort, den er bei seinen "Gesch ftsreisen" aufsucht, in Fantasien hinein, sich dort niederzulassen, um den Stress und die moralischen Verwicklungen, die seine T tigkeit mit sich bringt, hinter sich lassen zu k nnen.Kellers Metier ist das Deb t unseres Helden, das erste von f nf B chern ber ihn, die ebenfalls bald in deutscher bersetzung erscheinen werden. Aber erst einmal ein paar Rezensionen: "Schon seit einigen Jahren dokumentiert Block die Abenteuer des fatalistischen Auftragskillers J.P. Keller. Wenn er im Auftrag des alten Mannes in White Plains von seinem Apartment in New Yorks First Avenue zu einer amerikanischen Stadt nach der anderen aufbricht, schl gt er sich mit der Frage herum, ob er einen Mann t ten soll, der ihm ans Herz gewachsen ist, oder er b gelt sein Versehen aus, wenn er die falsche Zielperson ausgeschaltet hat, h lt als Handlanger f r Killer her, die zun chst gerissener sind als er, oder zerbricht sich den Kopf dar ber, welchen von zwei Auftraggebern, die sich gegenseitig umbringen lassen wollen, er entt uschen soll. Neben seinen methodisch durchgef hrten Eliminierungsaktionen sieht er sich in Oregon H user an, frequentiert einen Therapeuten, beginnt Briefmarken zu sammeln, macht sich Gedanken dar ber, ob es sein Leben bereichern w rde, wenn er mehr ber Pflanzen w sste, kauft der Frau, die seinen Hund ausf hrt, Ohrringe und besch ftigt sich mit der Frage, wie viel Verantwortung er sowohl f r die Frau als auch f r den Hund bernehmen kann. Es ist die Kombination aus den vielen Fragen, mit denen sich Keller befasst, und den vielen Fragen, mit denen er sich nicht zu befassen versucht ("F r moralische Erw gungen ist das die falsche Branche", erkl rt ihm die Sekret rin des alten Mannes), die der Hauptfigur ihren besonderen melancholischen Reiz verleiht. Ist das Endprodukt ein Roman oder ein Zyklus von Erz hlungen? Blocks hei hungrigen Fans, die begeistert sein werden, mindestens drei Meisterwerke ("Keller zu Pferd", "Kellers Therapie" und "Keller in schimmernder R stung") in einem Band vereint zu sehen, d rfte das genauso egal sein wie Keller."Kirkus Reviews"Da schreibt Block also einen umwerfenden Roman ber einen Auftragskiller in der Midlife Crisis ... Block teilt eine Links-rechts-Kombination in Sachen Humor und Innenschau aus ... Im weiteren Verlauf wird sich der Leser dabei ertappen, dass er sich dar ber klar zu werden versucht, warum ihm so viel daran liegt, dass der Killer inneren Frieden findet."Boston Herald"Eine ebenso schr ge wie reizvolle Mischung aus >hard-boiled

Im sechzehnten Roman seiner preisgekr nten Matthew-Scudder-Serie hat sich Bestseller-Autor Lawrence Block in Sachen Spannungsaufbau und Figurenzeichnung wieder einmal selbst bertroffen. In Weiterf hrung des Erfolgs, den Der zweite Tod bei Kritikern wie Leserschaft hatte, f hrt Block seinen Helden Scudder - und den Leser - an den Rand des Abgrunds.Privatdetektiv und Ex-Polizist Scudder ist eine vielschichtige, auch in Echtzeit gealterte und gewachsene Pers nlichkeit, die sich hier nicht nur der unausweichlichen Herausforderung der Sterblichkeit, sondern auch einem unerbittlichen, vor nichts zur ckschreckenden Gegner stellen muss, der in seiner Eisesk lte und Durchtriebenheit die unvergesslichste Figur sein d rfte, die Block je geschaffen hat.In einem Gef ngnis in Virginia wartet ein Mann auf seine Hinrichtung, doch entgegen der erdr ckenden Beweislast behauptet er bis zuletzt, die drei brutalen Morde, derentwegen er zum Tode verurteilt worden ist, nicht begangen zu haben. Ein Psychologe, der vorgibt, an seine Unschuld zu glauben, besucht ihn in den Tagen vor der Vollstreckung des Urteils mehrere Male im Todestrakt und nimmt schlie lich als Zuschauer sogar an der Hinrichtung teil. Anschlie end kehrt der Psychologe nach New York City zur ck, um sich dort einer anderen Aufgabe zu widmen.W hrenddessen hat sich Scudder bereit erkl rt, Nachforschungen ber den geheimnisumwitterten Liebhaber einer Bekannten anzustellen, den diese ber eine Partnerb rse im Internet kennengelernt hat. Das scheint ein relativ einfacher Auftrag zu sein. Zun chst. Doch als im pers nlichen Umfeld Scudders immer mehr Morde passieren und er selbst ins Schussfeld ger t, wird klar, dass hier ein extrem gef hrlicher Killer am Werk ist. Und dessen Hauptaugenmerk scheint Matt und Elaine Scudder zu gelten.Die Spannung ist atemberaubend, der Ausgang bis zum Schluss ungewiss. Eine Serie, die mit unz hligen Preisen berh uft wurde - Edgar, Shamus, Philip Marlow, Maltese Falcon -, hat sich zu einem neuen H hepunkt aufgeschwungen. Lawrence Block, der von der Crime Writers Association des United Kingdom f r sein Lebenswerk mit dem Diamond Dagger ausgezeichnet worden ist, zeigt sich in diesem Buch in H chstform.Audiofile MagazineMit einem Titel, der dem alten Folksong "Danny Boy" entnommen ist, zeigt sich Lawrence Blocks sechzehnter Roman mit Matt Scudder von seiner d stersten Seite. Als Scudder von einer Frau, die er von den Treffen der Anonymen Alkoholiker kennt, gebeten wird, diskrete Nachforschungen ber ihren neuen Liebhaber anzustellen, muss er feststellen, dass er ins Visier eines extrem durchtriebenen Serienkillers geraten ist, der seine Vorgehensweise st ndig ndert und keinerlei Hinweise auf seine Identit t hinterl sst.

Keller un killer. Professionale, freddo, sicuro, competente, affidabile. Ma anche una persona complessa: riservato e solitario, gelido e spietatamente efficiente, portato alla solitudine e ai dubbi, agli incubi e al timore per la sua carriera. Il suo terapista lo crede un esperto che risolve i problemi delle societ , ma il vero lavoro di Keller l'omicidio. Fa la vita di un uomo d'affari ben pagato e che viaggia da solo, abituato a impersonali stanze d'albergo, noiosi tratti di autostrade su auto prese a nolo, anonime tavole calde. Newyorkese fatto e finito, nondimeno fantastica su come sarebbe bello vivere in campagna; e in ogni localit che visita immagina di mettere su casa, lontano dalla pressione e i problemi morali che la sua professione comporta.Il Sicario (Hit Man) il primo dei cinque libri in cui compare Keller. Traduzioni degli altri - Hit List, Hit Parade, Hit and Run e Hit Me - saranno presto disponibili. Per ora, ecco un paio di recensioni."Da qualche anno Block sta narrando le avventure di J. P. Keller, fatalista assassino a pagamento. Uscito dal suo appartamento sulla Prima Avenue per recarsi - su ordine del Vecchio di White Plains - in una citt dopo l'altra, Keller riflette se pu uccidere un uomo che ora gli piace, sistema le cose dopo avere colpito il bersaglio sbagliato, diventa la pedina di un killer inizialmente pi astuto di lui, e si tormenta per decidere quale di due clienti, ognuno dei quali ha pagato per fare uccidere l'altro, dovr deludere.Tra una e l'altra delle sue metodiche esecuzioni, Keller va a vedere case in vendita nell'Oregon, consulta un analista, inizia a collezionare francobolli, si chiede se sapendone di pi sui fiori la sua vita sarebbe pi piena, compera orecchini per la ragazza che porta a spasso il suo cane, e non sa quanto dovrebbe impegnarsi sia con la ragazza che col cane. E' la combinazione delle molte cose su cui Keller medita e di quelle sulle quali cerca di non meditare ("Questo il mestiere sbagliato per prendere decisioni morali," lo ammonisce la segretaria del Vecchio) che gli conferisce il suo fascino melanconico. Il risultato un romanzo o una serie di storie brevi? Gli avidi ammiratori di Block, - felici di vedere almeno tre piccoli capolavori (Keller a cavallo, Keller in terapia e Keller, il prode cavaliere) raccolti nello stesso volume - non se ne preoccuperanno pi di quanto se ne preoccuperebbe Keller." Kirkus Reviews"Block ha scritto un romanzo da K.O. su di un sicario che inizia a vacillare nella crisi della mezza et ... Block colpisce con una bella doppietta di humor e introspezione... Leggendo il libro, a un certo momento il lettore si chieder come mai si trovi a desiderare che il killer trovi la propria pace interiore." Boston Herald

Lawrence Block's new collection assembles seven works of fiction written over a period of sixty years. "Hard Sell," a story ghost-written under Craig Rice's name, appeared in the first issue of Ed McBain's Mystery Magazinein 1960, and features Rice's hard-drinking yet clear-thinking lawyer, John J.Malone. "Dead to the World," which appeared under a one-shot pen name in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, has been lost for years, and the story of how it was lost and found is as interesting as the story itself.The same is true of "Whatever It Takes," written over a quarter of a century ago and never submitted anywhere, because the author filed it away and forgot about it; he came upon it, dusted it off, and sent it to AHMM where it was published."I Know How to Pick 'Em" was written for Dangerous Women, the George R. R.Martin and Gardner Dozois anthology, and a holdback clause in the contract kept it out of LB's previous collections. "Autumn at the Automat" was also written for an anthology, LB's own In Sunlight or in Shadow, and won an Edgar Allan Poe award as Best Story of the Year."Gym Rat" has never appeared in print; it was ePublished as part of a Center for Fiction project. While readers have suggested the protagonist might return for further appearances, LB is doubtful. Still, he's been mistaken before."Resume Speed," the title novella, was published in hardcover (by the stellar Subterranean Press) and as a Kindle Single (by the author). Subterranean's edition is out of print and hard to come by, and the story now appears in paperback for the first time. While it was written only a couple of years ago, it has its roots in a story the author overheard perhaps 40 years ago.All of the circumstances of its origin, and a good deal more about each of these stories, may be found in LB's foreword. But, if you don't care, you can just skip it and go straight to the stories themselves.

Ich liebe die Matthew-Scudder-Reihe und ich liebe Kurzgeschichten ... Das hier ist die komplette Sammlung mit allen Scudder-Kurzgeschichten. Eine der besten Kurzgeschichten aller Zeiten ist >Im fr hen Licht des Tages

Endlich kann Matt Scudder ein behagliches Leben f hren. Die Kriminalit tsrate ist gesunken, die Aktienkurse steigen und die Gentrifizierung sorgt daf r, dass das alte Viertel in neuem Glanz erstrahlt. Die Stra en New Yorks wirken bei Weitem nicht mehr so gef hrlich wie fr her.Dann bricht die H lle aus.Schnell muss Scudder am eigenen Leib erfahren, dass die herausgeputzten B rgersteige so gef hrlich sind wie immer: dunkel, brutal und voller Blutflecken. Er lebt in einer Welt, in der die Vergangenheit ein Minenfeld, die Gegenwart ein Kriegsgebiet und die Zukunft eine offene Frage ist. Eine Welt, in der nichts und niemand sicher ist, ein zufallsgesteuertes Universum, in dem das berleben nicht als selbstverst ndlich vorausgesetzt werden kann. Auch sein eigenes nicht.Es ist eine Welt, in der alle sterben.Publishers Weekly schrieb ber den Roman: Die Zahl der Leichen ist in der Tat betr chtlich im neuesten Matt-Scudder-Roman, der der beste seit >Ruhet in Frieden

Wenn du die Cops nicht holen kannst, holst du ScudderKenan Khourys Frau geht einkaufen und kommt nicht mehr nach Hause. Jedenfalls nicht lebendig. Aber weil Kenan Khoury im gro en Stil mit Drogen handelt, kann er nicht zur Polizei gehen. Stattdessen wendet er sich an Matthew Scudder, einen Alkoholiker und Ex-Cop, der inzwischen ohne Lizenz als Privatdetektiv arbeitet und vor nichts zur ckschreckt, um die brutalen M rder zu berf hren und zu verhindern, dass ihnen eine weitere Frau zum Opfer f llt.Die Killer sind mit seltener Brutalit t vorgegangen, und Scudder wei , sie tun so etwas nicht zum ersten Mal und werden es wieder tun. Mit Unterst tzung seiner Freundin Elaine und des gewieften TJ gelingt es ihm schlie lich, die teuflischen T ter in einem angemessenen Ambiente zu stellen - auf einem Friedhof in Brooklyn, in einer rabenschwarzen Nacht ..."Lawrence Blocks Matthew Scudder, einer der markantesten Detektive aller Zeiten, kehrt in seinem schockierendsten Fall auf die Leinwand zur ck, dargestellt von Superstar Liam Neeson (96 Hours) und in Szene gesetzt von Drehbuchautor/Regisseur Scott Frank (Schnappt Shorty, Out of Sight)." -- Hard Case Crime

A NEW HAT.FOR A NEW HIT.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. "Keller's Fedora" is the first new Keller story in more than three years.

"This is either the funniest dirty book or the dirtiest funny book ever written " -Isaac AsimovSomewhere 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. I riffed on the experience of my friend George Dickerson, who like the novel's protagonist had the magazine he was editing folded out from under him; George went on reporting to his empty office for several months, until they found him out when they noticed he'd stopped using his expense account. (A man of many talents, George went on to serve as a reporter for Time Magazine for several years, then segued into a career as an actor; he had a principal role in Blue Velvet.) I spliced in an experience of my own, when I drank for hours at the Kettle of Fish on Macdougal Street, emerging only to be picked up by a carful of rich Catholic schoolgirls from the Academy of the Sacred Heart in Noroton, Connecticut, who essentially kidnapped me and drove me back to school with them. These things happen.I wrote the book in four furious days in an apartment on West 35th Street. I did so 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. My agent sent it to Bernard Geis, a quirky publisher whose editor-Don Preston-loved the book. Bernie had offices on two floors in midtown Manhattan, and had installed a fireman's pole in case one wanted to get from 9 to 8 in a hurry. All I recall of Don is he told me to avoid seeing Carnal Knowledge, which he hated, and that I must hurry to see McCabe and Mrs.Miller, which he loved. Once I'd managed to sit through McCabe and Mrs. Miller, I knew I'd love Carnal Knowledge.Around the time Ronald Rabbit was published, Bernard Geis slid into Chapter Eleven. I can't think this had a salutary effect on sales. Martin Levin in the New York Times Book Review pointed out that the book was written in the form of a series of letters, which was also the case with Richardson's Pamela, generally acknowledged to be the first English novel. And that, Mr. Levin said, was as much as he had to say on the subject.Well, that's fair.I had the publisher send a copy to Isaac Asimov, whom I'd met a few times over the years. "That's either the funniest dirty book or the dirtiest funny book I've ever read," Isaac told me. "That would make a wonderful blurb," I said. "Over my dead body," he replied.Well, okay. Isaac's been gone over 25 years now, and while I wish he were still around, he's not. And so I'll just remember him fondly, and thank him for giving Ronald Rabbit is a Dirty Old Man a helping hand, all these years later.

Blurb copy: Das Leben hat es gut gemeint mit Byrne und Susan Hollander. Er ist Anwalt, sie Schriftstellerin; ihr mitten in Manhattan gelegenes Stadthaus ist inzwischen drei Millionen Dollar wert und befindet sich nicht weit vom Lincoln Center, wo sie an diesem Abend ein Wohlt tigkeitskonzert besuchen. Nach dem Konzert gehen sie zu Fu nach Hause. An diesem Punkt nimmt ihr Leben eine dramatische Wende. Bei ihrer R ckkehr berraschen die Hollanders zwei Einbrecher in ihrem Haus und werden von ihnen brutal ermordet. Schon wenige Tage sp ter findet die Polizei die zwei T ter, beide tot, allem Anschein nach ein Mord und ein Selbstmord. Der Fall wird zu den Akten gelegt. Doch Matt Scudder beginnt sich f r die Angelegenheit zu interessieren, als ihn die Tochter der Hollanders engagiert, um der M glichkeit nachzugehen, dass an der Tat ein dritter Mann beteiligt war. Die Hinweise sind vage und beruhen haupts chlich auf Indizien, doch Scudder vertraut auf seinen in vierzig Jahren Ermittlert tigkeit gesch rften Instinkt. Block, der zahlreiche Bestseller geschrieben und die entsprechende Anzahl an Preisen daf r eingeheimst hat, orientiert sich an vielen g ngigen Krimimustern, schafft es aber dennoch, dem Genre seltene Tiefe und Eindringlichkeit zu verleihen. Scudder ist als ein dem Alkohol verfallener, sich in Selbstmitleid suhlender Ex-Cop auf der Bildfl che erschienen, hat sich aber inzwischen zu einem im doppelten Sinn des Wortes n chternen und illusionslosen Gegenwartsbeobachter gemausert. Kenner der Serie wissen, dass der Weg ihres Helden m hsam und oft auch schmerzhaft war. Die Verbrechen in den Scudder-Romanen sind Vehikel, die uns in die finstersten Winkel der menschlichen Existenz bef rdern. Mit Matt als unserem F hrer kehren wir von diesen Ausfl gen in die dunklen Bereiche des Daseins etwas banger, aber immer um eine Erfahrung reicher zur ck.-Wes Lukowsky in BooklistDas ist der 15. Matthew-Scudder-Roman in 25 Jahren, und die Leser von Blocks Noir-Serie wissen, was sie zu erwarten haben. Auch diesmal fehlt keine der gewohnten Zutaten: die lebensnahe Schilderung der unvergleichlichen Atmosph re von New York City; Ausfl ge zu AA-Treffen in Kirchenkellern; Mick Ballous Bar; und die vertrauten Figuren wie Ballou, der junge TJ und Elaine, Matt Scudders mildernde Einfluss. In diesem Roman besuchen Matt und Elaine ein Wohlt tigkeitskonzert, das im Rahmen der Mostly Mozart-Festspiele im Lincoln Center stattfindet. Im selben Konzert ist auch ein Paar, das sp ter in seinem Stadthaus in der Upper West Side ermordet wird. Wenig sp ter werden auch die "M rder" selbst in Brooklyn tot aufgefunden. Haupts chlich weil er gerade nichts Besseres zu tun hat, beginnt sich Scudder, ohne von jemand dazu aufgefordert zu werden, mit dem Fall zu besch ftigen und gelangt dabei mehr und mehr zu einem schockierenden Schluss. Die in den Handlungsverlauf eingestreuten Schilderungen aus der Sicht des wahren M rders verleihen dem Ganzen den Charakter eines perfiden Katz-und-Maus-Spiels. Dennoch werden diejenigen, die hektische Action suchen, hier entt uscht werden; die Gangart ist gem chlich, und die Charaktere und Milieuschilderungen sind fast genauso wichtig wie der Plot. Rundum empfehlenswert, besonders f r Leihbibliotheken, wo die Leser danach fragen werden.-Fred Gervat in Library Journal

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 ...

Any number of artists have produced evocative work, paintings that could trigger a literary response. But none came to mind who could equal Hopper in turning out canvas after canvas. If no single artist could take Hopper’s place, how about a full palette of them? Suppose each author was invited to select a painting from the whole panoply of visual art—From the cave drawings at Lascaux to a contemporary abstract canvas on which the paint has barely dried. And what a dazzling response! Joyce Carol Oates picked Le Beaux Jours by Balthus. Warren Moore chose Salvador Dali’s The Pharmacist of Ampurdam Seeking Absolutely Nothing. Michael Connelly, who sent Harry Bosch to Chicago for a close look at Nighthawks, has a go at The Garden of Earthly Delights by Harry’s namesake Hieronymous Bosch. S. J. Rozan finds a story in Hokusai’s The Great Wave, while Jeffery Deaver’s "A Significant Find” draws its inspiration from—yes—those prehistoric cave drawings at Lascaux. And Kristine Kathryn Rusch moves from painting to sculpture and selects Rodin. In artists ranging from Art Frahm and Norman Rockwell to René Magritte and Clifford Still, the impressive concept goes on to include Thomas Pluck, Sarah Weinman, David Morrell, Craig Ferguson, Joe R. Lansdale, Jill D. Block, Justin Scott, Jonathan Santlofer, Gail Levin, Nicholas Christopher and Lee Child, with each story accompanied in colour by the work of art that inspired it.

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 investigatore 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 che beveva Rye la sua nona avventura.Il romanzo di Gulliver Fairborn, Il Figlio di Nessuno, aveva cambiato la vita di Bernie Rhodenbarr. Ma adesso la bella Alice Cottrell, che anni prima era stata l'amante di Fairborn, vuole che il nostro ladro - libraio e bibliofilo - penetri in una stanza del Paddington, incantevole albergo di New York, e che rubi delle lettere molto personali di quello scrittore prima che un'agente letteraria di pochi scrupoli possa venderle.E' un'occasione per utilizzare le sue rare abilit al servizio dell'autore, tanto famoso quanto notoriamente geloso della propria privacy. Ma quando Bernie arriva, l'agente morta... e Bernie accusato di omicidio. (Lui odia quando questo capita )Forse una vendetta della sorte: Bernie si era veramente appropriato di una collana di rubini mentre se ne andava. (Ma la collana era l , e lui un ladro.) Adesso, per , in una situazione anche peggiore, e dovr usare ogni trucco possibile - forse perfino convincendo il solitario Fairborn a uscire dalla sua vita isolata - per arrivare a una conclusione soddisfacente di questa trama sempre pi intricata.

In Roseburg, Oregon, a bartender walks off his job and heads east with no destination in mind. The Cascades are in his way, but he doesn't let that stop him.He keeps walking. And other people are moved to join him, and as they walk the group generates a sort of collective energy, and unexpected things happen. Miraculous things, you might say.Meanwhile, in Kansas, a perfectly respectable real estate professional loses his temper with a prostitute and surprises himself by killing her. He's even more surprised to discover that he enjoys it as he has never enjoyed anything before. It's even more enjoyable the second time. So he puts his work and his marriage and his whole life on hold and drives around the country, looking for more women to kill.RANDOM WALK is unlike anything else Lawrence Block has written. Originally published by Tor Books in 1988, it got spotty reviews and disappointing sales. A lot of people didn't know what to make of it. Here's the author's report of reactions over the years: "Sometimes at a book signing or other public appearance, someone'll come up to me and say, 'You know, I've enjoyed everything you've written, except there was one book that just didn't work for me at all, and I couldn't figure out what you had in mind when you wrote it.' And someone else will say, "I've read and enjoyed your books for years, but there's one book that hit me like a ton of stone tablets, and I've read it seventeen times and I get something new from it each time and I have to say it changed my life.' And I'll know right away that they're both talking about RANDOM WALK. I suppose for some people it's just another book, but for a sizable proportion of readers it's a definite outlier-they either love it like crazy or they don't get it at all."RANDOM WALK has been in and out of print in the thirty years since it first appeared, delighting some readers and confusing others. We're now very pleased to make it newly available, so that you may decide for yourself what you think of it.