Block, Lawrence 1938- (Chip Harrison, Paul Kavanagh, Sheldon Lord, Andrew Shaw)

PERSONAL:

Born June 24, 1938, in Buffalo, NY; son of Arthur Jerome and Lenore Harriet Block; married Loretta Kallett, 1960 (divorced 1973); married second wife, Lynne (a painter), 1983; children (first marriage): Amy, Jill, Alison. Education: Attended Antioch College, 1955-59. Hobbies and other interests: Travel.

ADDRESSES:

Home—New York, NY. Office—Baror International, P.O. Box 868, Armonk, NY 10504. E-mail—LB@lawrenceblock.com.

CAREER:

Writer. Scott Meredith, Inc., New York, NY, editor, 1957-58; Whitman Publishing Co., Racine, WI, editor, 1964-66; freelance writer, beginning 1958. Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY, instructor, 1981-82.

MEMBER:

International Association of Crime Writers, International Narcotics Enforcement Officers Association, International Association for the Study of Organized Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Players Club.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Nero Wolfe Award for Best Mystery of 1979, for The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling; Shamus Awards, Private Eye Writers of America, including Best Novel, 1983, for Eight Million Ways to Die, Best Short Story, 1985, for "By Dawn's Early Light," Best Novel, 1994, for The Devil Knows You're Dead, and Best Short Story, 1994, for "The Merciful Angel of Death"; Edgar Allan Poe Awards, Mystery Writers of America, including Best Short Story, 1985, for "By Dawn's Early Light," Best Novel, 1992, for A Dance at the Slaughterhouse, Best Short Story, 1994, for "Keller's Therapy," Grand Master designation, 1994, and Best Short Story, 1998, for "Keller on the Spot"; Maltese Falcon Award (Japan), for When the Sacred Ginmill Closes and A Ticket to the Boneyard; Anthony Award for Best Anthology/Short Story Collection, 2001, for Master's Choice 2; Lifetime Achievement Award, Private Eye Writers of America, 2002; Grand Maitre du Roman Noir (France); Societé 813 Trophy (France); Diamond Dagger, Crime Writers of America, 2004.

WRITINGS:

Mona, Fawcett (New York, NY), 1961, published as Sweet Slow Death, Berkley (New York, NY), 1986.

(Under pseudonym Andrew Shaw) $20 Lust, Nightstand (Milwaukee, WI), 1961, published as Cinderella Sims, Subterranean (Burton, MI), 2002.

Death Pulls a Doublecross, Fawcett (New York, NY), 1961, published as Coward's Kiss, Countryman (Woodstock, VT), 1987.

Markham, the Case of the Pornographic Photos, Belmont Books (New York, NY), 1961, published as You Could Call It Murder, Countryman (Woodstock, VT), 1987.

(Under pseudonym Sheldon Lord) Sex Shuffle, Beacon (New York, NY), 1964, published under name Lawrence Block as Lucky at Cards, Dorchester Publishing Co. (New York, NY), 2007.

The Girl with the Long Green Heart, Fawcett (New York, NY), 1965.

Deadly Honeymoon, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1967.

After the First Death, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1969.

The Specialists, Fawcett (New York, NY), 1969.

Ronald Rabbit Is a Dirty Old Man, Geis (New York, NY), 1971.

Ariel, Arbor House (New York, NY), 1980.

(With Harold King) Code of Arms, R. Marek (New York, NY), 1981.

Sometimes They Bite (short stories), Arbor House (New York, NY), 1983.

Like a Lamb to Slaughter (short stories), Arbor House (New York, NY), 1984.

(With Cornell Woolrich) Into the Night, Mysterious Press (New York, NY), 1987.

Random Walk, Tor (New York, NY), 1988.

Some Days You Get the Bear (short stories), William Morrow (New York, NY), 1993.

Ehrengraf for the Defense (short stories), ASAP (Royal Oak, MI), 1994.

Hit Man (short stories), William Morrow (New York, NY), 1998.

Keller's Greatest Hits: Adventures in the Murder Trade, William Morrow (New York, NY), 1998.

One Night Stands, Crippen & Landru Publishers (Norfolk, VA), 1999.

(Editor) Master's Choice: Mystery Stories by Today's Top Writers and the Masters Who Inspired Them, Berkley (New York, NY), 1999.

(Editor) Death Cruise: Crime Stories on the Open Seas, Cumberland House (Nashville, TN), 1999.

Hit List (novel), William Morrow (New York, NY), 2000.

Collected Mystery Stories of Lawrence Block, Trafalgar Square (Pomfret, VT), 2000.

(Editor) Master's Choice 2, Berkley (New York, NY), 2000.

(Editor) Opening Shots, Cumberland House (Nashville, TN), 2000.

(Editor) Speaking of Greed, Cumberland House (Nashville, TN), 2001.

Speaking of Lust: Stories of Forbidden Desire, Cumberland House (Nashville, TN), 2001.

The Lost Cases of Ed London, Crippen & Landru Publishers (Norfolk, VA), 2001.

(Contributor and guest editor) Best American Mystery Stories of 2001, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 2001.

Enough Rope: Collected Stories, William Morrow (New York, NY), 2002.

Small Town, William Morrow (New York, NY), 2003.

(Editor) Blood on Their Hands, Berkley Prime Crime (New York, NY), 2003.

(Editor) Manhattan Noir, Akashic Books (New York, NY), 2006.

Hit Parade, William Morrow (New York, NY), 2006.

Lucky at Cards, Dorchester Publishing Co. (New York, NY), 2007.

Contributor to Murder on the Run, 1998, and Opening Shots, 2000.

"EVAN TANNER" SERIES

The Thief Who Couldn't Sleep, Fawcett Gold Medal (New York, NY), 1966.

The Canceled Czech, Fawcett Gold Medal (New York, NY), 1967, first reprinted, Otto Penzler, 1995.

Tanner's Twelve Swingers, Fawcett Gold Medal (New York, NY), 1967.

Two for Tanner, Fawcett Gold Medal (New York, NY), 1967, published as The Scoreless Thai, Subterranean Press (Burton, MI), 2001.

Tanner's Tiger, Fawcett Gold Medal (New York, NY), 1968, reprinted, Subterranean Press (Burton, MI), 2001.

Here Comes a Hero, Fawcett Gold Medal (New York, NY), 1968, published as Tanner's Virgin, Subterranean Press (Burton, MI), 2005.

Me Tanner, You Jane, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1970.

Tanner on Ice, Dutton (New York, NY), 1998.

"MATTHEW SCUDDER" SERIES

Sins of the Fathers, Dell (New York, NY), 1976, reprinted, Dark Harvest (Arlington Heights, IL), 1992.

In the Midst of Death, Dell (New York, NY), 1976, reprinted, G & C Books, 1995.

Time to Murder and Create, Dell (New York, NY), 1977, reprinted, Dark Harvest (Arlington Heights, IL), 1993.

A Stab in the Dark, Arbor House (New York, NY), 1981.

Eight Million Ways to Die, Arbor House (New York, NY), 1982.

When the Sacred Ginmill Closes, Arbor House (New York, NY), 1986.

Out on the Cutting Edge, William Morrow (New York, NY), 1989.

A Ticket to the Boneyard, William Morrow (New York, NY), 1990.

A Dance at the Slaughterhouse, William Morrow (New York, NY), 1991.

A Walk among the Tombstones, William Morrow (New York, NY), 1992.

The Devil Knows You're Dead, William Morrow (New York, NY), 1993.

A Long Line of Dead Men, William Morrow (New York, NY), 1994.

Even the Wicked, Orion (London, England), 1996, William Morrow (New York, NY), 1997.

Everybody Dies, William Morrow (New York, NY), 1999.

Hope to Die, William Morrow (New York, NY), 2001.

All the Flowers Are Dying, William Morrow (New York, NY), 2005.

"BERNIE RHODENBARR" SERIES

Burglars Can't Be Choosers, Random House (New York, NY), 1977.

The Burglar in the Closet, Random House (New York, NY), 1978.

The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling, Random House (New York, NY), 1979.

The Burglar Who Studied Spinoza, Random House (New York, NY), 1981.

The Burglar Who Painted like Mondrian, Arbor House (New York, NY), 1983.

The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams, Dutton (New York, NY), 1994.

The Burglar Who Thought He Was Bogart, Dutton (New York, NY), 1995.

The Burglar in the Library, Dutton (New York, NY), 1997.

The Burglar in the Rye, Dutton (New York, NY), 1999.

The Burglar on the Prowl, William Morrow (New York, NY), 2004.

UNDER PSEUDONYM PAUL KAVANAGH

Such Men Are Dangerous, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1969, published under name Lawrence Block, Jove (New York, NY), 1985.

The Triumph of Evil, World, 1971, published under name Lawrence Block, Countryman (Woodstock, VT), 1986.

Not Comin' Home to You, Putnam (New York, NY), 1974, published under name Lawrence Block, Countryman (Woodstock, VT), 1986.

"CHIP HARRISON" SERIES; ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED UNDER PSEUDONYM CHIP HARRISON

No Score (also see below), Fawcett Gold Medal (New York, NY), 1970.

Chip Harrison Scores Again (also see below), Fawcett Gold Medal (New York, NY), 1971.

Make out with Murder (also see below), Fawcett Gold Medal (New York, NY), 1974.

The Topless Tulip Caper (also see below), Fawcett Gold Medal (New York, NY), 1975, published as Five Little Rich Girls, [England].

A.K.A. Chip Harrison (includes Make out with Murder and The Topless Tulip Caper), Countryman (Woodstock, VT), 1983.

Introducing Chip Harrison (includes No Score and Chip Harrison Scores Again), Countryman (Woodstock, VT), 1984.

NONFICTION

(With Delbert Ray Krause) Swiss Shooting Talers and Medals, Whitman Publishing (Racine, WI), 1965.

Writing the Novel: From Plot to Print, Writer's Digest (Cincinnati, OH), 1979.

Telling Lies for Fun and Profit: A Manual for Fiction Writers (collected Writer's Digest columns), Arbor House (New York, NY), 1981.

(With Cheryl Morrison) Real Food Places: A Guide to Restaurants That Serve Fresh, Wholesome Food, Rodale (Emmaus, PA), 1981.

Write for Your Life, Write for Your Life Seminars (New York, NY), 1985.

Spider, Spin Me a Web: Lawrence Block on Writing Fiction (collected Writer's Digest columns), Writer's Digest Books (Cincinnati, OH), 1988.

(With Ernie Bulow) After Hours: Conversations with Lawrence Block, University of New Mexico Press (Albuquerque, NM), 1995.

(Editor) Gangsters, Swindlers, Killers, and Thieves: The Lives and Crimes of Fifty American Villains, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 2004.

Former columnist, Writer's Digest. Contributor of articles and short fiction to American Heritage, Redbook, Playboy, GQ, and the New York Times.

ADAPTATIONS:

Several of Block's books were adapted for film, including Deadly Honeymoon, Eight Million Ways to Die, and The Burglar in the Closet. Screen rights to Hit Man and A Walk among the Tombstones have been purchased. The short story "Cleveland in My Dreams" was adapted by BBC-TV as Bradford in My Dreams.

SIDELIGHTS:

Lawrence Block has entertained millions of readers with his stories of adventure and mystery. A winner of the coveted Grand Master designation from the Mystery Writers of America, Block is immensely prolific without sacrificing the quality of each individual novel or story. He is the author of several successful series, and has also written numerous books about the craft of writing. His novels are action driven, but reviewers have frequently pointed out that Block's skillful prose and strong characterizations set his work apart from many books in the genre. Douglas Perry, writing for the Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service, commented that Block "works literature's nearly forgotten middle ground. His novels aren't Tom Clancy-inspired pulp stories where the hero is more intimate with violence and political conspiracies than with any real human emotion. Nor are they … introspective, lit-mag fare…. Instead, Block's settings and plot contrivances very much exist in a world we recognize from our own day-to-day lives, and all the characters ring true." With tongue-in-cheek praise, January Magazine critic Kevin Burton Smith observed: "The plain unpleasant truth is that nobody working in crime fiction today has written so many good books, of so many different types, with so many great characters."

A portion of Block's work is lost to history. He taught himself the craft of fiction by writing pulp novels under pseudonyms—sometimes at the pace of a book a month. In the course of a gradual process of improvement, he started writing action mysteries and then devised his first series sleuth, Evan Tanner. Tanner is a Cold War-era spy who can work twenty-four hours a day, because the sleep center in his brain has been destroyed. The globe-trotting Tanner is proficient with espionage and women in novels such as The Canceled Czech, Here Comes a Hero, and Me Tanner, You Jane. Published in 1970, Me Tanner, You Jane marked the insomniac's last appearance until 1998, when Block resurrected him in Tanner on Ice. The author turned the character's twenty-eight-year hiatus into part of the plot, explaining that Tanner had been cryogenically frozen for all those years. Thus Tanner faces not only his usual dangerous activities but also the challenge of culture shock.

Darker and more complex than the "Tanner" books are Block's novels about Matthew Scudder, a former New York City detective now working as a private investigator. In novels such as Eight Million Ways to Die and When the Sacred Ginmill Closes, Skudder trails criminals and also battles his own demon, alcoholism, which Library Journal contributor Stephen L. Hupp called "the most interesting aspect of the work." Reviewing Everybody Dies, a Publishers Weekly writer praised Block's "seamless weave of thought and action" and his "matchless gift for dialogue that is true, funny, and revealing," and concluded that "the pages leading up to the climax have an almost Shakespearean feel for human resignation in the face of mortality."

Block has written more books featuring Scudder than any of his other characters, and Scudder has aged naturally along with his creator. In the Dictionary of Literary Biography, John L. Cobbs wrote: "Of all the detectives in modern American mystery writing, Scudder is among the most hard-boiled and the most damaged. His fundamental decency combined with his knowledge of the seamiest side of life give him a flexible tolerance of, and ability to deal with, all but the most depraved characters." Cobbs noted that Scudder's struggle with addiction has been a cornerstone of the series, but it is not the character's only selling point. "Scudder is a fascinating character," the critic wrote. "Despite his rough edges, there is a decency in his ongoing battle with the New York underworld that belies his occasional brutality and the apparently callous cynicism with which he defends himself from the atrocities he encounters…. The series as it now stands is certainly one of the significant exempla of the hard-boiled genre. No other hard-boiled writer has more thoroughly delineated a gritty urban degeneracy than has Block in his clear-eyed depiction of the underside of New York that is Scudder's milieu." According to Wes Lukowsky in Booklist, in the "Scudder" mysteries "the crimes … are vehicles to take us to the darkest corners of human experience," and readers leave "these visits to the dark side a little more fearful but always richer for the experience."

The 2001 addition to the series, Hope to Die, finds Scudder investigating the deaths of two wealthy Manhattanites, the apparent victims of a robbery-murder. The police close the case when the burglars are later found dead, but Scudder thinks otherwise. For a Publishers Weekly reviewer, the work is "a solid mystery, a fine Block, but less than exceptional." Fred Gervat, writing in the Library Journal, commented that Hope to Die differs from Block's other action-packed Scudder titles: "The pace is leisurely, and characters and set pieces are almost as important as plot." Bruce Fetts, writing in Entertainment Weekly, also found the work "enjoyably wistful," and had further praise for the "vividly drawn locals."

Scudder returns in the 2005 installment, All the Flowers Are Dying, now semi-retired and still attending AA meetings. The rest of the time he tries to be with his ex-prostitute wife, Elaine, but the challenge of catching a brutal serial killer sends him back into the chase. Soon the sixty-something Scudder and his wife themselves become the targets of the sick killer. Reviewing All the Flowers Are Dying in Entertainment Weekly, Tom Sinclair found it a "particularly strong effort," with a villain "who makes Hannibal Lecter look like a lightweight." A reviewer for Publishers Weekly also gave the book top marks, terming it "a thrilling, satisfying concoction brewed by a master storyteller in top form." Ken Bolton, writing in the Library Journal, noted that Block adds a new dimension to his crime fiction in this installment: "To the traditional elements of a crime mystery, Block adds the subject of aging, as Scudder faces his own mortality." For a Kirkus Reviews critic, this book offers "another powerful meditation on mortality in thriller's clothing."

Another of Block's popular creations is Bernie Rhodenbarr, a Greenwich Village bookseller who moonlights as a cat burglar. Bernie's illegal escapades ultimately lead him to corpses in mysteries such as The Burglar Who Painted like Mondrian, The Burglar Who Studied Spinoza, and The Burglar in the Rye. Lighter in tone than the "Scudder" books, the "Rhodenbarr" adventures have been singled out by numerous reviewers for their subtle wit. Indeed, Rhodenbarr's Manhattan hardly resembles Scudder's at all, at least on the surface. Rhodenbarr hob-nobs with the rich and the intellectual achievers, and it is from this cluster of the elite that he draws his burglary victims. Cobbs observed: "A hero detective who is also a criminal, Rhodenbarr is a deliberate contradiction in terms—the focus of a series that is comic where the Scudder series is serious, delicate rather than brutal, and clever rather than profound." Reviewing The Burglar in the Rye for BookBrowser, Harriet Klausner called it as "delightful and refreshing as all the others in the series."

After a five-year hiatus, Bernie Rhodenbarr returns in the 2004 title, The Burglar on the Prowl, a book that "reads like a treasured stand-up routine," according to Booklist contributor Bill Ott. Bernie, hiding under a bed while in the midst of an apartment burglary, is the sightless witness to a date rape. He is also caught on a security camera breaking into the building, becoming a suspect in a murder that takes place next door. Other murders and a break-in in Bernie's own apartment bring the plot to a steady simmer. Ott noted that the book is pure formula, in the happiest sense, a "superb light entertainment." Likewise, Wilda Williams, writing in the Library Journal, felt that "Block keeps the reader entertained throughout with his charming, eccentric characters and trade-mark humor." Similar praise was offered by a Publishers Weekly reviewer who amazedly observed that after more than fifty published books Block was still as "fresh, witty and inventive as ever" in this tenth installment featuring the moonlighting bookseller. The Publishers Weekly contributor further termed the work "seamless and hilarious." People writer Rob Taub called The Burglar on the Prowl "one of the best" in the series.

Block gave readers a new twist with Hit Man, a book of short stories about an introspective contract killer named John Keller. To all appearances, Keller lives a mundane single life in New York City—except that occasionally he flies to another location and kills someone. His business is handled by his agent, Dot, who sets up his "appointments" and helps Keller cope with his moral qualms after the job is done. Rex Roberts, describing the book in Insight on the News, termed it "screwball noir" and added: "Block is having great fun in Hit Man, brilliantly using the ordinariness of Keller even as Keller finds himself, more often than not, in extraordinary circumstances." Keller is also featured in the novel Hit List, in which he finds himself the target of another assassin. "Hit List contains all the humor and action that readers expect from a Lawrence Block novel," wrote Harriet Klausner for BookBrowser. "The story line is two parts amusement, two parts gloom and doom, and six parts irony." She concluded that while Hit List might not appeal to every reader, it will certainly satisfy those "who relish a dark satirical look at life."

Black carries his series featuring the near-saintly contract killer Keller forward with the 2006 Hit Parade, a loosely connected collection of ten stories in which Keller agonizes over carrying out a contract on an aging baseball legend, and must also dispatch a winning jockey. Retirement is also in the offing for Keller, who hopes to live out his years in the desert. Writing in Time magazine, Philip Elmer-DeWitt had high praise for the series as a whole. Elmer-DeWitt felt that of all of Block's books, "none are more endearing—or subversive—than his Keller novels." Booklist critic Wes Lukowsky similarly felt that "Block's legion of fans will savor his subtle wit, his consummate narrative skills, and his idiosyncratic method of celebrating the lives of working folks in America." A critic for Kirkus Reviews thought that the stories in this collection did not add much new to Keller's development. However, a story about a contract on a dog was "worth the price of admission." Higher praise came from a Publishers Weekly reviewer who thought that, with these "well-crafted vignettes," Block gets the reader "queasily rooting for the killer as well as the victims, unsettling the usual point of identification and assumptions about right and wrong."

As a longtime resident of New York City, Block has often used the metropolis almost as a character in his works. This is nowhere more apparent than in SmallTown, an extremely dark stand-alone novel about a serial killer plying his trade in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. In the course of the story, the murderer's actions touch people from all walks of life, whose destinies thereafter become entwined. The book also departs from Block's typical manner of working in that it is told from multiple viewpoints. A Publishers Weekly correspondent felt that the novel "takes a number of risks unusual for its author" and concluded that the finished product is "a bold and flashy effort." In the Library Journal, Wilda Williams declared that Small Town "features beautifully drawn characters and a strong sense of place."

Block has also written numerous short stories for magazines, most of which have been gathered in 1999's The Collected Mystery Stories of Lawrence Block and in the 2002 Enough Rope: Collected Stories. In these, Block mixes stand-alone tales with ones featuring series protagonists such as Matthew Scudder and Bernie Rhodenbarr, presented in chronological order. Jeff Ayers, reviewing Enough Rope in the Library Journal, noted: "The tales not about Block's regular set of characters are clearly the best, and a good portion of them would have made terrific episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents." Also reviewing Enough Rope, a Kirkus Reviews critic noted that "true-blue mystery fans would be crazy to pass [this collection] up."

In addition to his fiction, Block has published a number of books on the craft of writing, most of them based upon the monthly column he wrote for Writer's Digest for more than a decade. He keeps in touch with his fans through an extensive Web site and a newsletter. Booklist reviewer Bill Ott concluded: "Lawrence Block combines three characteristics that rarely show up in the same crime writer: he's versatile, he's prolific, and he's damn good."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Block, Lawrence, and Ernie Bulow, After Hours: Conversations with Lawrence Block, University of New Mexico Press (Albuquerque, NM), 1995.

Charyn, Jerome, The New Mystery, Dutton (New York, NY), 1993.

Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 226: American Hard-Boiled Crime Writers, Gale (Detroit, MI), 2000.

PERIODICALS

Armchair Detective, fall, 1992, review of A Dance at the Slaughterhouse, p. 399; summer, 1993, review of A Walk among the Tombstones (audio version), p. 82, review of Eight Million Ways to Die, p. 112, review of A Walk among the Tombstones, p. 113; fall, 1993, review of The Devil Knows You're Dead, p. 110; spring, 1994, review of The Devil Knows You're Dead, p. 241; summer, 1994, review of The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams, p. 359; spring, 1995, review of A Long Line of Dead Men (audio version), p. 200, review of Burglars Can't Be Choosers, p. 207; summer, 1995, review of The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams, p. 245, review of By the Dawn's Early Light and Other Stories (audio version), p. 328, review of After Hours: Conversations with Lawrence Block, p. 339; fall, 1995, review of After Hours, p. 444; winter, 1995, reviews of Mona and The Thief Who Couldn't Sleep, p. 40; spring, 1996, review of The Burglar in the Closet, p. 227; winter, 1996, review of Death Wish and Other Stories (audio version), p. 97; summer, 1997, review of Not Comin' Home to You, p. 352.

Bloomsbury Review, November-December, 1994, reviews of The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams and A Long Line of Dead Men, p. 26.

Booklist, October 15, 1992, review of A Walk among the Tombstones, p. 403; March 1, 1993, review of Some Days You Get the Bear, p. 1158; October 1, 1993, review of The Devil Knows You're Dead, p. 257; March 15, 1994, review of The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams, p. 1299; September 15, 1994, review of A Long Line of Dead Men, p. 115; March 15, 1995, review of The Burglar Who Thought He Was Bogart, p. 1283; November 15, 1996, review of Even the Wicked, p. 548; November 1, 1997, review of Hit Man, p. 434; April 15, 1998, Thomas Gaughan, review of Tanner on Ice, p. 1378, Ted Hipple, review of The Burglar Who Thought He Was Bogart (audio version), p. 1460; November 15, 1998, review of A Stab in the Dark (audio version), p. 604; April 15, 1999, Bill Ott, review of The Burglar in the Rye, p. 1466; May 15, 1999, review of Death Cruise, p. 1672, review of The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling and Tanner on Ice (audio versions), p. 1712; October 1, 1999, Emily Melton, review of Master's Choice: Mystery Stories by Today's Top Writers and the Masters Who Inspired Them, p. 346; December 15, 1999, review of Chip Harrison Scores Again (audio version), p. 798; July, 2000, Thomas Gaughan, review of Hit List, p. 1973; August, 2000, Bill Ott, review of The Collected Mystery Stories, p. 2118; May 1, 2001, Mary Frances Wilkens, review of Speaking of Lust: Stories of Forbidden Desire, p. 1641; September 1, 2001, Wes Lukowsky, review of Hope to Die, p. 3; May 1, 2002, review of The Man Who Thought He Was Bogart, p. 1452; May 1, 2002, review of The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams, p. 1454; June 1, 2002, Wes Lukowsky, review of Cinderella Sims, p. 1690; December 15, 2002, Wes Lukowsky, review of Small Town, p. 707; February 15, 2004, Bill Ott, review of The Burglar on the Prowl, p. 1002; March 15, 2006, Wes Lukowsky, review of Hit Parade, p. 5; April 1, 2006, Keir Graff, review of Manhattan Noir, p. 25; December 1, 2006, Bill Ott, review of Lucky at Cards, p. 25.

Books, review of Everybody Dies, autumn, 1999, p. 20.

Bookwatch, April, 1993, review of A Walk among the Tombstones (audio version), p. 4; October, 1995, review of Burglars Can't Be Choosers, p. 11; March, 1996, review of A Long Line of Dead Men, p. 4; October, 1996, review of Keller on Horseback (audio version), p. 9; December, 1996, review of Out the Window (audio version), p. 11; January, 1998, review of Even the Wicked (audio version), p. 11; March, 1998, review of Hit Man, p. 8; November, 1998, review of Eight Million Ways to Die (audio version), p. 12; February, 1999, review of The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling, p. 11; April, 1999, review of Tanner on Ice (audio version), p. 10.

Clues, fall-winter, 1993, Donna Casella, "The Matt Scudder Series: The Saga of an Alcoholic Hardboiled Detective," pp. 31-50; fall-winter, 1996, Landon C. Burns, "Matthew Scudder's Moral Ambiguity," pp. 19-32.

Commonweal, June 20, 1997, reviews of The Burglar Who Thought He Was Bogart and The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams, p. 27.

Drood Review of Mystery, September 1, 2000, review of Master's Choice, Vol. 2, p. 20; November 1, 2000, review of Master's Choice, Vol. 1, p. 20; July 1, 2004, Ted Fitzgerald, "Vintage Writers—and Style—Are Back: Hard Crimes, Soft Covers," p. 1; November 1, 2004, Jim Huang, review of All the Flowers Are Dying, p. 8.

Economist, December 15, 2001, review of Hope to Die, p. 91.

Entertainment Weekly, November 12, 1993, review of The Devil Knows You're Dead, p. 54; August 15, 1997, review of The Burglar in the Library, p. 68; November 2, 2001, Bruce Fretts, "N.Y. Crimes: Lawrence Block's Popular PI, Matt Scudder, Returns for Another Manhattan Murder Mystery in Hope to Die," p. 68; February 25, 2005, Tom Sinclair, review of All the Flowers Are Dying, p. 106.

Gentleman's Quarterly, September, 2000, Terrence Rafferty, "The Crime Triumvirate," p. 257.

Insight on the News, March 16, 1998, Rex Roberts, review of Hit Man, p. 36.

Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 1993, review of Time to Murder and Create, p. 950; September 1, 1993, review of The Devil Knows You're Dead, p. 1087; March 15, 1994, review of The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams, p. 342; August 15, 1994, review of A Long Line of Dead Men, p. 1085; April 1, 1995, review of The Burglar Who Thought He Was Bogart, p. 424; June 15, 1997, review of The Burglar in the Library, p. 912; December 1, 1997, review of Hit Man, p. 1738; May 1, 1999, review of The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling, p. 128; June 1, 1998, review of Tanner on Ice, p. 753; September 1, 1998, review of Everybody Dies, p. 1234; July, 1999, review of The Burglar in the Rye, p. 141; September 1, 2001, review of Hope to Die, p. 1245; May 1, 2002, review of Enough Rope: Collected Stories, p. 614; May 1, 2003, review of Blood on Their Hands, p. 643; January 15, 2005, review of All the Flowers Are Dying, p. 84.

Kliatt, July, 1993, review of A Walk among the Tombstones (audio version), p. 56; September, 1994, review of The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams (audio version), p. 51; November, 1995, review of A Long Line of Dead Men, p. 48; May, 1997, review of Sometimes They Bite and Other Stories (audio version), p. 44; November, 1997, review of The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams (audio version), p. 38; November, 1998, review of Tanner on Ice (audio version), p. 53; October 15, 1999, review of Master's Choice, p. 1607.

Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service, November 15, 2000, Douglas Perry, review of Hit List, p. K7872.

Lambda Book Report, fall, 1992, review of A Dance at the Slaughterhouse, November, 1992, p. 47.

Library Journal, April 15, 1993, review of A Walk among the Tombstones (audio version), p. 149; September 1, 1993, review of Time to Murder and Create, p. 232; November 15, 1997, review of The Burglar Who Studied Spinoza, p. 80; February 8, 1998, Marilyn Stasio, review of Hit Man, p. 22; April 1, 1998, Kristen L. Smith, review of Hit Man (audio version), p. 142; June 1, 1998, Stephen L. Hupp, review of Eight Million Ways to Die (audio version), p. 186; July, 1998, Wilda Williams, review of Tanner on Ice, p. 132; September 1, 1998, review of Everybody Dies, p. 220; January, 1999, review of A Stab in the Dark, p. 188; May 1, 1999, Stephen L. Hupp, review of The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling, p. 128; July, 1999, Wilda Williams, review of The Burglar in the Rye, p. 141; April 15, 1999, review of Tanner on Ice (audio version), p. 164; May 1, 2000, Michael Adams, review of The Thief Who Couldn't Sleep, p. 170; June 1, 2000, Jennifer Belford, review of Make out with Murder, p. 230; August, 2000, Jeff Ayers, review of Hit List, p. 151; September 1, 2001, Fred Gervat, review of Hope to Die, p. 239; June 1, 2002, Jeff Ayers, review of Enough Rope: Collected Stories, p. 198; February 15, 2003, Wilda Williams, review of Small Town, p. 167; March 15, 2004, Wilda Williams, review of The Burglar on the Prowl, p. 111; June 1, 2004, Stephen L. Hupp, review of Gangsters, Swindlers, Killers, and Thieves: The Lives and Crimes of Fifty American Villains, p. 155; March 15, 2005, Ken Bolton, review of All the Flowers Are Dying, p. 78; December 1, 2006, Michael Rogers, review of Lucky at Cards, p. 182.

Los Angeles Times, December 1, 2002, review of Enough Rope, p. 5; November 18, 2001, review of Hope to Die, p. 10.

Los Angeles Times Book Review, November 15, 1992, review of A Walk among the Tombstones, p. 8; December 12, 1993, review of The Devil Knows You're Dead, p. 2; May 8, 1994, review of The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams, p. 11; July 3, 1994, review of The Burglar Who Thought He Was Bogart, p. 10; October 9, 1994, review of A Long Line of Dead Men, p. 15; October 30, 1994, review of A Long Line of Dead Men, p. 14; February 12, 1995, review of Burglars Can't Be Choosers, p. 4; May 14, 1995, review of The Burglar Who Thought He Was Bogart, p. 10; April 20, 1997, review of Even the Wicked, p. 13.

M2 Best Books, January 27, 2004, "CWA Diamond Dagger Goes to Lawrence Block."

MBR Bookwatch, March 1, 2005, Harriet Klausner, review of All the Flowers Are Dying.

Mystery and Science Fiction, summer, 1995, Edward J. McFadden, "Pirate Writings: Tales of Fantasy."

New Republic, February 16, 1980, review of The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling, p. 37.

Newsweek, October 15, 1990, David Gates, review of A Ticket to the Boneyard, p. 75.

New York Times, October 20, 1994, review of A Long Line of Dead Men, p. C19.

New York Times Book Review, November 8, 1992, review of A Walk among the Tombstones, p. 61; April 18, 1993, review of Some Days You Get the Bear, p. 24; April 10, 1994, review of The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams, p. 26; January 9, 1994, review of The Devil Knows You're Dead, p. 23; October 2, 1994, review of A Long Line of Dead Men, p. 34; December 4, 1994, review of A Long Line of Dead Men, p. 69; December 25, 1994, review of The Devil Knows You're Dead, p. 20; January 29, 1995, review of The Devil Knows You're Dead, p. 24; July 2, 1995, review of The Burglar Who Thought He Was Bogart, p. 15; December 24, 1995, review of The Burglar in the Closet, p. 18; February 16, 1997, review of Even the Wicked, p. 28; June 1, 1997, review of Even the Wicked, p. 41; July 27, 1997, review of The Burglar in the Library, p. 18; December 7, 1997, review of Even the Wicked, p. 81; February 8, 1998, review of Hit Man, p. 22; May 31, 1998, review of Hit Man, p. 30; August 2, 1998, review of Tanner on Ice, p. 24; October 25, 1998, review of Everybody Dies, p. 43; December 6, 1998, review of Everybody Dies, p. 95; June 27, 1999, review of The Burglar in the Rye, p. 26; February 9, 2003, Marilyn Stasio, review of Small Town, p. 17; April 11, 2004, Marilyn Stasio, review of The Burglar on the Prowl, p. 14; March 13, 2005, Marilyn Stasio, review of All the Flowers are Dying, p. 28.

Observer (London, England), April 3, 1994, review of The Devil Knows You're Dead, p. 21; November 14, 1994, review of Out on the Cutting Edge, p. 21; March 26, 1995, review of A Long Line of Dead Men, p. 18.

Penthouse, March 1, 1984, Marilyn Stasio, review of Like a Lamb to Slaughter, p. 50.

People, March 11, 1991, Lorenzo Carcaterra, review of A Ticket to the Boneyard, p. 24; May 23, 1994, William A. Henry, review of The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams, p. 31; July 3, 1995, J.D. Reed, review of The Burglar Who Thought He Was Bogart, p. 29; February 23, 1998, Pam Lambert, review of Hit Man, p. 39; November 12, 2001, Cathy Burke, review of Hope to Die, p. 47; April 5, 2004, Rob Taub, review of The Burglar on the Prowl, p. 48.

Publishers Weekly, January 4, 1993, review of A Walk among the Tombstones (audio version), p. 36; January 25, 1993, review of Some Days You Get the Bear, p. 81; August 9, 1993, review of Time to Murder and Create, p. 462; August 23, 1993, review of The Devil Knows You're Dead, p. 61; October 4, 1993, review of A Walk among the Tombstones, p. 72; October 11, 1993, review of Such Men Are Dangerous, p. 84; November 22, 1993, review of The Specialists, p. 61; June 6, 1994, review of The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams (audio version), p. 34, review of The Girl with the Long Green Heart, p. 63; July 18, 1994, review of A Long Line of Dead Men, p. 237; January 2, 1995, review of By the Dawn's Early Light and Other Stories (audio version), p. 40; January 23, 1995, review of Burglars Can't Be Choosers, p. 64; March 27, 1995, review of The Burglar Who Thought He Was Bogart, p. 78; May 8, 1995, review of The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams, p. 293; May 27, 1996, review of The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling, p. 68; November 18, 1996, review of Even the Wicked, p. 64; April 28, 1997, review of The Burglar in the Library, p. 53; November 3, 1997, review of The Burglar Who Studied Spinoza, p. 69; April 20, 1998, review of Tanner on Ice, p. 50; July 6, 1998, review of Everybody Dies, p. 53; November 2, 1998, review of Everybody Dies, p. 43; November 30, 1998, review of The Burglar Who Painted like Mondrian, p. 53; April 26, 1999, review of Death Cruise, p. 59; May 24, 1999, review of The Burglar in the Rye, p. 69; October 25, 1999, review of Master's Choice, p. 55; November 15, 1999, review of Ronald Rabbit Is a Dirty Old Man, p. 54; September 4, 2000, review of Hit List, p. 88; October 30, 2000, review of The Scoreless Thai, p. 50; August 27, 2001, review of Hope to Die, p. 56; May 20, 2002, review of Cinderella Sims, p. 50; January 20, 2003, review of Small Town, p. 58; June 23, 2003, review of Blood on Their Hands, p. 50; March 1, 2004, review of The Burglar on the Prowl, p. 53; February 14, 2005, review of All the Flowers Are Dying, p. 56; March 14, 2005, review of Tanner's Virgin, p. 49; February 27, 2006, review of Manhattan Noir, p. 37; May 1, 2006, review of Hit Parade, p. 34; August 7, 2006, review of Hit Man, p. 6.

Rapport, January, 1994, review of The Devil Knows You're Dead, p. 30; April, 1994, review of A Long Line of Dead Men, p. 31; June, 1999, review of Everybody Dies, p. 29.

Reviewer's Bookwatch, August 1, 2004, Emanuel Carpenter, review of The Burglar on the Prowl.

Spectator, February 13, 1999, review of Hit Man, p. 39.

Time, November 15, 1993, John Skow, review of The Devil Knows You're Dead, p. 98; October 23, 2006, Philip Elmer-DeWitt, review of Hit Parade, p. 88.

Times Literary Supplement, March 11, 1994, reviews of The Burglar Who Painted like Mondrian, A Ticket to the Boneyard, The Devil Knows You're Dead, and The Burglar Who Studied Spinoza, p. 23; March 3, 1995, reviews of The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams and A Walk among the Tombstones, p. 21; August 1, 1997, review of The Burglar in the Library, p. 21; January 14, 2000, review of The Collected Mystery Stories, p. 26.

Tribune Books (Chicago, IL), November 22, 1992, review of A Walk among the Tombstones, p. 7; November 28, 1993, review of A Walk among the Tombstones, p. 8; December 12, 1993, review of The Devil Knows You're Dead, p. 7; October 2, 1994, review of A Long Line of Dead Men, p. 9; June 4, 1995, review of The Burglar Who Thought He Was Bogart, p. 6; February 2, 1997, review of Even the Wicked, p. 4.

Village Voice, September 13, 1994, review of A Dance at the Slaughterhouse, The Devil Knows You're Dead, Eight Million Ways to Die, Out on the Cutting Edge, The Sins of the Fathers, A Stab in the Dark, A Ticket to the Boneyard, A Walk among the Tombstones, Time to Murder and Create, When the Sacred Ginmill Closes, and In the Midst of Death, p. 95.

Wall Street Journal, November 22, 1993, review of The Devil Knows You're Dead, p. A12; June 30, 1995, review of The Burglar Who Thought He Was Bogart, p. A12; July 25, 1997, review of The Burglar in the Library, p. A12; July 7, 1999, review of The Burglar in the Rye, p. A20.

Washington Post Book World, July 13, 1997, review of The Burglar in the Library, p. 1; August 23, 1998, review of Tanner on Ice, p. 8; August 8, 1999, review of The Burglar in the Rye, p. 3.

Wilson Library Journal, May 1, 1980, Jon Breen, review of Ariel, p. 581; June 1, 1983, Jon Breen, review of Sometimes They Bite, p. 869.

Writer, May 29, 2004, "Lawrence Block: Master of Mystery," p. 3.

ONLINE

BookBrowser,http://www.bookbrowser.com/ (June 12, 1999), Harriet Klausner, review of The Burglar inthe Rye; (November 7, 2000), Harriet Klausner, review of Hit List.

BookReporter,http://www.bookreporter.com/authors/ (June 13, 2003), interviews with Block.

January Magazine,http://www.januarymagazine.com/ (April 17, 2007), Kevin Burton Smith, "Why I Hate Lawrence Block," interview with Lawrence Block.

Lawrence Block Home Page,http://www.lawrenceblock.com (June 19, 2007).

MysteryNet,http://www.mysterynet.com/ (November 7, 2000), Art Taylor, interview with Lawrence Block.

Writers Write,http://www.writerswrite.com/ (November 7, 2000), Claire E. White, "Talking Mystery with Lawrence Block."