Big-time dope dealer Kenan Khoury is a wealthy man, and it comes as no surprise when his wife Francine is kidnapped and a ransom demanded. Kenan pays up and his wife is duly returned to him - in small pieces left in the boot of an abandoned car, leaving private eye Matt Scudder to speculate on the motives of a very unusual kidnapper. Soon he is on the trail of a pair of ruthlessly sadistic psycopaths whose insanely cruel games have only just begun...

La Balade Entre Les Tombes

À l'heure du numérique, difficile de gagner sa vie avec une modeste boutique de livres anciens et d'occasion sur la 11e Rue Est de New York... Heureusement, Bernie Rhodenbarr a d'autres atouts dans sa manche. Cambrioleur chevronné, on fait souvent plus volontiers appel à lui pour ses talents de crocheteur de serrures que pour ceux de bouquiniste. Mais lorsque «M. Smith», un mystérieux collectionneur, lui propose une petite fortune pour plusieurs vols (incluant aussi bien le manuscrit de L'Étrange Histoire de Benjamin Button de F. Scott Fitzgerald que d'inestimables cuillères en argent), Bernie ignore dans quelle histoire improbable il met les pieds.Car, pendant ce temps, une riche vieille dame a été retrouvée morte à son domicile, apparemment terrassée par une attaque lors d'un cambriolage qui aurait mal tourné. Toutefois les raisons de son décès ne sont pas si évidentes, et l'expertise de Bernie est également requise par son meilleur ennemi, le policier Ray Kirschmann, afin de l'aider dans son enquête...Voleur rémunéré et détective amateur, notre (anti-)héros trouve en outre des messages rageurs sur la porte de la librairie qu'il est bien obligé de délaisser... Y aurait-il encore des gens qui lisent?

Le voleur qui comptait les cuillères (Bernie Rhodenbarr, #11)

DER EINBRECHER, DER WIE MONDRIAN MALTE »Der umtriebige Lawrence Block jongliert fast gleichzeitig mehrere Serien und wendet sich inDer Einbrecher, der wie Mondrian malte einmal mehr Bernie Rhodenbarr zu. Bernie ist derEinbrecher des Titels - und einer der geschicktesten in New York. Doch trotz seines Geschicksgerät er unverschuldet immer wieder in Schwierigkeiten. Es ist, als würden die wuchtigenSchläge des Golfers Jack Nicklaus ein ums andere Mal in einem Erdhörnchenloch auf demFairway landen. Der Kater von Bernies Freundin wird entführt und die Täter verlangen zunächst eineViertelmillion Dollar Lösegeld. Für einen Kater? Es stellt sich heraus, dass Bernie für dieBefreiung des Tiers einen Mondrian stehlen soll. Bevor ihm das gelingt, gerät er unterMordverdacht, und schließlich kommt es zu einer schönen, altmodischen Konfrontation, bei derBernie all die üblichen Verdächtigen und die Polizei versammelt, damit sie unserem Heldendabei zuzusehen, wie er etwas aus dem Nichts herbeizaubert. Versuchen Sie nicht, die Handlungim Detail nachzuverfolgen, das wird Sie nur verwirren. Aber der Schreibstil ist brillant undraffiniert, mit einem Hauch von Donald Westlake, und das Buch macht eine Menge Spaß.« ~ Newgate Callendar in The New York Times »Im fünften Bernie-Rhodenbarr-Krimi bekommen wir es mit seinem bisher kompliziertesten Fallzu tun. Bernie sucht einen Mr. Onderdonk auf, der ein abstraktes Gemälde von Mondrian imWert von einer Viertelmillion Dollar über dem Kamin hängen hat. Das ist aber zunächst ehernebensächlich, denn Bernies eigentlicher Grund für den Besuch war, in das Gebäude zukommen, um dort teure Briefmarken aus einer anderen Wohnung zu stehlen. Am nächsten Tagwird der Kater seiner Freundin Carolyn entführt und die mysteriöse Frau, die dafürverantwortlich ist, will, dass Bernie einen ähnlichen Mondrian aus einem New Yorker Museumstiehlt. Bernie findet keine Möglichkeit, dies zu tun, und beschließt, dass das Gemälde inOnderdonks Wohnung ein angemessener Ersatz wäre. Also bricht er dort ein, nur umfestzustellen, dass das Gemälde mittlerweile von jemand anderem gestohlen wurde. Verwirrend? Das ist nur der Anfang. In dieser verwickelten Geschichte gibt es ungefähr so vieleMondrians wie Carolyns unglückseliger Kater Leben hat. Dazu kommen noch eineBriefmarkensammlung, zwei Leichen, ein exzentrischer Maler, ein auf Bibliothekenspezialisierter Bücherdieb, ein korrupter Polizist, ein Versicherungsbetrug und drei attraktiveFrauen mit falschen Identitäten. Außerdem muss sich Bernie nicht weniger als viermal unerlaubt Zutritt zum uneinnehmbarstenWohngebäude von New York City verschaffen ... oder fünfmal? Ehrlich gesagt, mir ging derÜberblick verloren. Als ich das Ende las, dachte ich zuerst, ich hätte einige Lücken in der Handlung entdeckt, abernachdem ich einige der wichtigen Kapitel noch einmal durchgegangen war, wurde mir klar, dassBlock alle losen Enden perfekt zusammengefügt hat. Was ein ziemliches Kunststück darstellt.« ~ Craig Childs

Der Einbrecher, der wie Mondrian malte - Bernie Rhodenbarr, #5

Based on Lawrence Block's extremely popular seminar for writers. Discover Block's tips for overcoming writer's block and unleashing your creativity.

Write for Your Life

"È da tanto che non leggo nulla che mi abbia così colpito e stimolato. DEAD GIRL BLUES è audacemente originale, scioccante e brillantemente raccontato. In un periodo in cui molti romanzi polizieschi si confondono tra loro, il Maestro Lawrence Block dimostra ancora una volta di essere un autore unico nel suo genere."~ David Morrell, autore bestseller del New York Times con 'Murder As a Fine Art'. Tanto vale che lo sappiate subito: il nuovo romanzo di Lawernce Block non è per tutti. È raccontato in forma di diario dal suo protagonista, e inizia quando egli entra in un bar alla periferia di Bakersfield, in California, e ne esce con una donna. E poi la violenta e la uccide. Ma, uhm, non in questo ordine. Già. Ma quello che è veramente interessante è ciò che fa nel resto della sua vita... Lawrence Block scrive e pubblica romanzi gialli da sessant'anni. Ha ricevuto riconoscimenti alla carriera negli Stati Uniti e in Gran Bretagna. Suoi libri sono stati premiati e sono a volte diventati best sellers. Da parecchi di loro sono stati tratti dei film. Ecco quello che egli stesso ha detto di Dead Girl Blues: "Non penso che sia molto commerciale. E vi sono elementi che potrebbero disgustare molti lettori. Ma, sapete, Dead Girl Blues non mi deve nulla. Non avevo progettato di scriverlo, perciò non serve che mi faccia guadagnare denaro per giustificare il tempo che mi è servito per scriverlo. Il libro si giustifica da sé stesso. Lo pubblicherò il giorno del mio 82esimo compleanno, e voi tutti potrete comperarlo o non comperarlo, leggerlo o non leggerlo, vi potrà piacere o non piacere. L'ho fatto leggere ad alcuni amici delle cui opinioni mi fido, e mi hanno detto che Dead Girl Blues è una delle cose migliori che io abbia scritto. E hanno anche aggiunto di capire quali problemi potrebbe avere. Ma l'ho riletto la settimana scorsa, e mi sono convinto che D. G. B. è esattamente come io lo volevo. Quando mai questo accade? E un vecchio come me cosa potrebbe desiderare di più?" "Freddo e buio come l'altra faccia della Luna, ma con una prosa secca come una modella scheltrica, DEAD GIRL BLUES è come il cadavere dal quale non è possibile distogliere lo sguardo. Uno stile tagliente, caratterizzazioni che hanno origine dalla parte primitiva del cervello, quella dei rettili, una inquietante identificazione col narratore che dà i brividi. Non sono riuscito a smettere di leggerlo e, poco ma sicuro, non lo volevo. L'autentica visione della mente di qualcuno felicemente antisociale, che ci può spaventosamente ricordare l'alta faccia dell'umanità e il rapporto universale che tutti noi abbiamo con essa. Un cupo capolavoro di narrativa".~ Joe R. Lansdale "Sento ancora nella pelle gli artigli di DEAD GIRL BLUES. È come una pastiglia che rilascia lentamente terrore e che mi ha inchiodato nei panni di un altro, facendomi continuamente torcere le budella. Chi conosce le sue opere ha già visto Block farlo, e ci si meraviglia di come ci riesca senza sforzo apparente. Ma questo.! Forse il suo libro migliore, e questo la dice lunga".~Tom Straw "DEAD GIRL BLUES sicuramente farà sentire offesi alcuni lettori, ma a me è piaciuto intensamente. È scritto magnificamente e la voce del narratore ha il tono perfetto, tranquillo e inquietante insieme. Il libro mi ricorda, in modo molto positivo, le prime opere di Charles Willeford. Se amate il genere noir, questo è il vostro libro.~Lee Goldberg

Dead Girl Blues — Edizione Italiana

Sheesh. What a lousy title. Flesh Mob was published by Midnight Reader, a fellow imprint of Nightstand Books, in 1962. I can tell at a glance that it's my work, although I don't specifically recall writing it. And I must have put a title on it, but I  an assure you that it wasn't Flesh Mob. It could only have been the inspiration of some editor in Illinois. Several notables filled that role over the years, including Earl Kemp, A. J. Budrys, and Harlan Ellison, but it's hard to imagine any of those three making a eureka moment of Flesh Mob. For years it struck me as merely a bad title, two works that when combined had a sort of reverse synergy, amounting to rather less than the sum of their parts. Then just this week I looked at the title and saw that it could only be a pun on the phrase "flash mob." That still didn't make it a good title, but at least it gave it a lame reason for being. Except not. Because a little internet research shows that "flash mob" came into existence, as both phrase and concept, sometime shortly after the turn of the present century, and approximately forty years after my humble little novel first appeared wherever bad books were sold. AJ and Harlan and Earl were grounded in science fiction, but that's not enough to account for a title that was a pun on a phrase nobody would utter for another four decades. Never mind. The book's a multiple-viewpoint novel, with a rich cast of characters. Here's a sample of two of them:#"I'M LEAVING MATT, " Kitty said. Linc digested this bit of information. She searched his face, trying to decide whether he approved or disapproved. His face was a mask. She couldn't tell how he felt about it. "I'm leaving him, " she said again. "He didn't even come home last night. And the fact doesn't even bother me. There's not a thing left between us, Linc. Nothing at all. He can go his way and I can go mine and neither of us gives a whoop in hell about the other one. That's no basis for marriage." "Will he give you a divorce?" "I think so. He barely knows I'm alive. He'll probably be glad to get rid of me." Linc shrugged. "His pride might be hurt. And he might be upset from a pure financial standpoint. Divorce can be costly to a man. Alimony." "I wouldn't want alimony from him." "Oh?" "Just freedom." He said: "What will you do after the divorce?" "Oh, " she said. "I don't know. I may stay in Clifton, at least until I decide where I want to go next. New York eventually, I think. Small towns can get to you. I think I'm ready for the city." "You'd fit right in." "But for the time being we can have our fun. Do you feel like. like some fun now, Linc?" "God, you're insatiable." "I've been inactive for a long time, " she told him. "Too long. It can get to you. Are you interested, Linc?" "I'll race you to the bedroom, " he said.#There you go, Gentle Reader. Flesh Mob. It is what it is.

Flesh Mob - Collection of Classic Erotica, #25

Quand Kenan Khoury reçoit un coup de fil anonyme exigeant une rançon s'il veut revoir sa femme en vie, il n'hésite pas une seconde à payer. Mais c'est dans le coffre d'une voiture et sous forme de pièces détachées sanguinolentes que notre homme la retrouve. Le problème est que Khoury, dealer notoire de Brooklyn, veut rester loin du regard de la police. C'est donc tout naturellement qu'il fait appel au célèbre détective privé et ancien flic alcoolique Matt Scudder. A l'aide d'acolytes hauts en couleur comme Manhattan en regorge - un apprenti rappeur, de jeunes hackers, sans oublier la belle Elaine -, Matt se jette corps et âme dans une enquête qui fait rapidement surgir de nouvelles pièces d'un puzzle macabre, bien plus complexe que prévu. Et lorsqu'une autre femme disparaît, c'est une course contre la mort qui s'engage...

Balade entre les tombes

Shadows, which was not only the debut of Jill Emerson but my own very first novel, is the story of a young woman, Jan Marlowe, who comes to New York fresh out of college, takes an apartment in the Bohemian neighborhood of Greenwich Village, and seeks to find herself-and specifically to come to terms with the puzzling question of sexual identity. Well then... One morning in the spring of 1958 I woke up in my room at the Hotel Alexandria with a paralyzing hangover (which was not unusual) and an idea for a book (which was). I sat in front of my typewriter, and within a few hours I had produced a chapter-by-chapter outline of a novel. I had all the characters sketched out and knew how they'd relate to one another, and how the rather elementary storyline would resolve itself. I even had a title: Shadows. At the time I was working as an editor at a shady literary agency, but I'd already arranged for my departure, as come fall I'd be resuming college in Ohio. Sometime in May I gave up my room at the Alexandria and went home to Buffalo, where I turned that outline into a book. My agent sent it to Crest Books, then the country's premier publisher of lesbian fiction. They spent a couple of months reading it and thinking it over, during which time I wrote and sold several lesser books to Harry Shorten's Midwood Books. Then, a couple of months after I'd returned to Antioch and gone through a lot of sturm und drang that needn't concern us here, Crest accepted Shadows. They changed my title to Strange Are the Ways of Love. They also changed my pen name. I'd known a lesbian novel ought to have a woman's name on it, and I picked one. They decided on Leslie Evans instead, so it could be gender-neutral, and then switched it to Lesley Evans, which made it more specifically female. Welcome to publishing, young man. It's clear to me now, some 60 years later, that the book ought to set sail under its original title, and since I'm republishing it myself, that's a decision I get to make. It's also clear to me that Shadows is in fact Jill Emerson's very first novel, as it's far more of a piece with Warm And Willing and Enough of Sorrow than with anything else I've written. So that's how I'll publish it, right? As Shadows, dammit, by Lawrence Block writing as Jill Emerson. You got a problem with that?

Shadows - The Jill Emerson Novels, #1

«Si j'avais dit à ma soeur que j'étais mourant, elle serait peut-être encore en vie.» L'homme qui parle à Matt Scudder est condamné par un virus. Il a l'intime conviction que son beau-frère a massacré sa femme et l'idée même qu'il puisse s'en sortir lui est inconcevable. Il est également sûr qu'il recommencera. Lui ou ses complices, ces autres fous à l'apparence si banale. Vertus publiques, vices cachés... Matt Scudder, lors de son enquête, croisera le geste d'un homme recoiffant tendrement les cheveux de son fils. Ce geste, il l'a déjà vu... Lorsque les circonstances de la scène lui reviendront brutalement en mémoire, il basculera vers l'indicible.

La Balade Entre Les Tombes

Résumé

Plus de livres de Lawrence Block

Critiques

Ce livre n'a pas encore de critiques