Matthew Scudder knows that justice is an elusive commodity in the big city, where a harmless man can be shot dead in a public place criminals fly free through holes in a tattered legal system. But now a vigilante is roaming among the millions, executing those he fees deserve to die. He calls himself "The Will of the People"-an ingenious serial killer who announces his specific murderous intentions to the media before carrying through on his threats. A child molester, a Mafia don, a violent anti-abortionist-even the protected and untouchable are being ruthlessly erased by New York's latest celebrity avenger. Scudder knows that no one is innocent-but who among us has the right to play God? It is a question that will haunt the licensed p.i. on his journey through the bleak city grays, as he searches for the sanity in urban madness.

Even the Wicked - A Matthew Scudder Novel

A partire dagli anni Settanta, Lawrence Block ha scritto romanzi e brevi storie - più volte premiate - che hanno come protagonista Matthew Scudder. Ora che egli e il suo detective sono più vecchi di mezzo secolo, l'autore ha accettato di scrivere un libro sulla vita del suo personaggio. Ma ha deciso di non essere la persona adatta per quell'incarico. Come ha detto Block: "Com'era la famiglia di Matt? Come ha trascorso l'infanzia? Che cosa lo ha portato alla polizia di New York, e come è passato dalla Scuola reclute al distintivo dorato da detective? Chi lo ha influenzato e quali sono state le esperienze che l'hanno reso l'uomo che conosciamo? Erano domande importanti, e vi erano sicuramente storie da raccontare, ma non voleva dire che fossi io la persona adatta a farlo. Se serviva una biografia di Matt Scudder, se la sarebbe dovuta scrivere lui stesso". Così Block ha affidato l'incarico al suo personaggio di fantasia più duraturo, e il risultato - L'autobiografia di Matthew Scudder - è un documento straordinario, allo stesso tempo un convincente Bildungsroman e l'indispensabile coronamento di una serie eccezionale. Dal suo debutto nel 1976 in Le colpe dei padri, Matthew Scudder è invecchiato in tempo reale; così come, in modo  sorprendente, è invecchiato il suo creatore. Lawrence Block ha compiuto 84 anni il 24 giugno 2022, mentre Scudder ha raggiunto lo stesso traguardo il 7 settembre. L'Autobiografia di Matthew Scudder dimostra in modo chiaro e irresistibile che nessuno dei due ha perso neppure un colpo. Lawrence Block, nominato Grand Master dalla Mystery Writers of America, è stato più volte vincitore dei premi Edgar Allan Poe e Shamus; tra i riconoscimenti alla sua carriera, il Diamond Dagger della UK Crime Writers Association. "Essenziale per i lettori di Lawrence Block. Non solo questo libro amplifica il suo popolarissimo personaggio di investigatore privato, Matthew Scudder (oggetto di 17 romanzi, numerosi racconti e 2 adattamenti cinematografici); ma mette anche in mostra l'incredibile versatilità di Block, portando una nuova prospettiva alla narrativa poliziesca, quando Scudder riflette sul corso della sua vita e sulle sofferenze, oltre che sulle morti, che l'hanno costellata".                                                      ~David Morrell, autore del bestseller del New York Times MURDER AS A FINE ART

L'Autobiografia di Matthew Scudder - Matthew Scudder, #20

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 - Une aventure de Bernie Rhodenbarr

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

L'infâme cambrioleur/bouquiniste Bernie Rhodenbarr a juré de ne plus pénétrer chez autrui. Lorsqu'il apprend que les Gilmartin se rendront au théâtre un soir de la semaine suivante... il lutte, essaie de penser à autre chose. La tentation revient lorsque la belle Gwendolyn Cooper l'informe que les Nugent sont partis en Europe et que donc... C'en est trop, Bernie capitule, Mais dans l'appartement, c'est un cadavre qu'il découvre. Son vieil ennemi, l'inspecteur Ray, l'attend chez lui et l'arrête. Bernie va devoir prouver son innocence... Après dix ans d'absence, Bernie est de retour, et Lawrence Block signe ici un chef-d'oeuvre d'humour et de savoir-faire romanesque.

Le Blues du libraire

Avec son amie homosexuelle carolyn, toiletteuse pour chiens, bernie rhodenbarr, le bouquiniste toujours à court d'argent, projette de cambrioler la demeure du richissime herbert colcannon qui s'est absenté de chez lui.

Malheureusement un autre cambrioleur est passé avant eux.  mais il n'a pas emporté une pièce de cinq cents qui vaudrait, si elle était authentique, une véritable fortune.  l'est-elle ? seul abel crowe, le fidèle receleur de bernie, pourrait le dire, mais il ne l'a pas plus tôt entre les mains que les ennuis commencent : meurtres et questions embarrassantes de la police. 
Notre duo s'en sortira-t-il sans trop attenter à l'ethique de spinoza ? la réponse de lawrence block, grand maître du policier américain, vaut le détour dialectique.

La spinoza connection

WIN, LOSE, OR DIE. Whether it's child's play or for the highest stakes, whether we stick to the rules or cheat, we all play games - for fun, for thrills, for love or money, to prove we're the best or make an opponent knuckle under. And the games we play, with cards or dice or nothing but our wits, reveal something deeply personal about the players. In this powerful new anthology, Mystery Writers of America Grandmaster Lawrence Block has assembled an all-star team for the ultimate game night. Sit down at the checkerboard with S. A. Cosby, assemble jigsaw puzzles with David Morrell, or play marbles for the fate of the world with Joe R. Lansdale. In Jeffery Deaver's hands, an innocent game of Candyland takes twists the Parker Brothers could never have imagined. Science-fiction grandmaster Robert Silverberg uncovers painful truths about destiny while betting on the turtle races in a Caribbean resort. And Lawrence Block himself out-Hitchcocks Hitchcock with his classic story of murder victims swapped by strangers on a handball court. From hide-and-seek to Russian roulette, from mahjong to Mouse Trap, it's a game lover's dream - but beware: your turn is coming, and while winning isn't everything, sometimes losing can be deadly. And here's Publishers Weekly's starred review: "One of the most impressive of the 17 crime stories involving games in this stellar anthology from MWA Grand Master Block (In Sunlight or in Shadow: Stories Inspired by the Paintings of Edward Hopper) is Block's own "Strangers on a Handball Court." It riffs on Patricia Highsmith's Strangers on a Train, as the title suggests, and provides a wholly fair plot with a gut-wrenching surprise. Even knowing that multiple twists are coming doesn't negate their impact in Jeffery Deaver's devious "The Babysitter, " which opens with a classic trope: the innocent everyperson who stumbles on a deadly secret. When the charges of 17-year-old Kelli Lambert get bored playing Candy Land, Kelli's search for another board game leads her into peril after the parents of the kids she's watching suspect she's spotted their secret plans to torch a casino so they can establish their own casino. David Morrell shines with the subtle and creepy "The Puzzle Master, " in which a couple become addicted to jigsaw puzzles by a particular artist, only to find potentially ominous clues linking disparate bucolic scenes. The wide range of stories and games in them begs for a sequel."

Playing Games

The basis of the recent film starring Liam Neeson, A Walk Among the Tombstones is Matthew Scudder's tenth appearance. He's hired by a drug dealer whose wife has been savagely murdered, and Scudder's pursuit of the faceless killers leads him on a chase through Manhattan and Brooklyn, with an unforgettable denouement in Green-Wood Cemetery. TJ, Scudder's streetwise young friend, is on hand, and Scudder's girlfriend Elaine plays a vital role, even as their relationship has its challenges. Publishers Weekly: "Despite their dark titles (the words Slaughterhouse and Boneyard figured in the previous two), Block's splendid, award-winning Matt Scudder novels are by no means unrelievedly bleak. His latest-as well as offering the customary skillful plotting, adroit pacing and sure sense of New York character-features a wry humor all its own, along with a particularly ingratiating and convincing pair of computer hackers. The premise is grim, certainly: a pair of men who prey murderously on women progress to kidnapping the womenfolk of drug dealers and demanding huge ransoms. Former alcoholic PI Scudder-now going to more AA meetings than ever-reluctantly agrees to help one dealer, a Lebanese, after his wife is killed by the kidnappers. Slowly and methodically he discerns a pattern in the mayhem. With the help of his erstwhile police colleagues, his black Times Square sidekick TJ and his call-girl sweetheart, Elaine, Scudder tightens the net on the culprits. When they seize the daughter of a Russian dealer, he is ready for the showdown. Block isn't big on action, though when it comes it is swift, vivid and horribly convincing; his Scudder books are built on character, atmosphere, crackling dialogue and a great deal of brooding-the taste for them is addictive. An equal of Elmore Leonard and Robert Parker, Block deserves similar acclaim."Other reviews:"This is fantastic stuff, and a must for fans of gritty, realistic suspense." - My Bookish Ways"A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES is indispensable reading for all crime fiction fans. Add it to your "must read" pile immediately." - Bookgasm

Even the Wicked - A Matthew Scudder Novel

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