Audiobooks by Lawrence Block

The Autobiography of Matthew Scudder Audiobook

"Since the 1970s, Lawrence Block has been writing award-winning novels and short fiction featuring Matthew Scudder. Now, with both himself and his detective half a century older, the author found himself charged with writing a book about his protagonist. And he decided he wasn’t the right person for the job. Lawrence Block: “What was Matt’s family like? How did he spend his childhood? What steered him toward the NYPD, and how did he get all the way from the Police Academy to a detective’s gold shield? Who were the influences and what were the experiences that made him the man we’ve come to know? These were important questions. There were certainly stories to be told, but that didn’t mean I was the person to tell them. If Matt Scudder was to have a memoir, he ought to write it himself.” So Block passed on the assignment to his most enduring fictional character, and the result—The Autobiography of Matthew Scudder—is a remarkable document, at once a convincing bildungsroman and the indispensable capstone of an outstanding series. Since his 1976 debut in The Sins of the Fathers, Matthew Scudder has aged in real time, so, too, remarkably enough, has his creator. Lawrence Block turned 84 on June 24, 2022, while Mr. Scudder reached that same milestone on September 7. The Autobiography of Matthew Scudder demonstrates clearly—and irresistibly—that neither one of them has lost a step."

Lawrence Block (Author), Lawrence Block, Peter Berkrot, Romy Nordlinger (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Burglar Who Met Frederic Brown

"Suppose you’re Bernie Rhodenbarr. You’ve got a dream job, running your own cozy secondhand bookstore, complete with Raffles, your caudally challenged cat. It’s in Greenwich Village, and your best friend’s dog grooming salon is two doors away, and the two of you lunch together and meet for drinks after work. And you’ve got another way to make a buck. Every once in a while you put your conscience on the shelf and let yourself into someone else’s residence, and you leave with more than you came with. You’re a burglar, and you know it’s wrong, but you love it. And you’re good at it. You’ve got two ways to make a living, one larcenous, the other literary and legitimate, and you’re good at both of them. Nice, huh? Until the 21st century pulls the rug out from under you. All of a sudden the streets of your city are so overpopulated with security cameras and closed-circuit TV that you have to lock yourself in the bathroom to have an undocumented moment. And locks, which used to provide the recreational pleasure of a moderately challenging crossword puzzle, have become genuinely pickproof. Meanwhile, internet booksellers have muscled your legit enterprise into obsolescence. The new breed of customers browse your bookshop, find what they’re looking for, then whip out their phones and order their books online. Wonderful. You had two ways to make a living, and neither of them works anymore. But suppose you keep on supposing, okay? Suppose you wake up one morning in a world just like the one in which you fell asleep—but with a couple of differences. The first one you notice doesn’t amount to much. The Metrocard in your wallet has somehow changed color and morphed into what seems to be called a SubwayCard. That’s puzzling, but you swipe it at the turnstile same as always, and it gets you on the subway, so what difference does it make? But that’s not the only thing that’s changed. The Internet’s up and running, as robust as ever, but nobody seems to be using it to sell books. Doors are secured not with pickproof electronic gizmos but with good old reliable Rabson locks, the kind you can open with your eyes closed. And what happened to all those security cameras? Where’d they go? All of a sudden you’ve got your life back, and your bookshop’s packed with eager customers, and how are you gonna find time to steal something? Well, just suppose one of the world’s worst human beings has recently acquired one of the world’s most glamorous gems. When the legendary Kloppmann Diamond is up for grabs, what can you possibly do but grab it? And what could possibly go wrong?"

Lawrence Block (Author), Richard Ferrone (Narrator)

Audiobook

[German] - Kellers Metier

"Kellers Metier Von Lawrence Block gelesen von Richard Heinrich Übersetzung aus dem Englischen von Sepp Leeb erschienen im Hörverlag: Puppy Studios Productions 2022 Zum Inhalt: Kellers MetierKeller ist ein Killer. Durch und durch Profi, cool, selbstsicher, kompetent, zuverlässig. Aber er ist auch eine vielschichtige Persönlichkeit: in sich gekehrt und zurückgezogen, eiskalt und gnadenlos effizient, aber zugleich anfällig für Selbstzweifel und Einsamkeit, Albträume und Zukunftssorgen. Seinem Therapeuten gegenüber gibt er sich als 'Troubleshooter' eines großen Unternehmens aus, aber sein eigentliches Metier ist Mord. Sein Leben ist das eines gut verdienenden, aber einsamen Geschäftsmanns, sein Habitat anonyme Hotelzimmer, unpersönliche Fastfood-Ketten und lange Autofahrten auf endlosen Highways. Ein gebürtiger New Yorker, träumt er von einem beschaulichen Leben auf dem Land und spinnt sich an jedem Ort, den er bei seinen 'Geschäftsreisen' aufsucht, in Fantasien hinein, sich dort niederzulassen, um den Stress und die moralischen Verwicklungen, die seine Tätigkeit mit sich bringt, hinter sich lassen zu können.Kellers Metier ist das Debüt unseres Helden, das erste von fünf Büchern über ihn, die ebenfalls bald in deutscher Übersetzung 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, schlägt er sich mit der Frage herum, ob er einen Mann töten soll, der ihm ans Herz gewachsen ist, oder er bügelt sein Versehen aus, wenn er die falsche Zielperson ausgeschaltet hat, hält als Handlanger für Killer her, die zunächst gerissener sind als er, oder zerbricht sich den Kopf darüber, welchen von zwei Auftraggebern, die sich gegenseitig umbringen lassen wollen, er enttäuschen soll. Neben seinen methodisch durchgeführten Eliminierungsaktionen sieht er sich in Oregon Häuser an, frequentiert einen Therapeuten, beginnt Briefmarken zu sammeln, macht sich Gedanken darüber, ob es sein Leben bereichern würde, wenn er mehr über Pflanzen wüsste, kauft der Frau, die seinen Hund ausführt, Ohrringe und beschäftigt sich mit der Frage, wie viel Verantwortung er sowohl für die Frau als auch für den Hund übernehmen 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 ('Für moralische Erwägungen ist das die falsche Branche', erklärt ihm die Sekretärin des alten Mannes), die der Hauptfigur ihren besonderen melancholischen Reiz verleiht. Ist das Endprodukt ein Roman oder ein Zyklus von Erzählungen? Blocks heißhungrigen Fans, die begeistert sein werden, mindestens drei Meisterwerke ('Keller zu Pferd', 'Kellers Therapie' und 'Keller in schimmernder Rüstung') in einem Band vereint zu sehen, dürfte das genauso egal sein wie Keller.'Kirkus Reviews'Da schreibt Block also einen umwerfenden Roman über 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 darüber klar zu werden versucht, warum ihm so viel daran liegt, dass der Killer inneren Frieden findet.'Boston Herald'Eine ebenso schräge wie reizvolle Mischung aus >hard-boiled"

Lawrence Block (Author), Richard Heinrich (Narrator)

Audiobook

Hunting Buffalo with Bent Nails

"While he is probably best known as a novelist and short-story writer, Lawrence Block has produced a rich trove of nonfiction over the course of a sixty-year career. Over the years, Block has written extensively for magazines and periodicals. Generally Speaking collects his philatelic columns from Linn's Stamp News, while his extensive observations of crime fiction, along with personal glimpses of some of its foremost practitioners, have won wide acclaim in book form as The Crime of Our Lives. Hunting Buffalo With Bent Nails is what he's got left over. The title piece, originally published in American Heritage, recounts the ongoing adventure Block and his wife undertook, crisscrossing the United States and parts of Canada in their quixotic and exotic quest to find every 'village, hamlet, and wide place in the road named Buffalo.' Other travel tales share space with a remembrance of his mother, odes to New York, a disquisition on pen names and book tours, and, well, no end of bent nails not worth straightening. Where else will you find 'Raymond Chandler and the Brasher Doubloon,' an assessment of that compelling writer from a numismatic standpoint? Where else can you hear about Block's collection of old subway cars? Highly recommended."

Lawrence Block (Author), Peter Berkrot (Narrator)

Audiobook

Collectibles

"A COLLECTION . . . OF COLLECTIONS What leads one person to collect stamps and another coins, one fine art and another butterflies? Who can say? But one thing is certain: those who've got the collecting bug care passionately—sometimes violently—about the objects of their obsession. No one covets like a collector; and as you will find in the pages of this brand new anthology from MWA Grand Master Lawrence Block, a truly dedicated collector will ignore the other nine commandments, too, in his quest for his personal Holy Grail. From Joyce Carol Oates's tale of the ultimate Marilyn Monroe collectible to Dennis Lehane's bookseller with a penchant for other people's tragic correspondence, from Lee Goldberg's Hollywood hustler with a collection of unaired TV shows to Joe R. Lansdale's stylish foray into noir, culminating in Lawrence Block's own classic story of a killer with a unique approach to choosing his victims, Collectibles illustrates the range of the collecting impulse and the lengths people will go to in their hunger to possess the perfect piece."

Lawrence Block (Author), Peter Berkrot, Teri Schnaubelt (Narrator)

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A Writer Prepares

"Sometime in 1953, I knew with unusual certainty what I intended to do with my life. I would become a writer. By the time I was twenty-five, I had published over fifty books. Most of these bore pen names, and for a time I resisted acknowledging my early pseudonymous work. Then, in one astonishing and feverish week in 1994, I recalled those early years in fifty thousand words of memoir. A publisher contracted to bring out my memoir once I'd completed it. Instead I put it on a shelf and never looked at it again. Early in 2020, I had a fresh look at A Writer Prepares. By the time I was ready to stop, I'd written about my life as a writer well into 1966, when I'd completed The Thief Who Couldn't Sleep. A Writer Prepares, an examination of the first quarter century of one writer's life, is arguably the work of two writers. There's the middle-aged fellow who wrote about half of it at a blistering pace in 1994, and there's the octogenarian who finished the job another quarter century later. The older fellow brought less raw energy to the task, and his memory is a long way from infallible, but one can only hope he's offset these losses with a slight edge in judgment, in perspective, in maturity."

Lawrence Block (Author), Peter Berkrot (Narrator)

Audiobook

Alive in Shape and Color: 17 Paintings by Great Artists and the Stories They Inspired

"Even before Lawrence Block could rest on his laurels from In Sunlight or In Shadow, a question arose. What would he do for an encore? 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 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. Contains mature themes."

Lawrence Block (Author), Matt Godfrey, Xe Sands (Narrator)

Audiobook

From Sea to Stormy Sea: 17 Stories Inspired by Great American Paintings

"In the third installment of his acclaimed anthology series, master of crime fiction Lawrence Block has gathered together the best talent from popular fiction to produce an anthology of short stories based on masterpieces of American art. Seventeen stories by seventeen brilliant writers, inspired by seventeen paintings. That was the formula for Lawrence Block's two groundbreaking anthologies, In Sunlight or in Shadow and Alive in Shape and Color, and it's on glorious display here once again in From Sea to Stormy Sea. This time the paintings are exclusively the work of American artists, and the roster includes Harvey Dunn, John Steuart Curry, Reginald Marsh, Thomas Hart Benton, Helen Frankenthaler, Winslow Homer, Rockwell Kent, Grant Wood, Childe Hassam, and Andy Warhol. Among the star-studded lineup of writers you'll find Jerome Charyn, Jane Hamilton, Christa Faust, John Sandford, Sara Paretsky, Walter Mosley, Charles Ardai, Barry Malzberg, and Janice Eidus. Contains mature themes."

Lawrence Block (Author), Matt Godfrey, Xe Sands (Narrator)

Audiobook

Everybody Dies 'International Edition'

"Best-selling author Lawrence Block transports you to New York City to walk the shadowy back streets with P.I. Matt Scudder, ex-cop and recovering alcoholic. In Everybody Dies, Matt is finally leading a comfortable, almost respectable life-until he helps an unlikely friend uncover a nameless enemy. The Big Apple seems to be mellowing now that the crime rate is down and gentrification is sweeping the old neighborhoods. But when a hoodlum buddy from the past asks Matt to investigate the murders of two employees, the spruced-up sidewalks seem as mean as ever. Suddenly Matt finds himself in a world where every step leads him through a mine field, and no man's survival can be taken for granted. Well-crafted characters, action-packed plots, and gritty, realistic settings have earned Lawrence Block multiple Edgar and Shamus Awards. With his dramatic performance, narrator Mark Hammer expertly captures all the restless rhythms and street-smart language."

Lawrence Block (Author), Mark Hammer (Narrator)

Audiobook

Even the Wicked 'International Edition'

"In his popular Matt Scudder mystery series, Edgar and Shamus Award-winner, Lawrence Block, creates riveting stories set in the hardened streets of New York City. His suspenseful tale, Even the Wicked, portrays recovering alcoholic, P.I. Matt Scudder, hot on the trail of a theatrical and twisted criminal. A demented serial killer, who calls himself 'The Will of the People,' has gained a wide audience by sending warning letters to the Daily News. When 'Will' names a prominent criminal defense attorney as his next victim, Matt suddenly finds himself protecting an old associate. Matching his wits against the wily murderer, Matt must race to uncover 'Will's' identity before he loses his lawyer friend. Proclaimed a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America, Lawrence Block skillfully captures the street-smart language and lifestyles of his home city. Narrator Mark Hammer provides the perfect voice for eccentric characters and evil-minded lawbreakers."

Lawrence Block (Author), Mark Hammer (Narrator)

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[German] - Dead Girl Blues: Deutsche Ausgabe

"Dead Girl Blues Von Lawrence Block gelesen von Richard Heinrich Übersetzung aus dem Englischen von Sepp Leeb erschienen im Hörverlag: Puppy Studios Productions Zum Inhalt: Ein Mann kommt in eine Bar und ab da nimmt sein Leben eine Kehrtwendung. Der Mann bringt eine Frau um, flieht vor dem Gesetz und fängt ein neues Leben an, in einer anderen Stadt, und unter einem anderen Namen. Wird ihn seine Vergangenheit irgendwann wieder einholen ? Oder schafft er es, mit einem Mord davonzukommen ?"

Lawrence Block (Author), Richard Heinrich (Narrator)

Audiobook

Dead Girl Blues

"You might as well know this going in: Lawrence Block's new novel is not for everyone. It's recounted in journal form by its protagonist, and begins when he walks into a roadhouse outside of Bakersfield, California, and walks out with a woman. And rapes and murders her. But, um, not in that order. Right. But it's what he does with the rest of his life that's really interesting . . ."

Lawrence Block (Author), Peter Berkrot (Narrator)

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