A Long Line of Dead Men, Lawrence Block
A Long Line of Dead Men, Lawrence Block
List: $19.95 | Sale: $13.97
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A Long Line of Dead Men
A Matthew Scudder Novel

Author: Lawrence Block

Narrator: Joe Barrett

Unabridged: 8 hr 43 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/17/2014

Synopsis

An ancient brotherhood meets annually in the back room of a swank Manhattan restaurant, a fraternity created in secret to celebrate life by celebrating its dead. But the past three decades have not been kind to the Club of 31. Matthew Scudder—ex-cop and ex-boozer—has known death in all its guises, which is why he has been asked to investigate a baffling thirty-year run of suicides and suspiciously random accidents that has thinned the ranks of this very select group of gentlemen.But Scudder has mortality problems of his own, for his is a city that feeds mercilessly on the unsuspecting—even the powerful and those who serve them are easy prey. There are too many secrets here, too many places for a maddeningly patient serial killer to hide … and wait … and strike.

About Lawrence Block

Lawrence Block is the recipient of a Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America and an internationally renowned bestselling author. His prolific career spans over one hundred books, including four bestselling series as well as dozens of short stories, articles, and books on writing. He has won four Edgar and Shamus Awards, two Falcon Awards from the Maltese Falcon Society of Japan, the Nero and Philip Marlowe Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, and the Cartier Diamond Dagger from the Crime Writers Association of the United Kingdom. In France, he has been awarded the title Grand Maitre du Roman Noir and has twice received the Societe 813 trophy. Born in Buffalo, New York, Block attended Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Leaving school before graduation, he moved to New York City, a locale that features prominently in most of his works. His earliest published writing appeared in the 1950s, frequently under pseudonyms, and many of these novels are now considered classics of the pulp fiction genre. During his early writing years, Block also worked in the mailroom of a publishing house and reviewed the submission slush pile for a literary agency. He has cited the latter experience as a valuable lesson for a beginning writer. Block's first short story, "You Can't Lose," was published in 1957 in Manhunt, the first of dozens of short stories and articles that he would publish over the years in publications including American Heritage, Redbook, Playboy, Cosmopolitan, GQ, and the New York Times. His short fiction has been featured and reprinted in over eleven collections including Enough Rope, which is comprised of eighty-four of his short stories. In 1966, Block introduced the insomniac protagonist Evan Tanner in the novel The Thief Who Couldn't Sleep. Block's diverse heroes also include the urbane and witty bookseller-and thief-on-the-side-Bernie Rhodenbarr; the gritty recovering alcoholic and private investigator Matthew Scudder; and Chip Harrison, the comical assistant to a private investigator with a Nero Wolfe fixation who appears in No Score, Chip Harrison Scores Again, Make Out with Murder, and The Topless Tulip Caper. Block has also written several short stories and novels featuring Keller, a professional hit man. Block's work is praised for his richly imagined and varied characters and frequent use of humor. A father of three daughters, Block lives in New York City with his second wife, Lynne. When he isn't touring or attending mystery conventions, he and Lynne are frequent travelers, as members of the Travelers' Century Club for nearly a decade now, and have visited about 150 countries.

About Joe Barrett

Joe Barrett, an actor and Audie Award and Earphones Award–winning narrator, has appeared both on and off Broadway as well as in hundreds of radio and television commercials.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Bill

A Long Line of Dead Men is an unusual departure from Block's realistic tales of the New York streets, and I do not believe it is a completely successful one. Still, the central idea of the novel--a gentleman's club with an unusual organizing principle and aim--is as old-fashioned a marvel as anythin......more

Goodreads review by Kemper

You would think that after a while the business of being a private investigator has to get kind of routine and boring for guys like Matt Scudder who have had long careers. Sure it seems like searching for murderers would never get dull, but I imagine it’s like any other job and eventually even track......more

Goodreads review by Brandon

Unlicensed detective Matt Scudder is hired by a member of a secret group of men who meet once a year to discuss progress made in their lives. In 1961, the group started out strong with thirty-one members and now, some thirty years later, they’re down to fourteen. It doesn't seem uncommon - people di......more

Goodreads review by Dave

In book #12 Lawrence Block’s Matthew Scudder mysteries, The Club of 31, an ancient brotherhood (or, just a group of largely well-to-do men) meets in secret once a year to celebrate life in part by celebrating its dead. But the past three decades have not been kind to the Club of 31. One of the group......more

Quotes

“One of the best writers now working the beat, Lawrence Block has done something new and remarkable with the private eye novel.” Wall Street Journal

“Matthew Scudder has evolved into the perfect noir hero.” Entertainment Weekly

“Masterful fiction…Skillful and imaginative.” Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Superb…Block writes better than all of them…He gets better and better all the time.” Village Voice

“Ingenious…Consistently strong.” Baltimore Sun

“A superior storyteller…Block has an awareness of the pain and pleasure of living. It is a gift that not all authors have.” San Antonio Express-News

“An intelligent detective story that plays fair with the reader and yet will keep you guessing until the very end.” Rochester Post-Bulletin

“Block takes this absolutely wonderful premise and makes the most of it. Like all the best hard-boiled writers in the post-Chandler era, Block knows that character and ambience are the heart and soul of crime fiction, but unlike so many of his brethren, he also maintains a healthy respect for plot. When you read a lot of mysteries, you come to feel a numbing inevitability about literary murder: there are only so many motives and so many ways to kill somebody, and we’ve seen them all. Hence the pleasure of encountering a new Block novel and realizing again the joys of a fresh premise.” Booklist (starred review)

“The newest Matt Scudder novel by the blessedly prolific Block is right up to his usual standards…His ex-call girl companion, Elaine, is her usual comforting self, and there’s a brilliant portrait of an offbeat New York lawyer, obviously modeled on William Kunstler, who specializes in representing the underdog. The scene where the lawyer and suspicious ex-cop Scudder get to know and like each other is alone worth the price of the book.” Publishers Weekly

Awards

  • Shamus Award Nominee
  • Edgar Allan Poe Award
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