When a beautiful young heiress goes missing, it could be a runaway . . . or it could be murder Roy Markham figures the case of Barbara Taft will be easy. A beautiful and wealthy college girl with a wild streak, she's probably left her sleepy New England campus to be with a boy. But when her body turns up in the Hudson River, Roy suspects this is no suicide. While he's working on Barb's case, another beautiful young girl hops into his cab with killers on her tail. Suddenly the private detective finds himself wrapped up in a whole lot of females' troubles and he's got to crack the case to help them—and him—get out alive.This ebook features an illustrated biography of Lawrence Block, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from his personal collection, and a new afterword written by the author.

The streets of New York are never safe, but the release of James Leo Motley, a psychopath who went down swearing revenge on Matt Scudder on all who knew him, means death is out there looking for a victim. No-one is safe - friends, lovers or just those unfortunate enough to share the same name.

Louis Pinell, the recently apprehended "Icepick Prowler," freely admits to having slain seven young women nine years ago -- but be swears it was a copycat who killed Barbara Ettinger Matthew Scudder believes him. But the trail to Ettinger's true murderer is twisted, dark and dangerous. . . and even colder than the almost decade-old corpse the p. i. is determined to avenge.

Edgar Award-winning author Lawrence Block returns with another outrageous caper featuring Chip Harrison...a sleuth who always seems to get into trouble with a capital T! Now a man about town working for a famous detective, Chip Harrison finds himselfat a Times Square Club waiting for his latest client, a stripper, to finish a night's work. When she completes her set, she introduces him toher roommate, a dancer who's targeted for murder...and killed in the club right before their very eyes! The list of suspects is as long as the line outside the club, and now it will take all of Chip's street smarts to trap a killer! Lawrence Block is one of the most respected and bestselling authors ofmystery fiction Lawrence Block has won the Edgar Award three times, the Shamus Award four times, the Maltese Falcon Award twice, and was named Grandmaster by the Mystery Writers of America Previously published under pseudonyms and in omnibus collections, this isthe first time the Chip Harrison novels are being individually published under Lawrence Block's name The Chip Harrison mystery series also includes Make Out With Murder,Chip Harrison Scores Again, and No Score

Forge Books is proud to present an amazing collection of novellas, compiled by New York Times bestselling author Ed McBain. Transgressions is a quintessential classic of never-before-published tales from today's very best novelists. Faeturing: "Walking Around Money" by Donald E. Westlake: The master of the comic mystery is back with an all-new novella featuring hapless crook John Dortmunder, who gets involved in a crime that supposedly no one will ever know happened. Naturally, when something it too good to be true, it usually is, and Dortmunder is going to get to the bottom of this caper before he's left holding the bag."Hostages" by Anne Perry: The bestselling historical mystery author has written a tale of beautiful yet still savage Ireland today. In their eternal struggle for freedom, there is about to be a changing of the guard in the Irish Republican Army. Yet for some, old habits-and honor-still die hard, even at gunpoint."The Corn Maiden" by...

MATT SCUDDER RETURNS. More than 40 years after his debut and nearly a decade since his last appearance, one of the most renowned characters in all of crime fiction is back on the case in this major new novella by Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Lawrence Block. Well past retirement age and feeling his years—but still staying sober one day at a time—Matthew Scudder learns that alcoholics aren't the only ones who count the days since their last slip. Matt's longtime partner, Elaine, tells him of a group of former sex workers who do something similar, helping each other stay out of the life. But when one young woman describes an abusive client who's refusing to let her quit, Elaine encourages her to get help of a different sort. The sort only Scudder can deliver. A Time to Scatter Stones offers not just a gripping crime story but also a richly drawn portrait of Block's most famous character as he grapples with his own mortality while proving to the younger...

Review"One of the best books of this or any year." - BookReporter"...you’ll be rooting for this thoroughly beguiling serial killer on a mission. A pro’s pro, Block never wastes a word, never misplaces a plot element... it also boasts Block’s legendary craftsmanship, sly humor, and virtuoso plotting. The premise is to die for!" - *Booklist*"[A] fun, fast-paced read full of steamy moments and a twist ending... a must have for pulp fiction fans." - Celebrity Cafe"A great read from cover to cover... believe me when I say that you are in for a wonderful time." - Horror News*"A perfect treat." - Affairs Magazine*"Block has, once again, created a tale to excite and absorb even the most jaded reader of crime fiction." - Eclipse MagazinePraise for Lawrence Block:"There is only one writer of mystery and detective fiction who comes close to replacing the irreplaceable John D. MacDonald...The writer is Lawrence Block." - Stephen King "Unfailingly entertaining." - The New York Times "One of the very best writers now working the beat." - The Wall Street Journal "Lawrence Block is a master of crime fiction." - Jonathan Kellerman About the AuthorLawrence Block is one of the most acclaimed and highly decorated living mystery writers, having received multiple Edgar, Shamus and Maltese Falcon Awards, as well as lifetime achievement awards in the US, UK, and France. He was named a "Grand Master" by the Mystery Writers of America, the organization's highest honor. In the 1960s and 70s he wrote seven novels under the pen name "Jill Emerson," a pseudonym he is reviving for the first time in nearly 40 years for Getting Off.

From Publishers Weekly:"Standouts include Dennis Lehane's gilt-edged chiller, 'A Bostonian (in Cambridge),' in which a wealthy collector of letters of abandonment falls prey to wily blackmailers, and Joe R. Lansdale's 'The Skull Collector,' a gangster yarn featuring gun-toting female grave robbers. Overshadowing everything, though, is Lee Goldberg's 'Lost Shows,' a delightful shocker about a fanatical collector of short-lived and unaired TV shows who has turned his Hollywood home into a mausoleum of lost dreams." 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...

The Master Returns--With Never-Before-Collected Tales of Murder and Desire One of the most highly acclaimed novelists in the crime genre, Lawrence Block is also a master of the short story, with award-winning work ranging from the macabre to the slyly comic, from heart-stopping tales of revenge to memorable explorations of lust and greed, all told in Block's unforgettable style. The sixteen stories (and one stage play!) collected here feature appearances by some of Block s most famous characters, including gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr and alcoholic private detective Matt Scudder, as well as glimpses into the minds of a rogue's gallery of frightening killers, dangerous sociopaths, crooked cops, and lost souls whose only chance to find themselves may be on the wrong side of a gun. You'll meet a compulsive hoarder whose towering piles of trash and treasures hide disturbing secrets...a beautiful young tennis star with a rather too possessive secret admirer...a dealer in stolen art who is unwilling to part with his most prized possession at any price...poker players with agendas that have nothing to do with the cards in their hands...and a catch-and-release fisherman whose preferred catch walks on two legs. Terror and passion, cruelty and vindication--it's all here, in a collection that will thrill you, scare you, and remind you why Lawrence Block is still the best there is at what he does. This is the book that led Publishers Weekly’s reviewer to enthuse, “If Block were a serial killer instead of one of the best storytellers of our time, we’d be in real trouble.”Table of ContentsA Burglar’s-Eye View of GreedA Chance to Get EvenA Vision in WhiteCatch and ReleaseClean SlateDolly’s Trash and TreasuresHow FarMick Ballou Looks at the Blank ScreenOne Last Night at Grogan’sPart of the JobScenariosSee the WomanSpeaking of GreedSpeaking of LustWelcome to the Real WorldWho Knows Where It GoesWithout a Body

The pretty young prostitute is dead. Her alleged murderer, a minister's son, hanged himself in his jail cell. The case is closed. But the dead girl's father has come to Matthew Scudder for answers, sending the unlicensed p.i. in search of terrible truths about a life that was lived and lost in a sordid world of perversion and pleasures.

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.LB: "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...

Four decades ago, Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Lawrence Block introduced the world to one of his most beloved and enduring creations: Bernie Rhodenbarr, the clever, nimble-fingered star of novels such as Burglars Can't Be Choosers, The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling, and The Burglar Who Counted the Spoons. Called "the Heifetz of the picklock" by the New York Times, Bernie has stolen not only antiques, stamp collections, and priceless works of art but also millions of readers' hearts.Now, for all those craving more adventures of their favorite bookseller-by-day and burglar-by-night, The Burglar in Short Order for the first time ever collects all of Bernie's short-form appearances in one complete volume. From the story in which a prototype of Bernie first appeared ("A Bad Night For Burglars") to his appearances in Playboy and (maybe? It's kinda complicated) Cosmopolitan...from an essay discussing Bernie's misadventures in Hollywood (how in the world did...