- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Orion; New Ed edition (2 Sep 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0752827480
- ISBN-13: 978-0752827483
- Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 2.6 x 17.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 500,642 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
A Long Line of Dead Men: Matthew Scudder Series, Book 12
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Authors
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Product Description
In Manhattan, 30 men have been meeting once a year for years, their only purpose to record the passing of time. But then these men start to die at an alarming rate, and it's clear that someone is determined to kill them all. Scudder takes on the case, unprepared for its emotional repercussions.
About the Author
Lawrence Block was awarded the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger in 2004. He is also a Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America. He is the author of many novels and short stories and has won numerous awards for his mystery writing. He lives and works in New York City.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
It must have been around nine o'clock when the old man stood up and tapped his spoon against the bowl of his water glass. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
It must have been around nine o'clock when the old man stood up and tapped his spoon against the bowl of his water glass. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
My favourite of Block's books. It is a Matt Scudder mystery, so one of a series but it stands alone.
Like most of his writing it is quite dark and can be fairly slow paced but this book flows and is an excellent read.
Like most of his writing it is quite dark and can be fairly slow paced but this book flows and is an excellent read.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
I just finished Lawrence Block's latest Matt Scudder book, "A Drop of the Hard Stuff". It's his first book in a few years and I found it of 5 star quality and wrote a review for Amazon. But it is not Block's best Scudder book. That was "A Long Line of Dead Men", originally published in the mid-1990's. (After the first attack on the World Trade Center but before the second.) I make it a habit to reread the book every few years, but I hadn't done so in about 5 years. So, I went back and read it, hoping it would be as good as I remembered it. And it was.
Lawrence Block's novels - and he has had several series using different characters - are never particularly action-filled. Oh, people get killed - in Block's "Keller" series a lot of people get killed - but he's not a graphic writer. In the Scudder series, Block writes in the first person, as Matt Scudder. Scudder is a retired cop, a recovering alcoholic, and an under-the-table private investigator. People hire him to "look into things". And as I wrote in my review of "Hard Stuff", most of the Scudder series touches on AA and it's Step program. "Hard Stuff" was heavily into it and this book, "Long Line" also uses AA as a plot point. But the focus of this story is on a club - a private, secret men's group that meets yearly at a steakhouse in New York. The "Club of 31" meets to mark the march of life and death. Every year they enjoy a good meal, good drinks, good conversation, and list the men who have died since the club was formed. Then, when the club is down to the last man living, he chooses 30 young men to start the march all over again. The old list of names is destroyed and a new list of names begins as the 30 age. A long line of dead men.
But the members seem to be dying off at a quicker rate than nature or accidents would account for. By the time Matt is hired to "look around", the club of 31 is down to 16 or so members. Scudder takes the case and begins a quiet search for who is knocking off the members. The only ones who know about the club are the members themselves, so suspicion is focused inward.
Now, Lawrence Block is a master of dialog and conversation. Most of this book is written as conversation between the various characters - Scudder, his girlfriend, the club members, TJ, old friends who are cops and drinkers, etc. Each character is finely drawn and the information about them expands in Block's dialog.
This is not a book for readers who want action. Neither it is it so cerebral that it's in any way boring. Block is such a good writer that each page of this book is a treat. I thought it was the best mystery/detective book I'd read when I first read it years ago. I have no reason to change my mind about it now!
Lawrence Block's novels - and he has had several series using different characters - are never particularly action-filled. Oh, people get killed - in Block's "Keller" series a lot of people get killed - but he's not a graphic writer. In the Scudder series, Block writes in the first person, as Matt Scudder. Scudder is a retired cop, a recovering alcoholic, and an under-the-table private investigator. People hire him to "look into things". And as I wrote in my review of "Hard Stuff", most of the Scudder series touches on AA and it's Step program. "Hard Stuff" was heavily into it and this book, "Long Line" also uses AA as a plot point. But the focus of this story is on a club - a private, secret men's group that meets yearly at a steakhouse in New York. The "Club of 31" meets to mark the march of life and death. Every year they enjoy a good meal, good drinks, good conversation, and list the men who have died since the club was formed. Then, when the club is down to the last man living, he chooses 30 young men to start the march all over again. The old list of names is destroyed and a new list of names begins as the 30 age. A long line of dead men.
But the members seem to be dying off at a quicker rate than nature or accidents would account for. By the time Matt is hired to "look around", the club of 31 is down to 16 or so members. Scudder takes the case and begins a quiet search for who is knocking off the members. The only ones who know about the club are the members themselves, so suspicion is focused inward.
Now, Lawrence Block is a master of dialog and conversation. Most of this book is written as conversation between the various characters - Scudder, his girlfriend, the club members, TJ, old friends who are cops and drinkers, etc. Each character is finely drawn and the information about them expands in Block's dialog.
This is not a book for readers who want action. Neither it is it so cerebral that it's in any way boring. Block is such a good writer that each page of this book is a treat. I thought it was the best mystery/detective book I'd read when I first read it years ago. I have no reason to change my mind about it now!
2 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Another classic from Block, good storyline and plot and as always excellent characterisation. Scudder must be one of the most interesting figures in modern crime fiction.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
