Lawrence Block Books

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Lawrence Block is an author best known for writing novels of the crime and mystery and other fiction novels for over 50 years. He has written over 100 books. The first time his name appeared in print was on the short story “You Can’t Lose,” which was published in February of 1958 in the magazine, Manhunt.

He has written several series of books each based on a specific character. One of them featured the Matthew Scudder (a cop-turned-private detective). Another featured a suave gentleman burglar named Bernie Rhodenbarr. He has published under several pseudonyms as well as his own name; these pen names include Jill Emerson, John Warren Wells, Lesley Evans, and Anne Campbell Clarke.

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Order of Bernie Rhodenbarr Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Burglars Can't Be Choosers 1977 Description / Buy
2 The Burglar in the Closet 1978 Description / Buy
3 The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling 1979 Description / Buy
4 The Burglar Who Studied Spinoza 1980 Description / Buy
5 The Burglar Who Painted Like Mondrian 1983 Description / Buy
6 Like a Thief in the Night (Short Story) 1983 Description / Buy
7 The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams 1994 Description / Buy
8 The Burglar Takes a Cat (Short Story) 1994 Description / Buy
9 The Burglar Who Thought He Was Bogart 1995 Description / Buy
10 The Burglar in the Library 1997 Description / Buy
11 The Burglar in the Rye 1998 Description / Buy
12 The Burglar Who Dropped in on Elvis (Short Story) 1999 Description / Buy
13 The Burglar on the Prowl 2001 Description / Buy
14 The Burglar Who Smelled Smoke (Short Story) 2011 Description / Buy
15 A Bad Night for Burglars (Short Story) 2011 Description / Buy
16 The Burglar Who Counted the Spoons 2013 Description / Buy
17 The Burglar in Short Order 2020 Description / Buy
18 The Burglar Who Met Fredric Brown 2022 Description / Buy

Order of Chip Harrison Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 No Score 1970 Description / Buy
2 Chip Harrison Scores Again 1971 Description / Buy
3 Make Out with Murder 1974 Description / Buy
4 The Topless Tulip Caper 1975 Description / Buy
5 As Dark as Christmas Gets (Short Story) 2011 Description / Buy
6 Death of the Mallory Queen 2016 Description / Buy

Chronological Order of Chip Harrison Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 No Score 1970 Description / Buy
2 Chip Harrison Scores Again 1971 Description / Buy
3 Make Out with Murder 1974 Description / Buy
4 The Topless Tulip Caper 1975 Description / Buy
5 Death of the Mallory Queen 2016 Description / Buy
6 As Dark as Christmas Gets (Short Story) 2011 Description / Buy

Order of Evan Tanner Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 The Thief Who Couldn't Sleep 1966 Description / Buy
2 The Canceled Czech 1966 Description / Buy
3 Tanner's Twelve Swingers 1967 Description / Buy
4 Here Comes a Hero / Tanner's Virgin 1968 Description / Buy
5 The Scoreless Thai / Two for Tanner 1968 Description / Buy
6 Tanner's Tiger 1968 Description / Buy
7 Me Tanner, You Jane 1986 Description / Buy
8 Tanner on Ice 1998 Description / Buy

Order of Jill Emerson Series as Jill Emerson

# Read Title Published Details
1 A Madwoman's Diary / Sensuous 1972 Description / Buy
2 Getting Off 2011 Description / Buy
3 The Trouble with Eden 2016 Description / Buy
4 Shadows 2016 Description / Buy
5 Enough of Sorrow 2016 Description / Buy
6 Threesome 2016 Description / Buy
7 Warm and Willing 2016 Description / Buy
8 Thirty 2016 Description / Buy

Order of John Keller Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Hit Man 1998 Description / Buy
2 Hit List 2000 Description / Buy
3 Hit Parade 2006 Description / Buy
4 Hit and Run 2008 Description / Buy
5 Keller in Dallas 2009 Description / Buy
6 Hit Me 2012 Description / Buy
7 Keller's Adjustment 2012 Description / Buy
8 Keller on the Spot 2013 Description / Buy
9 Keller's Therapy (Short Story) 2013 Description / Buy
10 Keller's Horoscope 2013 Description / Buy
11 Keller's Fedora (Short Story) 2016 Description / Buy
12 Keller's Homecoming (Short Story) 2016 Description / Buy
13 Keller's Designated Hitter (Short Story) 2016 Description / Buy
14 Keller the Dogkiller (Short Story) 2016 Description / Buy
15 Keller in Des Moines (Short Story) 2016 Description / Buy
16 Quotidian Keller (Short Story) 2017 Description / Buy
17 Keller on Horseback (Short Story) 2021 Description / Buy

Order of Kit Tolliver Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 If You Can't Stand the Heat 2013 Description / Buy
2 Rude Awakening 2013 Description / Buy
3 You Can Call Me Lucky 2013 Description / Buy
4 Clean Slate 2013 Description / Buy
5 Waitress Wanted 2013 Description / Buy
6 Jilling (Short Story) 2013 Description / Buy
7 Conjugal Rites 2013 Description / Buy
8 One Kind Favor I Ask of You 2013 Description / Buy
9 Don't Get in the Car 2013 Description / Buy
10 Fun with Brady and Angelica 2013 Description / Buy
11 Zeroing In 2013 Description / Buy
12 Unfinished Business 2013 Description / Buy

Order of Lou Largo Series with William Ard

# Read Title Published Details
1 Babe in the Woods 1960 Description / Buy

Order of Manhattan Noir Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Manhattan Noir 2006 Description / Buy
2 Manhattan Noir 2: The Classics 2008 Description / Buy

Order of Matthew Scudder Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 The Sins of the Fathers 1976 Description / Buy
2 Time to Murder and Create 1976 Description / Buy
3 In the Midst of Death 1976 Description / Buy
4 A Stab in the Dark 1981 Description / Buy
5 Eight Million Ways to Die 1982 Description / Buy
6 When the Sacred Ginmill Closes 1986 Description / Buy
7 Out on the Cutting Edge 1989 Description / Buy
8 A Ticket to the Boneyard 1990 Description / Buy
9 A Dance at the Slaughterhouse 1991 Description / Buy
10 A Walk Among the Tombstones 1992 Description / Buy
11 The Devil Knows You're Dead 1993 Description / Buy
12 A Long Line of Dead Men 1994 Description / Buy
13 Even the Wicked 1996 Description / Buy
14 Out the Window (Short Story) 1997 Description / Buy
15 Everybody Dies 1998 Description / Buy
16 Hope to Die 2001 Description / Buy
17 A Moment of Wrong Thinking (Short Story) 2002 Description / Buy
18 All the Flowers are Dying 2005 Description / Buy
19 A Drop of the Hard Stuff 2011 Description / Buy
20 Let's Get Lost (Short Story) 2011 Description / Buy
21 A Candle for the Bag Lady (Short Story) 2012 Description / Buy
22 A Time to Scatter Stones 2018 Description / Buy
23 The Autobiography of Matthew Scudder 2023 Description / Buy

Order of Murderous Christmas Stories Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Murder under the Christmas Tree: Ten Classic Crime Stories for the Festive Season 2016 Description / Buy
2 Murder on Christmas Eve 2017 Description / Buy
3 A Very Murderous Christmas: Ten Classic Crime Stories for the Festive Season 2018 Description / Buy

Order of Paul Kavanagh Series as Paul Kavanagh

# Read Title Published Details
1 Such Men are Dangerous 1969 Description / Buy
2 The Triumph of Evil 1972 Description / Buy
3 Not Comin' Home to You 1974 Description / Buy

Order of Seven Deadly Sins Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Speaking of Lust: Stories of Forbidden Desire 2001 Description / Buy
2 Speaking of Greed: Stories of Envious Desire 2001 Description / Buy
3 Speaking of Wrath 2002 Description / Buy

Order of Transgressions Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Transgressions ( With: Stephen King, Anne Perry, Jeffery Deaver, Sharyn McCrumb, Ed McBain, Bonnie Jeanne Perry, Joyce Carol Oates, Walter Mosley, John Farris) 2005 Description / Buy
2 Transgressions, Vol. 2 ( With: Stephen King, Ed McBain, John Farris) 2006 Description / Buy

Order of Lawrence Block Standalone Novels

# Read Title Published Details
1 Carla 1958 Description / Buy
2 Into the Night ( With: Cornell Woolrich) 1959 Description / Buy
3 69 Barrow Street 1959 Description / Buy
4 Campus Tramp 1959 Description / Buy
5 Candy 1960 Description / Buy
6 A Girl Called Honey 1960 Description / Buy
7 Kept 1960 Description / Buy
8 A Strange Kind of Love 1960 Description / Buy
9 The Adulterers 1960 Description / Buy
10 Grifter's Game / Mona / Sweet Slow Death 1961 Description / Buy
11 A Diet of Treacle 1961 Description / Buy
12 Cinderella Sims 1961 Description / Buy
13 Killing Castro 1961 Description / Buy
14 Coward's Kiss / Death Pulls a Doublecross 1961 Description / Buy
15 $20 Lust / Cinderella Sims 1961 Description / Buy
16 The Twisted Ones 1961 Description / Buy
17 Borderline 1962 Description / Buy
18 The Case of the Pornographic Photos / Markham / You Could Call it Murder 1962 Description / Buy
19 Strange Embrace 1962 Description / Buy
20 Sin Hellcat 1962 Description / Buy
21 Lucky at Cards 1964 Description / Buy
22 The Girl with the Long Green Heart 1965 Description / Buy
23 Deadly Honeymoon 1967 Description / Buy
24 After the First Death 1969 Description / Buy
25 The Specialists 1969 Description / Buy
26 Ronald Rabbit is a Dirty Old Man 1971 Description / Buy
27 A Week as Andrea Benstock 1975 Description / Buy
28 Ariel 1979 Description / Buy
29 Code of Arms ( With: Harold King) 1981 Description / Buy
30 Random Walk 1988 Description / Buy
31 The Lost Cases of Ed London 2001 Description / Buy
32 Small Town 2002 Description / Buy
33 Community of Women 2010 Description / Buy
34 The Girl with the Deep Blue Eyes 2015 Description / Buy
35 Passport to Peril ( With: Anne Campbell Clark) 2016 Description / Buy
36 Sinner Man 2016 Description / Buy
37 April North / High School Sex Club 2019 Description / Buy
38 Dead Girl Blues 2020 Description / Buy

Order of Lawrence Block Short Stories/Novellas

# Read Title Published Details
1 Collecting Ackermans (Short Story) 1979 Description / Buy
2 By the Dawn's Early Light (Short Story) 1984 Description / Buy
3 The Merciful Angel of Death (Short Story) 1993 Description / Buy
4 A Chance to Get Even (Short Story) 2011 Description / Buy
5 Dolly's Trash & Treasures (Short Story) 2011 Description / Buy
6 Welcome to the Real World (Short Story) 2011 Description / Buy
7 Who Knows Where It Goes (Short Story) 2011 Description / Buy
8 Scenarios (Short Story) 2011 Description / Buy
9 Headaches and Bad Dreams (Short Story) 2011 Description / Buy
10 Sweet Little Hands (Short Story) 2011 Description / Buy
11 You Don't Even Feel It (Short Story) 2011 Description / Buy
12 In For a Penny (Short Story) 2011 Description / Buy
13 Three in the Side Pocket (Short Story) 2011 Description / Buy
14 Like a Bone in the Throat (Short Story) 2011 Description / Buy
15 Nothing Short of Highway Robbery (Short Story) 2013 Description / Buy
16 The Ehrengraf Fandango (Short Story) 2014 Description / Buy
17 I Know How to Pick 'Em (Short Story) 2014 Description / Buy
18 Autumn at the Automat (Short Story) 2016 Description / Buy
19 Resume Speed (Short Story) 2016 Description / Buy

Order of Lawrence Block Short Story Collections

# Read Title Published Details
1 Like a Lamb to Slaughter 1984 Description / Buy
2 Sometimes They Bite 1984 Description / Buy
3 Some Days You Get the Bear 1993 Description / Buy
4 By the Dawn's Early Light: And Other Stories 1994 Description / Buy
5 The Collected Mystery Stories 1999 Description / Buy
6 Enough Rope 2002 Description / Buy
7 The Crazy Years 2004 Description / Buy
8 Catch and Release 2011 Description / Buy
9 Defender of the Innocent: The Casebook of Martin Ehrengraf 2014 Description / Buy
10 Resume Speed and Other Stories 2018 Description / Buy
11 From Sea to Stormy Sea 2019 Description / Buy
12 Playing Games 2023 Description / Buy

Order of Lawrence Block Plays

# Read Title Published Details
1 How Far (Short Story) 2011 Description / Buy

Order of Lawrence Block Non-Fiction Books

# Read Title Published Details
1 The Wife-Swap Report 1970 Description / Buy
2 3 is Not a Crowd 1971 Description / Buy
3 Sex and the Stewardess 1972 Description / Buy
4 The Sex Therapists 1972 Description / Buy
5 Different Strokes 1974 Description / Buy
6 Total Sexuality 1974 Description / Buy
7 Writing the Novel from Plot to Print to Pixel 1979 Description / Buy
8 Telling Lies for Fun & Profit: A Manual for Fiction Writers 1981 Description / Buy
9 Write for Your Life 1986 Description / Buy
10 Spider, Spin Me A Web: A Handbook for Fiction Writers 1988 Description / Buy
11 After Hours: Conversations With Lawrence Block 1995 Description / Buy
12 Gangsters, Swindlers, Killers, and Thieves: The Lives and Crimes of Fifty American Villains 2004 Description / Buy
13 Step by Step: A Pedestrian Memoir 2009 Description / Buy
14 The Liar's Bible 2011 Description / Buy
15 The Liar's Companion 2011 Description / Buy
16 The Male Hustler (Short Story) 2012 Description / Buy
17 Wide Open 2012 Description / Buy
18 Doing It! - Going Beyond the Sexual Revolution 2012 Description / Buy
19 Come Fly With Us (Short Story) 2012 Description / Buy
20 Beyond Group Sex 2012 Description / Buy
21 The Crime of Our Lives 2015 Description / Buy
22 Afterthoughts: Version 2.0 2021 Description / Buy

Order of Matthew Scudder Short Story Collections

# Read Title Published Details
1 One Night Stands and Lost Weekends 1999 Description / Buy
2 The Night and the Music 2011 Description / Buy

Order of L.A. Noire: The Collected Stories Series with Joe R. Lansdale, Joyce Carol Oates, Megan Abbott, Duane Swierczynski, Andrew Vachss, Francine Prose, Jonathan Santlofer

# Read Title Published Details
1 L.A. Noire: The Collected Stories ( With: Joe R. Lansdale, Joyce Carol Oates, Megan Abbott, Duane Swierczynski, Andrew Vachss, Francine Prose, Jonathan Santlofer) 2010 Description / Buy
2 Black Dahlia White Rose ( By: Joyce Carol Oates) 2011 Description / Buy

Lawrence Block Anthologies

# Read Title Published Details
1 Alfred Hitchcock's A Choice of Evils 1983 Description / Buy
2 The Eyes Have It 1984 Description / Buy
3 Chapter and Hearse 1985 Description / Buy
4 The Second Black Lizard Anthology of Crime Fiction 1988 Description / Buy
5 The Perfect Murder 1991 Description / Buy
6 The Year’s 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories 1991 1992 Description / Buy
7 Monsters in Our Midst 1993 Description / Buy
8 The Year's 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories 1992 1993 Description / Buy
9 Dark Crimes 2 1993 Description / Buy
10 The New Mystery 1993 Description / Buy
11 The Fine Art of Murder: The Mystery Reader's Indispensable Companion 1993 Description / Buy
12 The King is Dead: Tales of Elvis Postmortem 1994 Description / Buy
13 The Year's 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories 1993 1994 Description / Buy
14 Bad Behavior 1995 Description / Buy
15 The Year's 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories 1996 1995 Description / Buy
16 Night Screams 1996 Description / Buy
17 First Cases, Volume 1 1996 Description / Buy
18 Win, Lose or Die 1996 Description / Buy
19 Law and Order 1997 Description / Buy
20 The Plot Thickens 1997 Description / Buy
21 First Cases, Volume 2 1997 Description / Buy
22 Crimes of Passion 1997 Description / Buy
23 Mystery's Most Wanted 1997 Description / Buy
24 Hot Blood X 1998 Description / Buy
25 The Best of the Best 1998 Description / Buy
26 Murder on the Run 1998 Description / Buy
27 The Year's 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories 1997 1998 Description / Buy
28 The Best American Mystery Stories 1998 1998 Description / Buy
29 Death Cruise: Crime Stories on the Open Seas 1999 Description / Buy
30 The Best American Mystery Stories 1999 1999 Description / Buy
31 Master's Choice: Mystery Stories by Today's Top Writers and the Masters Who Inspired Them 2000 Description / Buy
32 The Best American Mystery Stories of the Century 2000 Description / Buy
33 The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories 1 2000 Description / Buy
34 Opening Shots: Great Mystery and Crime Writers Share Their First Published Stories 2000 Description / Buy
35 The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories 2 2000 Description / Buy
36 The Best American Mystery Stories 2001 2001 Description / Buy
37 Opening Shots, Vol. II 2001 Description / Buy
38 Pulp Masters 2001 Description / Buy
39 The Mighty Johns 2002 Description / Buy
40 Most Wanted 2002 Description / Buy
41 The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories 3 2002 Description / Buy
42 Blood on Their Hands 2003 Description / Buy
43 Bronx Noir 2003 Description / Buy
44 The World\\\'s Finest Mystery and Crime Stories: 4 2003 Description / Buy
45 High Stakes 2003 Description / Buy
46 In the Shadow of the Master 2003 Description / Buy
47 Greatest Hits 2005 Description / Buy
48 Transgressions 2005 Description / Buy
49 Lesbian Pulp Fiction 2005 Description / Buy
50 Brooklyn Noir 2 2005 Description / Buy
51 These Guns for Hire 2006 Description / Buy
52 Transgressions, Vol. 2 2006 Description / Buy
53 The Best American Mystery Stories 2007 2007 Description / Buy
54 A Prisoner of Memory and 24 of the Year's Finest Crime and Mystery Stories 2008 Description / Buy
55 L.A. Noire: The Collected Stories 2010 Description / Buy
56 The Sounds Of Crime 2010 Description / Buy
57 The Dark End of the Street 2010 Description / Buy
58 Indian Country Noir 2010 Description / Buy
59 Masters of Noir, Volume One 2010 Description / Buy
60 The Shamus Winners 2010 Description / Buy
61 Masters of Noir, Volume Three 2010 Description / Buy
62 The Best American Mystery Stories 2011 2011 Description / Buy
63 Warriors 3 2011 Description / Buy
64 In Pursuit of Spenser 2012 Description / Buy
65 Psychos 2012 Description / Buy
66 USA Noir 2013 Description / Buy
67 Weasels Ripped My Flesh!: Two-Fisted Stories From Men's Adventure Magazines of the 1950s, '60s & '70s 2013 Description / Buy
68 Inherit the Dead 2013 Description / Buy
69 Dangerous Women 2013 Description / Buy
70 Buffalo Noir 2013 Description / Buy
71 Have a NYC 3: New York Short Stories 2014 Description / Buy
72 Dark City Lights: New York Stories (Have a NYC) 2015 Description / Buy
73 Mostly Murder 2016 Description / Buy
74 In Sunlight or In Shadow 2016 Description / Buy
75 Gym Rat & Murder Club 2016 Description / Buy
76 Alive in Shape and Color 2017 Description / Buy
77 Florida Happens 2018 Description / Buy
78 At Home in the Dark 2019 Description / Buy
79 The Misadventures of Nero Wolfe 2020 Description / Buy
80 The Darkling Halls of Ivy 2020 Description / Buy
81 Collectibles 2021 Description / Buy
82 Jewish Noir II: Tales of Crime and Other Dark Deeds 2021 Description / Buy
Print: Print PDF

Lawrence Block Awards:

Over his long career, Block has earned many awards for his work. He won four Edgar and Shamus awards, and two Japanese Maltese Falcon awards. Some of the other ones he has received include the Nero Wolfe and Phillip Marlow awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America. He got another Lifetime Achievement Award from the Crime Writers Association, which is in the United Kingdom. Mystery Ink magazine gave him the Gumshoe Lifetime Achievement Award. He also got the Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer Lifetime Achievement award in the short story category. He has also been featured in several mystery writing festivals.

Lawrence Block Books Into Movies:

Many of Block’s stories have been turned into movies. The first one was an adaptation of his novel, Campus Tramp, this was made into the movie The Antioch Adventure in 1967. In 1974, his book, Nightmare Honeymoon, was made into a movie. In 1985, one of his short stories was used on an episode of a series called Tales of the Unexpected; the episode was called “Nothin’ Short of Highway Robbery. His novel, 8 Million Ways To Die, was adapted into a movie in 1986. One of his stories was used in an episode of the short-lived series Alfred Hitchcock Presents in 1987; the episode was called “When This Man Dies.” One of his series of books was made into a movie in 1987 called The Burglar. In 2003, a story called Bradford in My Dreams was made into an episode of the series Spine Chillers. Block wrote a couple episodes of the series Tilt in 2005. He wrote a screenplay for a movie called My Blueberry Nights in 2007. Most recently, his novel A Walk Among the Tombstones was made into a movie in 2014.

Best Lawrence Block Books:

These books provide the introductions for each of Lawrence Block’s most successful series.

The Sins Of The Father: This is the first book in the Matthew Scudder series. This book revolves around the alleged murder of a young prostitute. The suspect is a minister’s son, and he hanged himself in his jail cell. The victim’s father comes to Scudder for answers about his daughter’s death.

Burglars Can’ Be Choosers: This book is an introduction into Block’s Benie Rhodenbarr series. Rhodenbarr is a good neighbor and friend and poker player. and professional burglar. He is a modern-day Robin Hood stealing from the rich well-to-do people of New York City. The reason he only robs rich people is because the poor don’t have anything to steal. In the introduction to this series, he gets himself in a huge heap of trouble when he goes to steal from someone and he finds their bloody corpse. The cops arrive and see him in the apartment, so this starts Rhodenbarr on a journey to find the real killer while avoiding jail.

Keller: This book is the introduction for the series of the same name. Keller is a stereotypical urban lonely guy. He works for decent pay, and he lives in a nice apartment. He also takes a little trip and kills someone in another country. He starts having doubts about his life, and he goes to a therapist. Then he decides to get a dog and a girlfriend.

Evan Tanner: This book begins the Evan Tanner series. Tanner hasn’t gotten any sleep in a decade. This started after a piece of shrapnel got embedded in his skull while he was on the battlefield. He finds very interesting ways to occupy his never ending waking hours. He joins many odd organizations such as the Flat Earth Society.

When Does The Next Lawrence Block book come out?

Lawrence Block doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is The Autobiography of Matthew Scudder and was released on June, 24th 2023. It is the newest book in the Matthew Scudder Series.

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