About the Book
In New York City, there is little sense and no rules, and those who fly the highest often come crashing down the hardest.
A deranged, derelict, crazed Vietnam vet has been arrested for gunning down successful young lawyer Glenn Holtzmann at a corner phone booth on Eleventh Avenue--and the suspect's brother wants unlicensed private investigator Matthew Scudder to prove the madman innocent. But Scudder's curiosity and dedication are leading him to dark, unexplored places in his own heart ... and to passions and secrets that could destroy everything he loves.
In this unmerciful metropolis, no one is truly innocent--including Matthew Scudder.
About the Author :
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. 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.
Review :
"A grim and gritty New York City is as much a character as the victim and the murderer in this excellent example of the detective noir...Block plays fair with the reader, taking him along each step with patience and intelligence. He draws a dramatic picture of New York, of the denizens of the underside of the city, and of a man who is trying to make his own life make sense in a senseless universe."
-- "Dallas Morning News"
"An intriguing mystery...as fresh and compelling a read as the first in the series...In plot and character, this is a thriller written by a master."
-- "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette"
"Block has never been better."
-- "New York Daily News"
"Block is better than almost anyone."
-- "Atlanta Journal Constitution"
"Dark, moody, and intelligent...a thriller for thinkers...Few authors can create the textural terrain of a Block...Readers, go get his book. He deserves your purchase, you deserve his gifts."
-- "Los Angeles Times"
"Highly successful and eminently readable...Block's moody page-turners depict a world that is all warts...The Devil Knows You're Dead shows Scudder's continuing appeal."
-- "Chicago Sun-Times"
"It is wonderful to know that Lawrence Block--with his street smarts, his innate system of right and wrong, and his quirky vision of who we all are--knocks the ball out of the park each time he's at bat."
-- "Detroit News"
"It takes the steady hand of a cool pro like Lawrence Block to monitor the erratic pulse beat of New York City without faking it...Mr. Block has the offhand grace to make it look easy, with his sharply focused vignettes of the human transactions that go down in the city and with his quick life studies of the transvestite hookers, teen-age hustlers, and insulated professionals who share this hard turf and call it home."
-- "New York Times"
"Lawrence Block's novels are as good as the crime thriller gets."
-- "San Diego Union-Tribune"
"Mysteries of the heart eclipse those of the street in Matt Scudder's quietly compelling new case...loyalists...will hang on every word as Scudder makes his fascinatingly uncertain way through an increasingly uncertain world."
-- "Kirkus Reviews"
"No one familiar with contemporary American crime fiction can be unaware of Lawrence Block and Matthew Scudder, his great addition to the PI pantheon. The Devil Knows You're Dead is more of the same good thing."
-- "Chicago Tribune"
"When Lawrence Block is in his Matt Scudder mode, crime fiction can sidle up so close to literature that often there's no degree of difference."
-- "Philadelphia Inquirer"
"Wry dialogue, appealing characters, and convincing New York atmosphere...Block writes terrific stories...It's always a kick to watch Scudder work."
-- "Orlando Sentinel"
