Lawrence Block: The Devil Knows You're Dead (USA 2020)

From the Publisher:
In his eleventh adventure, Matthew Scudder again confronts the darkness. From the reviews:
"It takes the steady hand of a cool pro like Lawrence Block to monitor the erratic pulsebeat of New York City. Scudder is burdened by a load of personal baggage. But when this droll, streetwise sleuth quits staring out the window at the rain and starts prowling his neighborhood haunts in Hell's Kitchen, he is just about the best there is. "Is that your whole job," a bemused observer wants to know, "talking to people and listening to what they say? And watching their faces while they say it?" It's a bit trickier than that, actually. But 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." -- Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review

"There's a new trend afoot in the series mystery. Mickey Spillane, Nero Wolfe, Sherlock Holmes, and their investigating cohorts seldom changed from book to book. Part of their appeal, in fact, was their consistency. Contemporary series authors, however, such as Bill Pronzini, Robert P. Parker, Joseph Hansen, and Lawrence Block, have taken the series character a step further, allowing growth and change to occur to the hard-boiled hero just as they do to ordinary mortals. Block's recovering alcoholic Matt Scudder is a perfect example. Once isolated by guilt, angst, and booze, Scudder was the quintessential loner. Now, as his never-ending recovery continues, his world has begun to expand. He has a true friend in Mick Ballou, a sidekick in street urchin T. J., and a lover in former hooker Elaine. Hired by the brother of a mentally handicapped vet accused of the murder of attorney Glenn Holtzmann, Scudder finds that the victim was both less and more than he appeared to be. Much to his surprise -- because he loves Elaine -- Scudder becomes involved with Holtzmann's widow. The resolution of the case is a logical surprise that will leave readers contemplating an indifferent universe. Though Scudder's world is as bleak as it's ever been, he's letting a little sun shine through. It's nice to see a friend happy." -- Wes Lukowsky, Booklist

"Block has never been better." -- New York Daily News

"Eminently readable... a moody page-turner." -- Chicago Sun-Times

Lawrence Block: The Devil Knows You're Dead. Matthew Scudder #11. LB Productions, ISBN: 9798678729965 (August, 2020), 300 p., $12.99.

Lawrence Block: The Devil Knows You're Dead (USA 2002)

From the Publisher:
A deranged derelict, a 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 p.i. 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 be loves.

Lawrence Block: The Devil Knows You're Dead. A Matthew Scudder Crime Novel. Avon Books, ISBN: 038072023X (July, 2002), 337 p., $6.99.

Lawrence Block: The Devil Knows You're Dead (UK 1999)

From the Publisher:
Scudder is back, tracking a killer through the alleys of Hell's Kitchen and mapping the darker regions of the human soul.
Glenn Holtzman sits on top of the world, watching the sun set from his penthouse... half and hour later he's just another statistic, gunned down in a phone booth on Eleventh Avenue.

When the cartridge casings of the fatal shots turn up on a well-known local Vietnam Vet the whole of the Big Apple knows it's an open and shut case. But not Scudder - this Yuppie lawyer has skeletons in his closet and Matt can hear them rattling.

Lawrence Block: The Devil Knows You're Dead. A Matt Scudder Mystery. Orion Books, ISBN: 0752827472 (September, 1999), 320 p., £5.99.

Lawrence Block: The Devil Knows You're Dead (USA 1999)

From the Publisher:
In this city, there is little sense and no rules. Those who fly the highest often come crashing down the hardest -- like successful young Glenn Holtzmann, randomly blown away by a deranged derelict at a corner phone booth on Eleventh Avenue. Unlicensed p.i. Matt Scudder thinks Holtzmann was simply in the wrong place at the worst time. Others think differently -- like Thomas Sadecki, brother of the crazed Vietnam vet accused of the murder, who wants Scudder to prove the madman innocent. But no one is truly innocent in this unmerciful metropolis -- including Matther Scudder, whose curiosity and dedication are leading him to dark, unexplored places in his own heart... and to passions and revelations that could destroy everything he loves.

Lawrence Block: The Devil Knows You're Dead. A Matthew Scudder Crime Novel. Harper Paperbacks, ISBN: 0380807599 (August, 1999), 288 p., $13.99.

Lawrence Block: The Devil Knows You're Dead (UK 1996)

From the Publisher:
Scudder is back tracking a killer through the alleys of Hells Kitchen and mapping the darker regions of the human soul.

Glenn Holtzmann sits on top of the world, watching the sun set from his penthouse... half an hour later he's just another statistic, gunned down in a phone booth on Eleventh Avenue. When the cartridge casings of the fatal shots turn up on a well-known local Vietnam Vet' the whole of the Big Apple knows it's an open and shut case. But not Scudder - this Yuppie lawyer had skeletons in his closet and Matt can hear them rattling.

Lawrence Block: The Devil Knows You're Dead. A Matt Scudder Mystery. Phoenix Books, ISBN: 1857994760 (September, 1996), 320 p., £5.99.

Lawrence Block: The Devil Knows You're Dead (USA 1994)

From the Publisher:
There are no rules to life, love... and death. Those who fly the highest can crash the hardest-like successful yuppie lawyer Glenn Holt mane, randomly blown away by a deranged derelict at a phone booth on Eleventh Avenue.
These things can happen in the City...

Matt Scudder thinks Holtzmann was simply in the wrong place at the worst time. Others have different opinions - like Thomas Sadecki, the brother of the crazed Vietnam vet accused of the murder, who hires Scudder to prove the madman innocent. But Scudder's investigation will lead the unlicensed p.i. into the darkest corners of his own soul - on a nightmare journey of self-discovery that threatens to destroy everything he believes in... and everyone he loves.

Lawrence Block: The Devil Knows You're Dead. A Matthew Scudder Novel. Avon Books, ISBN: 038072023X (October, 1994), 337 p., $5.99.

Lawrence Block: The Devil Knows You're Dead (UK 1994)

From the Publisher:
Publishers Weekly has called Lawrence Block 'an equal of Elmore Leonard and Robert Parker' and the Los Angeles Times has called Matt Scudder 'one of the most appealing characters around.' Block's last mystery, A Walk Among the Tombstones was hailed as 'outstanding' (Chicago Tribune) and 'terrific' (Washington Post). Now Scudder is back, tracking a killer through the alleys of Hell's Kitchen and mapping the darker regtons of the human soul.

When Glenn Holtzmann watches the sun set over the Hudson from his West Fifty-seventh Street high-rise, he's sitting on top of the world... but half an hour later, he dies twenty-eight stories below, gunned down at a pay phone on Eleventh Avenue. It's the hind of senseless crime that gets a big play in the tabloids and on the late news, and after the cartridge casings of the fatal bullets turn up in the pocket of one of the neighbourhood street crazies, the whole town knows It's an open and shut case.

But nothing's ever open and shut in Scudder's world, and there's a lot more to the dead yuppie lawyer than ever met the eye. Matt's investigation launches him on an unintended voyage of self-discovery, and the more he digs beneath the surface of Holtzmann's life, the more unsettling things he finds out about himself.

With unrelenting suspense, and a rogues' gallery of hard-boiled characters, Block has created yet another compelling Scudder Mystery.

Lawrence Block: The Devil Knows You're Dead. A Matt Scudder Mystery. Orion Books, ISBN: 1857972708 (February, 1994), 316 p., £15.99.

Lawrence Block: The Devil Knows You're Dead (USA 1993)

From the Publisher:
Matt Scudder's New York is a town where opposites collide. Rich and poor, good and evil, sunlight and shadow. Sometimes the glare is so bright you can almost see the heart of darkness.

When Glenn Holtzmann watches the sun set over the Hudson from his West Fiftyseventh Street high rise, he's sitting on top of the world... until he dies twenty-eight stories below, gunned down at a pay phone on Eleventh Avenue. It's the kind of senseless violence that gets a big play in the tabloids and on the late news. But after the cartridge casings of the fatal bullets turn up in the pocket of one of the neighborhood street crazies, the whole town knows it's open and shut.

But nothing's ever open and shut in Scudder's world, and there's a lot more to the dead yuppie lawyer than ever met the eye. How come nobody knows anything about Holtzmann's past? How did he live so high on such a modest salary? And what was he doing on Eleventh Avenue, anyway? Why wasn't he home with his wife?

Matt's investigation launches him on an unintended voyage of self-discovery, and the more he digs beneath the surface of Holtzmann's life, the more unsettling things he finds out about himself. A quartet of vivid female characters -- Scudder's girlfriend, Elaine; his old love Jan Keane; Holtzmann's young widow, Lisa; and an extraordinary transsexual named Julia - force him to take an unsparing look at his own dark side.

With riveting noir drama, unrelenting suspense, and a rogues' gallery of hard-boiled characters, Lawrence Block takes us back to the lower depths of violence he knows so well. By the time Matt Scudder has finished tracking a killer through the alleys of Hell's Kitchen, he has drawn us a new map of the darker regions of the human soul.

Lawrence Block: The Devil Knows You're Dead. A Matthew Scudder Novel. William Morrow, ISBN: 0688121926 (November, 1993), 316 p., $20.00.