Eight Million Ways to Die [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

Lawrence Block (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1998

Nobody knows better than Matthew Scudder how far down a person can sink in the city of New York. Except a young prostitute named Kim—and she wanted out. Maybe Kim didn't deserve the life fate had dealt her. She surely didn't deserve her death.

The alcoholic ex-cop turned P.I. was supposed to protect her, but someone slashed her to ribbons in a seedy hotel room. Now, finding Kim's killer will be Scudder's penance. But there are lethal secrets hiding in the slain hooker's past that are far dirtier than her trade. And there are many ways of dying in this cruel and dangerous town—some quick and brutal . . . and some agonizingly slow.

With this book, which won the Shamus Award and was short-listed for the Edgar, Lawrence Block elevated the Matthew Scudder series to the top tier of American detective fiction. This special hardcover edition features an afterword by the author. Read Eight Million Ways to Die, the novel that proves Block to be one of the best mystery writers working today.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Lawrence Block is one of the most widely recognized names in the mystery genre. He has been named a Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America and is a four-time winner of the prestigious Edgar and Shamus Awards, as well as a recipient of prizes in France, Germany, and Japan. He received the Diamond Dagger from the British Crime Writers' Association—only the third American to be given this award. He is a prolific author, having written more than fifty books and numerous short stories, and is a devoted New Yorker and an enthusiastic global traveler.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From AudioFile

In this hard-boiled detective novel, a hooker hires P.I. Matthew Scudder to convince her pimp to let her leave "the life." Scudder, himself a recovering alcoholic and sardonic observer, tells of her subsequent murder and the investigation that nearly costs him his life. The author's gifts lie more in writing, which he accomplishes with aplomb, than narrating, which he accomplishes with a high baritone that quavers as if he could break out weeping any moment. But he never does. In fact, once you get used to him, he's pretty entertaining. A nerdy sort of tough shamus. By the end of the last tape, you can't imagine anyone else impersonating Scudder. Y.R. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Chivers Audio Books; Unabridged edition (March 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0792722248
• ISBN-13: 978-0792722243
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,045,717 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lawrence Block (b. 1938) 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 (2002), 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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eight million reasons to read!, May 5, 2000

By 

Gary Jonas "author of Modern Sorcery" (Denver, CO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Eight Million Ways To Die: A Matthew Scudder Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the book that really set the standard for the Scudder series. It's the fifth Scudder adventure and it opens with Matt just out of the hospital after a major drinking binge. He is hired by a prostitute who wants out of the business, so he tracks down her pimp, Chance. No problem, Chance says. She can get out, but she could have saved herself some money and skipped the middleman.

Everything looks great, but then the prostitute is murdered. Scudder, of course, assumes that Chance is the killer, so he calls in a tip to the police. Next thing you know, Chance is out and he's looking for Matt.

This book is the first to really show Matt's struggle with alcohol. He starts attending AA meetings, but still doesn't see himself as an alcoholic.

Normally, by the fifth book, a series begins to run out of steam. With Matt Scudder, though, the series is just beginning to find its legs.

The mystery is fair play, but if you figure out how it all ties together before Matt, you're a more astute reader than I am. All of the characters are well-drawn and fully realized. Block is a true master and this is a masterpiece!

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Scudder Descends into the Depths, February 21, 2001

By 

Brian D. Rubendall (Oakton, VA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Eight Million Ways To Die: A Matthew Scudder Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

"Eight Million Ways to Die" is a classic piece of hardboiled detective fiction that represents a turning point in the life of its hero, Matthew Scudder. Early on in the narrative, Scudder is told frankly by a young doctor after a two-day alcohol blackout, "if you drink, you'll die." Scared by the warning, Scudder takes a case he doesn't want in a despearte attempt to distract him from alcohol. His struggles with the bottle come across very real and are harrowing to behold. The case is a good one as well with Scudder attempting to track the manaical killer of a hooker who was trying to leave the life. Death is an ever constant theme, with the book's title being a riff on the old literary saying "there are eight million stories in the naked city."

This book is everything great private detective fiction should be; dark, cynical, violent and lonely. Frankly, I like Scudder better during this period than later on after he sobers up. If you agree, you'll love this book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eight Million Ways to Die Blocks Best Scudder Novel Ever?, April 11, 2004

By 

Terry Quinn (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eight Million Ways To Die: A Matthew Scudder Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

Having only read one other Lawrence Block novel "A Dance at the Slaughterhouse", I was intrigued at the depth of Eight Million Ways to Die. The characters and the environment of New York being the backdrop for this story makes for an entertaining read. As well as Scudders unwillingness to accept that he's an alcoholic. The ending was a classic one. The way Block is able to bring to life the city as a main part of the plot in the story is amazing. Eight Million Ways to Die is a classic and will forever be remembered as one of the top 25 mystery novels of all time!

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