All the Flowers are Dying CD (Matthew Scudder Mysteries) [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio CD]

Lawrence Block (Author, Reader)

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: HarperAudio; Abridged edition (February 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060759658
• ISBN-13: 978-0060759650
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,838,811 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

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars THRILLS AND CHILLS IN THIS READING, February 19, 2005

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: All the Flowers are Dying CD (Matthew Scudder Mysteries) (Audio CD)

In this, the 16th Matthew Scudder thriller, we meet a changed protagonist. Many of us are old enough to remember when we were first introduced to him some 25 years ago. If I remember correctly, Lawrence Block described him at that time as a former cop turned private eye (sans license) who drank a lot and worried the same. A quarter of a century can bring about many changes, and those years have made their mark on Matthew Scudder.

Happily for listeners "All The Flowers Are Dying" is read by the author himself. A four-time winner of the Edgar Allan Poe and Shamus Awards plus numerous other honors, Block has penned more than 50 books. Think you'll agree that his reading is also deserving of recognition. After all, who knows Matthew Scudder better than the man who created him? Block delivers nuances and chills with the aplomb of a trained actor.

As our story opens there's a man awaiting execution in a Virginia prison. He received the death penalty on the basis of massive evidence, yet he maintains that he did not commit three gruesome murders. A psychologist has been interviewing the man, and completes his assignment by watching as the death sentence is carried out.

What seems to be a parallel plot develops as Scudder takes on an investigation. It's just the kind of job he likes now - no danger just some probing and then a paycheck. No such luck. The corpses start piling up and it seems that the next to die may very well be Scudder and his wife. Is there a relationship between the convicted killer and these murders? Could the psychologist be involved?

Listen as this master of suspense weaves one more of his spine tingling tales.

- Gail Cooke

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars OK But, May 9, 2007

By 

Kathleen S. Mcbride (Morongo Valley, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: All the Flowers are Dying CD (Matthew Scudder Mysteries) (Audio CD)

The story is great but the author ought to get someone else to do the reading.