Customer Reviews

Sometimes They Bite

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Stephen King has the knack of turning common occurances intospine chilling stories. However, years before King's storieswere published, Lawrence Block proved his ability to do the same. How diverse to go from a story about two guys fishing peacefully (which results in spine-tingling murder) to an unscruplous lawyer to a burglar to an unwitting hit man finding a new occupation! You'd think Block lived each of these experiences by the way they are described in such vivid detail. No one has led that interesting a life so I'd have to credit these stories to Block's vivid imagination. This book is a must read for all Lawrence Block Fans. If you like this one, you'll also enjoy "Like A Lamb To Slaughter" as well as "Some Days You Get The Bear," both excellent short story collections in their own right.

I've read a few of Lawrence Block's novels but haven't widely read his work. Sometimes They Bite is my first encounter with Block as a short story writer and I have to say, he is up there with the greatest writers of the short tale. I'll definitely be checking other anthologies of either his own work or various author collections he has contributed to. Sometimes They Bite is full of ingenious criminals, nasty villains, terrorists, schemers, unexpected plotline twists and just really good stories. Some are a little predictable due to the fact you've been exposed to the twists of former stories and are expecting another, other than that I can't fault this collection.

Since Amazon doesn't provide a list of the stories inside here they are -

Sometimes They Bite

The Ehrengraf Defense

Strangers on a Handball Court

Like a Dog in the Street

A Bad Night For Burglars

Nothing Short of Highway Robbery

One Thousand Dollars a Word

The Gentle Way

The Ehrengraf Obligation

When This Man Dies

Collecting Ackermans

The Dettweiler Solution

Funny You Should Ask

Like a Thief in the Night

Going Through The Motions

This Crazy Business of Ours

And Miles to Go Before I Sleep

Out the Window

If you like Block's style I'd also recommend checking out the author Donald E. Westlake.

For my money, Stephen King is the best short story writer of the last thirty years. I've never read a short story anthology by any other author to match his "Night Shift," or "Skelton Crew" collections. But Lawrence Block comes close with "Sometimes They Bite." Block may be a crime writer, but some of his stories, like the excellent title story, read similar to King's horror work, especially his non-supernatural horror work. Private Detective Matthew Scudder makes one fine appearance in this collection, as does Bernie Rhodenbarr of Block's "Burglar" series. The rest are a hodgepodge of stories told from the point of view of victims, perpetrators and cops. Some work better than others, of course, but there isn't a dud in the lot.

Fans of Lawrence Block should check out this book for a different view of an author who normally produces great novels.