Tanner's Twelve Swingers [Paperback]

Lawrence Block (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Fawcett Gold Medal; First Paperback Printing edition (1967)
• ASIN: B001TZZZP0
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

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

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars not Blocks best, March 6, 2009

By 

Jake (Boston) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tanner's Twelve Swingers (An Evan Tanner Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)

This very early Block story is effortlessly entertaining,but extremely featherweight compared to most of Mr.Blocks books.Its funny and fast moving,adequate for a quick summer beach read,but pales in comparison to almost any other Lawrence Block book.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tanner's back for another trek across Europe. A delight., October 6, 1999

By 

Harold L. Laroff - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tanner's Twelve Swingers (Evan Tanner Mysteries) (Paperback)

. Tanner is back in the third of eight books in the series. This one is much better than the first two. Again Tanner leaves NYC to trek across Europe, sneak across boarders. This time the trip takes him from home to Yugoslavia north to Russia. Keeping in mind this adventure as wells as the two others takes place before the brake up of the Soviet Union and the problems and war with the breakup of Yugoslavia. Block's historical accounts are excellent and add to the excitement of the book. It's well paced and I look forward to the others in the series. At this point in time they are on backorder at amazon.com.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fast and humorous trip with a master spy, October 12, 2007

By 

Cy B. Hilterman "Cy. Hilterman" (Cherry Tree, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tanner's Twelve Swingers (An Evan Tanner Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)

A delightful fast read with plenty of action and humor. Evan Turner is a spy for--well, you name it since he doesn't really know the name of the agency he works for! A good friend asks Tanner if he would go to Latvia to get his girl friend out of the country and bring her to the United States. Tanner reluctantly gives in and agrees knowing that Latvia is one of the old Soviet nations that do not allow anyone in or out of their country. Tanner knows so many connected people so he feels he can do this without getting into trouble.

Besides being a well-connected spy Tanner loves his women and seems to have one in every nation. He also has many friends in many nations that know Tanner well and owe him favors, which helps him in getting in and out of various countries. Any master spy can do this, correct? If your name is Evan Tanner or one of his aliases you have that freedom almost everywhere. Almost!

Tanner starts his trip to "rescue" the girl out of Latvia. It seems the girl is a gymnast on the national team. As Tanner goes across various borders, some legally and some with forged papers, he looks up his friends in those countries to get help. Most do help him one way or another. But when it comes time to take the girl out of Latvia, along with a few things Tanner has picked up along the way for which he promised to deliver in other nations as he went, he runs into trouble. By the time he makes his final plans for leaving Latvia he has accumulated more people to smuggle out of a nation he is not even supposed to be in.

If this sounds complicated, it is, but only for Tanner. The reader can understand every move and action that is made due to Lawrence Block's smooth writing. Even though this is a short book it packs plenty of action and fun into those pages. As I read it I was thinking how some authors would make a six hundred-page story out of all that occurred in this book. Block shortened it and kept it active and interesting.