Series: Evan Tanner Mysteries | Publication Date: October 1, 1999
Lawrence Block's third book in his hilarious Tanner series is back...And this time the intrepid spy is up to his neck in a dozen leggy beauties and a life-and-death smuggling assignment out of the cold corners of Russia.
Praise for the Tanner series:
"Reminiscent of the tongue-in-cheek novels of Donald Hamilton or even Ian Fleming's classic James Bond stories."--BookPage
Lawrence Block is"A Master."--People
"The thoughtful reader's answer to the slapstick antics of the Austin Powers movie." --Rocky Mountain News
"One of our best authors." --San Diego Union-Tribune
"A writer of wit and skill." --Detroit Free Press
* Block was named a Grandmaster by the Mystery Writers of America * Four-time winner of the Edgar Award, four-time winner of the Shamus Award, and the first recipient of the Nero Wolfe Award * Other Tanner novels from Signet: The Thief Who Couldn't Sleep, The Cancelled Czech, and Tanner on Ice * Signet also publishes the Bernie Rhodenbarr and Chip Harrison series by Block, including 1999's The Burglar in the Rye
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.
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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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First Sentence:
On my third day in Athens I sat at a small square table at the airport cafe watching a sleek Air India jet taxi down the runway, rise abruptly into the air, then break cloud cover and disappear from view. Read the first pageKey Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Milan Butec, New York, Evan Tanner, Soviet Union, Karlis Mielovicius, United States, Baltic States, Evan Michael Tanner, Ferenc Mihalyi, Igor Radek, Juicy Fruit, Baltic Sea, Eastern Europe, Janos Papilov, Queen of Lithuania, Rhode Island, South America
New! Concordance
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