The Topless Tulip Caper [Hardcover]

Lawrence Block (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1984

Edgar Award-winning author Lawrence Block returns with another outrageous caper featuring Chip Harrison...a sleuth who always seems to get into trouble with a capital T!

Now a man about town working for a famous detective, Chip Harrison finds himselfat a Times Square Club waiting for his latest client, a stripper, to finish a night's work. When she completes her set, she introduces him toher roommate, a dancer who's targeted for murder...and killed in the club right before their very eyes! The list of suspects is as long as the line outside the club, and now it will take all of Chip's street smarts to trap a killer!


* Lawrence Block is one of the most respected and bestselling authors ofmystery fiction
* Lawrence Block has won the Edgar Award three times, the Shamus Award four times, the Maltese Falcon Award twice, and was named Grandmaster by the Mystery Writers of America
* Previously published under pseudonyms and in omnibus collections, this isthe first time the Chip Harrison novels are being individually published under Lawrence Block's name
* The Chip Harrison mystery series also includes Make Out With Murder,Chip Harrison Scores Again, and No Score

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Block is one of the best!” —The Washington Post

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Not Applicable; First Edition edition (October 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805282025
• ISBN-13: 978-0805282023
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,842,404 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

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Final book in Chip Harrison series..., March 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Topless Tulip Caper (Chip Harrison Mystery) (Paperback)

"The Topless Tulip Caper," by Lawrence Block is the fourth and final book (as of this date) in a series of novels about Chip Harrison, the teen-age assistant to Leon Haig, who billed himself the world famous detective in "Five Little Rich Girls." (Which was also republished under the title, "Make Out With Murder." Now Haig agrees author's Rex Stout's famous detective, Nero Wolfe is the world's greatest detective. The novel is short, under 200 pages. In this story Tulip Willing is a topless dancer, hence the title. She's a tropical fish fancier and a biologist who call upon Haig in his capacity as a detective because he too is a tropical fish expert. Tulip's fish are poisoned and this leads to the murder of her roommate, Cherry Bounce on the stage of the Treasure Chest. Chip is sent out to investigate for his boss Haig. This Chip Harrison novels has the same brand of wit as the others and similar to Block's "The Burglar Who...." Series featuring Bernie Rhodenbarr. Both series light reading but certainly not as deep as the Matt Scudder mystery novels. Block is a very good writer. I have read most of series books, with the exception of the Evan Turner books which are on my to find and read list.

2 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Unbelieveably Boring, April 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Topless Tulip Caper (Chip Harrison Mystery) (Paperback)

I'm a Lawrence Block/Matt Scudder fan. Can't get enough of that Matt Scudder.

So, I thought Block's other stuff might be just as good: not so. Hit man was a dissapointment and so was this.

Lame jokes: boring story. Too many characters who are alike -- how many men can we stand? Blatantly crude gratuitous "sex" scene. Sad

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars It was a struggle to finish this book...., February 15, 1999

By 

Diana Crass "Diana" (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Topless Tulip Caper (Chip Harrison Mystery) (Paperback)

I have read Lawrence Block novels before so I had an idea on what to expect. Imagine my surprise when I tried to read this one! It was totally predictable and it failed to keep my attention for long. I would not recommend this book to anyone unless they had trouble sleeping at night.