Lawrence Block – författare

It''s a jungle out there.

Literally. At least for Evan Tanner, eternally sleepless sometime superspy, who finds himself in Africa on the trail of the AWOL ruler of tiny Modonoland. It seems the petty despot''s gone missing, and he''s taken the state treasury along with him.

No stranger to impossible missions and international peril, Tanner''s been in over his head before. This time, however, he''s in imminent danger of being buried alive. And it all has to do with the CIA, white supremacists, moderate revolutionaries . . . and a blond jungle bombshell named (no joke!) Sheena. Tanner''s always been a sucker for a pretty face and a curvaceous body, especially one that''s wrapped in leopard skin. But this red hot renegade daughter of a local missionary is a maneater.

Which means this time Tanner''s goose is well and truly cooked.

The CIA, the FBI, the KGB, Interpol—not one of the world''s premier intelligence organizations knows quite what to make of Evan Michael Tanner. Is he a spy, a mercenary, a footloose adventurer, or simply a screwball sucker for hopeless causes?

(Actually he''s a little bit of all of the above. Plus he never sleeps. Ever.)

One thing''s for sure: Tanner''s a true romantic, which is why he can''t refuse a distraught mother who begs him to rescue her lost, pure-as-driven-snow daughter. Phaedra Harrow (nee Deborah Horowitz) once shared Tanner''s apartment but not his bed. And now the virginal beauty''s been abducted by white slavers in the Afghan wilderness.

Finding Phaedra will be difficult enough. Bringing her back alive and unmolested may be impossible. And first Tanner will have to swim the English Channel, survive trigger-happy Russian terrorists . . . and maybe pull off a timely assassination or two.

Evan Tanner can''t sleep. Ever. Which gives him plenty of free time to get involved in lots of interesting endeavors in all sorts of exotic locales.

Now Tanner''s in Thailand with a partially baked plan and a butterfly net, hoping to snare a beautiful missing chanteuse who''s metamorphosed into an international jewel thief. Tanner hopes everyone will buy his disguise as a rare butterfly researcher. And everyone does . . .

Except the guerilla band holding him captive. They intend to remove his head when the sun rises, so Tanner must put his fate in the hands of a randy Thai youth who will do anything for a woman, even set a suspected spy free. Soon they''re running through the jungle together, chased by bandits, soldiers, and yellow fever, and racing headlong into the heart of darkness—and into the flames of war.

The Cold War''s boiling over. Global tensions are near the breaking point. So what''s the perfect assignment for a super-spy who hasn''t slept since the Korean conflict? A fun-filled trip to the Montreal World''s Fair!

The adorable little girl he''s escorting—who, under different circumstances, would be sitting on the Lithuanian throne—can hardly contain her excitement, but it isn''t all playtime for Evan Tanner. Some mysterious disappearances, apparently linked to the fair''s Cuban exhibition, need to be looked into.

Keeping his mind on business, however, won''t be easy after an insatiable lovely in a tiger skin falls into Tanner''s arms, and a mother lode of dangerous drugs falls into his lap. But the biggest, deadliest suprise is the terrorist plot Tanner''s tumbling into, and he''ll have to think and act quickly to prevent the visiting queen of England from being blown to smithereens.

Cold War superspy Evan Tanner lost the ability to sleep on a battlefield in Korea. So where the heck has he been since the ''70s?

Frozen. Cryogenically. A Tanner-sicle. Which he never thought would happen when he walked into a basement in Union City, New Jersey, more than a quarter century ago. Now he''s unthawed and ready to rumble, and his somewhat addled, former super-secret boss, "the Chief," is glad his favorite operative''s active again.

Tanner awoke to a different world, though some bad things have remained the same . . . or gotten worse. Even before he can fully acclimate himself to this perplexing future, Tanner''s off to Burma (which isn''t really Burma anymore) to pose as a monk, destabilize the government, dodge a lethal double-cross, and rescue a beautiful prisoner.

The world''s still full of conspiracy, corruption, greed, political chicanery—and beautiful women. So Tanner''s back with a vengeance, with a lot of lost time to make up for.

Sometime spy Evan Tanner has accepted impossible assignments for many reasons: money, thrills, to have something to occupy his waking hours (twenty-four of them every day, in fact, since battlefield shrapnel obliterated his brain''s sleep center). But this might be the first time he''s put his life on the line . . . for love.

Tanner''s agreed to smuggle a sexy Latvian gymnast—the lost lady love of a heart-sick friend—out of Russia. With the Cold War at its chilliest and the Iron Curtain slammed shut, this will not be easy, especially since everybody in Eastern Europe, it seems, wants to tag along, including a subversive Slav author and the six-year-old heir to the nonexistent Lithuanian throne.

But that''s not the biggest hurdle. The gymnast refuses to budge unless Tanner rescues her eleven delightfully limber teammates as well—and that might be raising the bar too lethally high for even the ever-resourceful Evan Tanner to clear.

The author of dozens of acclaimed novels including those in the Scudder and Keller series, Lawrence Block has long been recognized as one of the premier crime writers of our time. Now, the breathtaking skill, power, and versatility of this Grand Master are brilliantly displayed once again in a mesmerizing new thriller set on the streets of the city he knows and loves so well.

That was the thing about New York -- if you loved it, if it worked for you, it ruined you for anyplace else in the world.

In this dazzlingly constructed novel, Lawrence Block reveals the secret at the heart of the Big Apple. His glorious metropolis is really a small town, filled with men and women from all walks of life whose aspirations, fears, disappointments, and triumphs are interconnected by bonds as unbreakable as they are unseen. Pulsating with the lives of its denizens -- bartenders and hookers, power brokers and politicos, cops and secretaries, editors and dreamers -- the city inspires a passion that is universal yet unique in each of its eight million inhabitants, including:

John Blair Creighton, a writer on the verge of a breakthrough;

Francis Buckram, a charismatic ex–police commissioner -- and the inside choice for the next mayor -- on the verge of a breakdown;

Susan Pomerance, a beautiful, sophisticated folk-art dealer plumbing the depths of her own fierce sexuality;

Maury Winters, a defense attorney who prefers murder trials because there''s one less witness;

Jerry Pankow, an ex-addict who has turned being clean into a living, mopping up after New York''s nightlife;

And, in the shadows of a city reeling from tragedy, an unlikely killing machine who wages a one-man war against them all.

Infused with the raw cadence, stark beauty, and relentless pace of New York City, Small Town is a tour de force Block fans old and new will celebrate.

Acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Lawrence Block returns with the extraordinary Bernie Rhodenbarr. Antiquarian bookseller by day, burglar by night, Bernie has an innate knack, a gift, for getting into places designed to keep him out.

Bernie is a gentleman who knows and loves his territory, the gloriously diverse streets of Manhattan; a connoisseur who surrounds himself with the finer things in life, including his tailless Manx tabby, Raffles, and good friends like his neighbor, Carolyn. In fact, it''s a friend that gets him in his latest jam. Bernie is asked for a favor -- a neat, uncomplicated bit of vengeful larceny that will reap a tidy profit -- an offer the intrepid thief can''t refuse.

A few days before the crime, Bernie gets restless. What does a burglar do to change his mood? Go on the prowl. This bit of prowling lands Bernie in a pile of trouble that includes four murders and the burglary of his own home. Caught in the center of a deadly mystery, he must use his wits and wiles to connect the dots and add up the coincidences. Because if Bernie doesn''t catch a killer, he''ll lose not only his freedom but his life.

Infused with the rich atmosphere of New York City and filled with a smart, charming cast of characters headed by the stylish Bernie, The Burglar on the Prowl is an engaging and delightfully suspenseful tale sure to be savored by Block fans old and new.

The New York Times bestselling author and master of the modern mystery returns with a fierce and poignant new novel featuring his acclaimed killer-for-hire, Keller. John Keller is everyone''s favorite hit man. He''s cool. Reliable. A real pro: the hit man''s hit man. The inconvenient wife, the business partner, the retiree with a substantial legacy. He''s taken care of them all, quietly and efficiently.

Keller''s got a code of honor, though he''d never call it that. And he keeps the job strictly business. But while Keller might be a pragmatic and crack assassin, he''s also prone to doubts and loneliness just like everybody else. And though he''s got Dot, his wisecracking contact and sometimes confidante, these days, it doesn''t seem to be enough.

Keller''s been at this business a long while. Just maybe it''s time to pack it in. Only problem is, retirement takes money. And to get money, he''s got to go to work...

Hit Parade, the third novel featuring the fascinating Keller, displays the hallmarks that distinguish Lawrence Block''s award-winning fiction: the intelligence, the clever plotting, the humor, the tricky twist and ironic turns, the darkness and emotional complexity -- and, above all else, the humanity.