Perhaps more than any other author in the field, Lawrence Block has reinvented contemporary noir fiction—instilling the classic private eye novel with new life and literary depth, while retaining its raw power, grit, suspense, and surprise. Forhis efforts he has received multiple Edgar, Shamus, and Maltese Falcon Awards—winning virtually every honor the genre has to bestow—and has been named Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America. PI Matthew Scudder remainsamong Block...

Texas. Even as it enters a new century, it is still a clean, lean, and hungry country—its passions quickly felt and quickly spent, its hopes as clear and forthright as the morning sun.Bound inextricably to the land, its future is forged by young men and women like Gideon Fry, Johnny McCloud, and Molly Taylor. Gideon, a circumspect young man, is torn between his need to find his own way and the more formidable challenge of following in his rancher father’s footsteps. His best friend...

When ex-cop Matt Scudder thought back on the summer of '75, two faces emerged from behind the smoky haze of a half dozen boozy saloons that made up his beat-Skip Devoe and Tommy Tillary-two bar flies he wouldn't have given a second thought to in the bright light of day. Yet they and their troubles were the reason that moved him a little farther out of the bleary-eyed mess that had become his life.

A New York Times Notable Book of the Year, The Devil's Dream is an animated, lyrical novel that is meant to be savored as spoken word. Consummate storyteller Lee Smith's creation will delight anyone who enjoys the sound of language and a good story. Preacher's son Moses Bailey believed that the fiddle was the voice of the Devil and denied his wife the pleasure of the music she dearly loved. She fiddled for her three children behind her husband's back. Thus begins a magnificent 150-year sag...

Dave Robicheaux felt the bone-grinding pain rip through his body as the .45 did its damage. Through the agonizing haze that enveloped him, he heard an almost inhuman laugh-the hideous, victorious cackling of Jimmie Lee Boggs-a sound he would never forget. It had started out as an ordinary prisoner transfer, then turned into a blood bath when the convicted murderer got hold of a gun. Robicheaux could still hear that contemptible laughter, replacing the horrors from 'Nam he relived every nig...

Over 40 years ago, Stuart Woods found a battered chief-of-police badge in his grandmother's house. It had belonged to his grandfather, who had been shot in the line of duty. The story of the lawman's death inspired Woods to write Chiefs. This novel won an Edgar Award and was made into a popular TV miniseries.In 1919, Delano, Georgia appoints its first chief of police. Honest and hardworking, the new chief is puzzled when young men start to disappear. But his investigation is ended ...

In 1838, thirteen thousand Cherokee were forced to leave their homeland in the Southeast and walk 900 miles to present-day Oklahoma. Hunger, cold, fatigue, and disease threatened their very survival. Their grueling relocation trek-the Trail of Tears-takes on new immediacy and meaning with this stunning work of fiction. Maritole loses not only her home and her settled life in North Carolina, but also many of the people closest to her. A chorus of voices joins hers to vividly recreate the tr...

Make story time a little spookier with this Halloween-themed collection of ghost stories, spooky shorts, and frightening folktales from all over the world!“No one travels these roads after dark. Those who are found the next day, if they are still alive, will have gone mad.”Chills and thrills to make your flesh crawl with fear! Turn the lights down low and grab your favorite reading chair. But first, you’d better check behind you. …Ghosts, m...

Matthew Scudder knows that justice is an elusive commodity in the big city, where a harmless man can be shot dead in a public place criminals fly free through holes in a tattered legal system. But now a vigilante is roaming among the millions, executing those he fees deserve to die. He calls himself "The Will of the People"—an ingenious serial killer who announces his specific murderous intentions to the media before carrying through on his threats. A child molester, a Mafia don, a violent...

The third novel in the highly acclaimed Dave Robicheaux series, and winner of the Edgar award.Personal tragedy has left Dave Robicheaux close to the edge. Battling against his old addiction to alcohol and haunted nightly by vivid dreams and visitations, Dave finds his only tranquillity at home with his young ward Alafair. But even this fragile peace is shattered by the arrival of Dixie Lee Pugh who brings with him a brutal trail of murder and violence.Robicheaux reluctantly ...

Matt Scudder is finally leading a comfortable life. The crime rate's down and the stock market's up. Gentrification's prettying-up the old neighborhood. The New York streets don't look so mean anymore.Then all hell breaks loose.Scudder quickly discovers the spruced-up sidewalks are as mean as ever, dark and gritty and stained with blood. He's living in a world where the past is a minefield, the present is a war zone, and the future's an open question. It's a world where not...

Based in part on Donn Pearce's own experiences working on a Florida road gang, this classic story of Cool Hand Luke, the defiant survivor who refused to be defeated by the forces of corrupt authority, is earthy, sensitively written, and revealing.