"Out on the Cutting Edge" was my introduction to Block many, many years ago, and I was hooked. Having been a huge Chandler fan since my college days (50 years ago...), I see Block as carrying the torch of hard-boiled, literary detective fiction into the new millennium. For my money, he's the best in the genre.
If you haven't tapped into Block's "Jon Keller" series -- starting with "Hit Man" -- you're in for a treat. It's not a detective series, but stories told from the POV of a hit man. Really good. As for the Scudder series, you can't go wrong, but "Ticket to the Bone Yard" is something special. It scared the crap of me, which is not something I can say about much detective fiction. "Sleeping Dogs," by Thomas Perry is another good one, although I haven't read his follow-up books. I had to stop reading crime/detective fiction for 15 years while working on my own LA detective book (unpublished, and destined to gather dust in my closet for the time being) when I noticed the "voice" and an occasional phrase from Chandler leaking into my own prose, so I'm a bit out of the loop -- although I just started my first Michael Connelly, though, and it's a fun read so far.
Oh, excellent! I haven't read Block's other series, actually. And yes, Ticket to the Bone Yard is terrifying. And I'll check out the Perry -- I don't think I've read him. I'm conflicted about Connelly. My wife & I just listened to The Poet and it got us through some long drives, but I don't think he's in the league of Block. For one thing he often mixes third person and first in the same book, which bothers more than it has any reason to.
Agreed -- I like the way Connelly writes, but much prefer the unfolding first person narrative ala Phillip Marlowe and Matt Scudder. Connelly's stuff seems made for the screen, really -- as the very "Bosch" series on Amazon proved. There, the multiple POVs works well, but in the world of a novel, not so much. "Sleeping Dogs" isn't new -- I read it back in the 80's -- but well worth digging up, and although the Jon Keller "Hit Man" series takes a very different tack than the Scudder books, it's really good. Lawrence Block is just astonishing.
You make a good point!
"Out on the Cutting Edge" was my introduction to Block many, many years ago, and I was hooked. Having been a huge Chandler fan since my college days (50 years ago...), I see Block as carrying the torch of hard-boiled, literary detective fiction into the new millennium. For my money, he's the best in the genre.
Totally agree. And please let me know if there are any other great detective series I might be missing!
If you haven't tapped into Block's "Jon Keller" series -- starting with "Hit Man" -- you're in for a treat. It's not a detective series, but stories told from the POV of a hit man. Really good. As for the Scudder series, you can't go wrong, but "Ticket to the Bone Yard" is something special. It scared the crap of me, which is not something I can say about much detective fiction. "Sleeping Dogs," by Thomas Perry is another good one, although I haven't read his follow-up books. I had to stop reading crime/detective fiction for 15 years while working on my own LA detective book (unpublished, and destined to gather dust in my closet for the time being) when I noticed the "voice" and an occasional phrase from Chandler leaking into my own prose, so I'm a bit out of the loop -- although I just started my first Michael Connelly, though, and it's a fun read so far.
Oh, excellent! I haven't read Block's other series, actually. And yes, Ticket to the Bone Yard is terrifying. And I'll check out the Perry -- I don't think I've read him. I'm conflicted about Connelly. My wife & I just listened to The Poet and it got us through some long drives, but I don't think he's in the league of Block. For one thing he often mixes third person and first in the same book, which bothers more than it has any reason to.
Agreed -- I like the way Connelly writes, but much prefer the unfolding first person narrative ala Phillip Marlowe and Matt Scudder. Connelly's stuff seems made for the screen, really -- as the very "Bosch" series on Amazon proved. There, the multiple POVs works well, but in the world of a novel, not so much. "Sleeping Dogs" isn't new -- I read it back in the 80's -- but well worth digging up, and although the Jon Keller "Hit Man" series takes a very different tack than the Scudder books, it's really good. Lawrence Block is just astonishing.
Have you read James Lee Burke? His Dave Robicheaux series is where I discovered that a crime novel could be literary.
I haven't! I got Neon Rain out of the library once but it was due before I could get to it. Thanks for the reminder, I'll definitely get it.