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Ehrengraf for the Defense #1
The Ehrengraph Defense
Bruce Weitz (Reader)
Three short stories 2 starring Martin H. Ehrengraf, who takes criminal cases on a contingency basis, and never loses.
Three short stories 2 starring Martin H. Ehrengraf, who takes criminal cases on a contingency basis, and never loses.
Audio Cassette
Published May 1, 1998
5 people are currently reading
74 people want to read
About the author
Lawrence Block
758 books3,010 followersLawrence Block has been writing crime, mystery, and suspense fiction for more than half a century. He has published in excess (oh, wretched excess!) of 100 books, and no end of short stories.
Born in Buffalo, N.Y., LB attended Antioch College, but left before completing his studies; school authorities advised him that they felt he’d be happier elsewhere, and he thought this was remarkably perceptive of them.
His earliest work, published pseudonymously in the late 1950s, was mostly in the field of midcentury erotica, an apprenticeship he shared with Donald E. Westlake and Robert Silverberg. The first time Lawrence Block’s name appeared in print was when his short story “You Can’t Lose” was published in the February 1958 issue of Manhunt. The first book published under his own name was Mona (1961); it was reissued several times over the years, once as Sweet Slow Death. In 2005 it became the first offering from Hard Case Crime, and bore for the first time LB’s original title, Grifter’s Game.
LB is best known for his series characters, including cop-turned-private investigator Matthew Scudder, gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, globe-trotting insomniac Evan Tanner, and introspective assassin Keller.
Because one name is never enough, LB has also published under pseudonyms including Jill Emerson, John Warren Wells, Lesley Evans, and Anne Campbell Clarke.
LB’s magazine appearances include American Heritage, Redbook, Playboy, Linn’s Stamp News, Cosmopolitan, GQ, and The New York Times. His monthly instructional column ran in Writer’s Digest for 14 years, and led to a string of books for writers, including the classics Telling Lies for Fun & Profit and The Liar’s Bible. He has also written episodic television (Tilt!) and the Wong Kar-wai film, My Blueberry Nights.
Several of LB’s books have been filmed. The latest, A Walk Among the Tombstones, stars Liam Neeson as Matthew Scudder and is scheduled for release in September, 2014.
LB is a Grand Master of Mystery Writers of America, and a past president of MWA and the Private Eye Writers of America. He has won the Edgar and Shamus awards four times each, and the Japanese Maltese Falcon award twice, as well as the Nero Wolfe and Philip Marlowe awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, and the Diamond Dagger for Life Achievement from the Crime Writers Association (UK). He’s also been honored with the Gumshoe Lifetime Achievement Award from Mystery Ink magazine and the Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement in the short story. In France, he has been proclaimed a Grand Maitre du Roman Noir and has twice been awarded the Societe 813 trophy. He has been a guest of honor at Bouchercon and at book fairs and mystery festivals in France, Germany, Australia, Italy, New Zealand, Spain and Taiwan. As if that were not enough, he was also presented with the key to the city of Muncie, Indiana. (But as soon as he left, they changed the locks.)
LB and his wife Lynne are enthusiastic New Yorkers and relentless world travelers; the two are members of the Travelers Century Club, and have visited around 160 countries.
He is a modest and humble fellow, although you would never guess as much from this biographical note.
Born in Buffalo, N.Y., LB attended Antioch College, but left before completing his studies; school authorities advised him that they felt he’d be happier elsewhere, and he thought this was remarkably perceptive of them.
His earliest work, published pseudonymously in the late 1950s, was mostly in the field of midcentury erotica, an apprenticeship he shared with Donald E. Westlake and Robert Silverberg. The first time Lawrence Block’s name appeared in print was when his short story “You Can’t Lose” was published in the February 1958 issue of Manhunt. The first book published under his own name was Mona (1961); it was reissued several times over the years, once as Sweet Slow Death. In 2005 it became the first offering from Hard Case Crime, and bore for the first time LB’s original title, Grifter’s Game.
LB is best known for his series characters, including cop-turned-private investigator Matthew Scudder, gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, globe-trotting insomniac Evan Tanner, and introspective assassin Keller.
Because one name is never enough, LB has also published under pseudonyms including Jill Emerson, John Warren Wells, Lesley Evans, and Anne Campbell Clarke.
LB’s magazine appearances include American Heritage, Redbook, Playboy, Linn’s Stamp News, Cosmopolitan, GQ, and The New York Times. His monthly instructional column ran in Writer’s Digest for 14 years, and led to a string of books for writers, including the classics Telling Lies for Fun & Profit and The Liar’s Bible. He has also written episodic television (Tilt!) and the Wong Kar-wai film, My Blueberry Nights.
Several of LB’s books have been filmed. The latest, A Walk Among the Tombstones, stars Liam Neeson as Matthew Scudder and is scheduled for release in September, 2014.
LB is a Grand Master of Mystery Writers of America, and a past president of MWA and the Private Eye Writers of America. He has won the Edgar and Shamus awards four times each, and the Japanese Maltese Falcon award twice, as well as the Nero Wolfe and Philip Marlowe awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, and the Diamond Dagger for Life Achievement from the Crime Writers Association (UK). He’s also been honored with the Gumshoe Lifetime Achievement Award from Mystery Ink magazine and the Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement in the short story. In France, he has been proclaimed a Grand Maitre du Roman Noir and has twice been awarded the Societe 813 trophy. He has been a guest of honor at Bouchercon and at book fairs and mystery festivals in France, Germany, Australia, Italy, New Zealand, Spain and Taiwan. As if that were not enough, he was also presented with the key to the city of Muncie, Indiana. (But as soon as he left, they changed the locks.)
LB and his wife Lynne are enthusiastic New Yorkers and relentless world travelers; the two are members of the Travelers Century Club, and have visited around 160 countries.
He is a modest and humble fellow, although you would never guess as much from this biographical note.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 30, 2024
No need to call any other lawyer, Martin Ehrengraf is the guy you need if you are ever in trouble, not only will you not go to court but the matter resolves quickly and painless…well at least for you. Wonderful short story with an amazing character. Block does it again! Block Magic!
November 3, 2012
There’s never been a lawyer like Martin Ehrengraf. Like Perry Mason, he never loses a case. Well, if memory serves, Perry lost one or two, so that would make Ehrengraf the guy you want. Especially if you are guilty, or all the evidence says you are. Even if you say you are.
The amazing thing about Ehrengraf is he rarely sees the inside of a courtroom. As Martin says, "I don't much care for the whole idea of leaving a man's fate in the hands of twelve people, not one of them clever enough to get out of jury duty."Additionally, Ehrengraf doesn’t pass his hours poring over dusty legal volumes, or searching the Lexis database. He doesn’t have a photographic memory which would allow him to recall obscure case law in order to help his client. What Ehrengraf is is a criminal lawyer who takes cases on a contingency basis; he collects a fee only when his client goes free. And his client always goes free, because his clients always turn out to be innocent. Ehrengraf’s fees are hefty, but when you consider a lengthy prison sentence, or even capital punishment as the only alternative, well Ehrengraf fee is rather reasonable.
And don’t even think of trying to negotiate or even squirrel out of paying, as the client in the first story does because you’ll find that the same sly devilish logical process Martin Ehrengraf brings to the table in your defense, he also applies to his bill collecting.
The author has this to say , in the forward to the collection, about the amazingly amoral little lawyer in the spiffy suits with the elegant manner;
“When I finished writing The Ehrengraf Defense in 1976, I knew I had found a character I’d like to revisit. But it was Fredric Dannay’s immediate enthusiasm for Ehrengraf that made me write one story after another about the diminutive attorney. Fred, of course, was one of a pair of cousins who wrote Ellery Queen mysteries, and it was Fred who edited Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, and he snapped up the stories as quickly as I wrote them."
“Ehrengraf’s debut grew out of a plot device; in the course of my writing the story, Martin Ehrengraf came into being. In his second appearance, (The Ehrengraf Presumption ), we see him more fully realized, tailoring his approach to the case to suit circumstances, and altering them to his purpose.”
“The Ehrengraf Presumption. Any client of Martin H. Ehrengraf is presumed by Ehrengraf to be innocent, which presumption is invariably confirmed in due course, the preconceptions of the client himself notwithstanding.” – Words to live by… – Martin Ehrengraf, – The Ehrengraf Presumption
Ehrengraf's debut came in 1978, in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. Ten stories appeared between then and 2003, and now, after almost a decade, the dapper little lawyer is back (only in eBook form, and only for Kindle) in The Ehrengraf Settlement . All eleven Ehrengraf stories, exclusively eVailable as Kindle Select titles, available singly or they have now been gathered up into this full-length eBook (click the title at the top). Martin Ehrengraf would no doubt find a way for you to buy them singly at a buck a piece, but Lawrence Block cornered Ehrengraf to make the entire collection available in one volume. In 1994, when there were only eight stories about the fellow, a small press collected them in a limited edition of Ehrengraf for the Defense. (That little volume commands $250 to $1250 on the collector market—if you can find it.) Edward D. Hoch, acknowledged master of short mystery fiction, wrote an appreciative introduction, and Lawrence Block added an afterword. Hoch's introduction is reprinted in our new enlarged eDition of the stories, and Block has updated his afterword.
Lawrence Block over the course of a career spanning from the late ‘50s through today, has created some of the most memorable characters in fiction; Bernie Rhodenbarr the deft burglar who preys on New Yorks wealthy and effortlessly relieves them of there valuables. The poor, as Bernie would be the first to tell you, alas, have nothing worth stealing.
Then there is Matthew Scudder, the melancholy, alcoholic shamus. Block’s most ‘noir’ creation. Ex cop, and ex husband Scudder is my all time favorite detective. Then there is Keller. Keller is your basic urban Lonely Guy.He makes a decent wage, lives in a nice apartment.Works the crossword puzzle. Watches a little TV. Until the phone rings and he packs a suitcase, gets on a plane, flies halfway across the country...and kills somebody.
Evan Tanner, the thief with mysterious connections to the intelligence community who hasn't slept since a freak bullet wound caused permanent insomnia.
Those are just a few of the latest Block Characters, and he can create them and people the stories like no other author in recent memory. Ehrengraf adds to the legend. Martin Ehrengraf is amoral, but strictly legal, …sort of. He is devilishly clever and knows how to, let us say, capitalize on the Ehrengraf principle. The reader will be in awe of the ‘legal’ expertise of Ehrengraf, but left wondering just how he gets away with it. What Ehrengraf does is somehow convince the police, through the presentation of overwhelming evidence, to drop the case against his client. Usually this process is near miraculous, which is why his clients retain him. “I’m reasonably well off,” says Alvin Gort in the second story when he is informed that Ehrengraf will take his case for $100,000 dollars. “I know.” says Ehrengraf. “It’s an admirable quality in clients.”
Even when the physical, circumstantial, and eye witness evidence is overwhelming, and even when his client states he did it, Ehrengraf will prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt his client is innocent, not only convincing the police, but oft times convincing his client. Or clients, as the case maybe. When Alvin Gort confesses to Ehrengraf “But I did it.” Ehrengraf says, “Nonsense. Palpable nonsense.”
The Ehrengraf stories are satirical, logic puzzles, and as the reader will see, Ehrengraf is perhaps more a manipulator of logic than he is of the law. They are deviously clever. Endlessly entertaining. No wonder that they are so popular, especially with members of the legal profession…. Make of that what you will.
Ehrengraf For The Defense
VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL
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.
The Dirty Lowdown
The amazing thing about Ehrengraf is he rarely sees the inside of a courtroom. As Martin says, "I don't much care for the whole idea of leaving a man's fate in the hands of twelve people, not one of them clever enough to get out of jury duty."Additionally, Ehrengraf doesn’t pass his hours poring over dusty legal volumes, or searching the Lexis database. He doesn’t have a photographic memory which would allow him to recall obscure case law in order to help his client. What Ehrengraf is is a criminal lawyer who takes cases on a contingency basis; he collects a fee only when his client goes free. And his client always goes free, because his clients always turn out to be innocent. Ehrengraf’s fees are hefty, but when you consider a lengthy prison sentence, or even capital punishment as the only alternative, well Ehrengraf fee is rather reasonable.
And don’t even think of trying to negotiate or even squirrel out of paying, as the client in the first story does because you’ll find that the same sly devilish logical process Martin Ehrengraf brings to the table in your defense, he also applies to his bill collecting.
The author has this to say , in the forward to the collection, about the amazingly amoral little lawyer in the spiffy suits with the elegant manner;
“When I finished writing The Ehrengraf Defense in 1976, I knew I had found a character I’d like to revisit. But it was Fredric Dannay’s immediate enthusiasm for Ehrengraf that made me write one story after another about the diminutive attorney. Fred, of course, was one of a pair of cousins who wrote Ellery Queen mysteries, and it was Fred who edited Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, and he snapped up the stories as quickly as I wrote them."
“Ehrengraf’s debut grew out of a plot device; in the course of my writing the story, Martin Ehrengraf came into being. In his second appearance, (The Ehrengraf Presumption ), we see him more fully realized, tailoring his approach to the case to suit circumstances, and altering them to his purpose.”
“The Ehrengraf Presumption. Any client of Martin H. Ehrengraf is presumed by Ehrengraf to be innocent, which presumption is invariably confirmed in due course, the preconceptions of the client himself notwithstanding.” – Words to live by… – Martin Ehrengraf, – The Ehrengraf Presumption
Ehrengraf's debut came in 1978, in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. Ten stories appeared between then and 2003, and now, after almost a decade, the dapper little lawyer is back (only in eBook form, and only for Kindle) in The Ehrengraf Settlement . All eleven Ehrengraf stories, exclusively eVailable as Kindle Select titles, available singly or they have now been gathered up into this full-length eBook (click the title at the top). Martin Ehrengraf would no doubt find a way for you to buy them singly at a buck a piece, but Lawrence Block cornered Ehrengraf to make the entire collection available in one volume. In 1994, when there were only eight stories about the fellow, a small press collected them in a limited edition of Ehrengraf for the Defense. (That little volume commands $250 to $1250 on the collector market—if you can find it.) Edward D. Hoch, acknowledged master of short mystery fiction, wrote an appreciative introduction, and Lawrence Block added an afterword. Hoch's introduction is reprinted in our new enlarged eDition of the stories, and Block has updated his afterword.
Lawrence Block over the course of a career spanning from the late ‘50s through today, has created some of the most memorable characters in fiction; Bernie Rhodenbarr the deft burglar who preys on New Yorks wealthy and effortlessly relieves them of there valuables. The poor, as Bernie would be the first to tell you, alas, have nothing worth stealing.
Then there is Matthew Scudder, the melancholy, alcoholic shamus. Block’s most ‘noir’ creation. Ex cop, and ex husband Scudder is my all time favorite detective. Then there is Keller. Keller is your basic urban Lonely Guy.He makes a decent wage, lives in a nice apartment.Works the crossword puzzle. Watches a little TV. Until the phone rings and he packs a suitcase, gets on a plane, flies halfway across the country...and kills somebody.
Evan Tanner, the thief with mysterious connections to the intelligence community who hasn't slept since a freak bullet wound caused permanent insomnia.
Those are just a few of the latest Block Characters, and he can create them and people the stories like no other author in recent memory. Ehrengraf adds to the legend. Martin Ehrengraf is amoral, but strictly legal, …sort of. He is devilishly clever and knows how to, let us say, capitalize on the Ehrengraf principle. The reader will be in awe of the ‘legal’ expertise of Ehrengraf, but left wondering just how he gets away with it. What Ehrengraf does is somehow convince the police, through the presentation of overwhelming evidence, to drop the case against his client. Usually this process is near miraculous, which is why his clients retain him. “I’m reasonably well off,” says Alvin Gort in the second story when he is informed that Ehrengraf will take his case for $100,000 dollars. “I know.” says Ehrengraf. “It’s an admirable quality in clients.”
Even when the physical, circumstantial, and eye witness evidence is overwhelming, and even when his client states he did it, Ehrengraf will prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt his client is innocent, not only convincing the police, but oft times convincing his client. Or clients, as the case maybe. When Alvin Gort confesses to Ehrengraf “But I did it.” Ehrengraf says, “Nonsense. Palpable nonsense.”
The Ehrengraf stories are satirical, logic puzzles, and as the reader will see, Ehrengraf is perhaps more a manipulator of logic than he is of the law. They are deviously clever. Endlessly entertaining. No wonder that they are so popular, especially with members of the legal profession…. Make of that what you will.
Ehrengraf For The Defense
VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL
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.
The Dirty Lowdown
October 25, 2012
Block has done it again. Now I have come across another of his characters I must learn all about. I must read every word written about the little lawyer named Ehrengraf.
September 25, 2017
A very dark short story from Lawrence Block.
August 12, 2023
Spoilers ahead.
Can I justify giving a short story 5 stars? I think I will just because of originality, when almost every other idea under the sun has been written. The writing read like Sherlock Holmes shorts and I'm a bit unsure of the time period. They feel like Edwardian period and I thought maybe 1920's due to the car described but they're more modern based on everything else.
Martin Ehrengraf is a defense attorney. He doesn't take contingency fees, retainers or charge by the hour. He gives you a one all inclusive price. If your case is dismissed or you are set free, you pay it. No quibbles, no negotiation, no matter what happens, even if he appears to do nothing or doesn't even appear in court. If you are found guilty and go to prison, you owe nothing, not even expenses. It's unusual and seems to work.
The first client is a young man who appears to have murdered his fiancé by strangling her with a necktie. The necktie is a club tie obtained by the young man when he was in college in England and no one else in the area has this tie. The case appears to be cut and dried.
The mom hires Ehrengraf and she agrees to his terms. Fast forward a few weeks later the young man is released. His mom wants to argue Ehrengraf's exorbitant fee as he appears to have done nothing.
Ehrengraf then discusses the situation with the mom. Her son was released because 4 other women have been strangled with the same method and same type of necktie while he was in prison so it seems likely it was the work of a serial killer. He tells her that theoretically someone could have flown over to England, found out where to buy those ties and bring them back to the US and strangled those girls. He also mentions that he theoretically has one more tie that could be put to good use. Faced with this apparent threat, she pays.
Ehrengraf claims all his clients are innocent and dismisses any idea that they could be guilty of any crime they are accused of, simply because they are his clients. And all his cases are successful. I'm on the 4th short right now and all of them follow the same format: a client comes to him. By hook or by crook, he manipulates the situation where the client appears to be innocent and his case is dismissed. Most of the time the client tries to wiggle out of payment but Ehrengraf gently threatens him and reminds him what he did and what could happen and the client pays.
The writing is easy to read and follow and fast paced. The first short is brilliant in thinking outside the box but it does get a little repetitive though.
Can I justify giving a short story 5 stars? I think I will just because of originality, when almost every other idea under the sun has been written. The writing read like Sherlock Holmes shorts and I'm a bit unsure of the time period. They feel like Edwardian period and I thought maybe 1920's due to the car described but they're more modern based on everything else.
Martin Ehrengraf is a defense attorney. He doesn't take contingency fees, retainers or charge by the hour. He gives you a one all inclusive price. If your case is dismissed or you are set free, you pay it. No quibbles, no negotiation, no matter what happens, even if he appears to do nothing or doesn't even appear in court. If you are found guilty and go to prison, you owe nothing, not even expenses. It's unusual and seems to work.
The first client is a young man who appears to have murdered his fiancé by strangling her with a necktie. The necktie is a club tie obtained by the young man when he was in college in England and no one else in the area has this tie. The case appears to be cut and dried.
The mom hires Ehrengraf and she agrees to his terms. Fast forward a few weeks later the young man is released. His mom wants to argue Ehrengraf's exorbitant fee as he appears to have done nothing.
Ehrengraf then discusses the situation with the mom. Her son was released because 4 other women have been strangled with the same method and same type of necktie while he was in prison so it seems likely it was the work of a serial killer. He tells her that theoretically someone could have flown over to England, found out where to buy those ties and bring them back to the US and strangled those girls. He also mentions that he theoretically has one more tie that could be put to good use. Faced with this apparent threat, she pays.
Ehrengraf claims all his clients are innocent and dismisses any idea that they could be guilty of any crime they are accused of, simply because they are his clients. And all his cases are successful. I'm on the 4th short right now and all of them follow the same format: a client comes to him. By hook or by crook, he manipulates the situation where the client appears to be innocent and his case is dismissed. Most of the time the client tries to wiggle out of payment but Ehrengraf gently threatens him and reminds him what he did and what could happen and the client pays.
The writing is easy to read and follow and fast paced. The first short is brilliant in thinking outside the box but it does get a little repetitive though.
March 8, 2020
Love em all I have read all Ehrengraf. Well on the last one now. I am going to miss his adventures.
.these are all fun just pick one and you'll be hooked
.these are all fun just pick one and you'll be hooked
June 8, 2024
Absolutely fantastic. Mindblowing story
January 19, 2013
L.B. comes through for the Defense, January 19, 2013
By Ellen Rappaport (Florida)
This review is from: The Ehrengraf Defense (Ehrengraf for the Defense) (Kindle Edition)
Mrs. Culhane needs an attorney to defend her son against a charge of murder. But...not just any attorney. Mrs. Culhane needs Ehrengraf for the defense.
It seems her son, Clark, belonged to the Caedmon Society which is well known for it's neckties. The Caedmon Society of Oxford University is the school which Clark attended in England. That same necktie was found to be used to strangle Althea Patton, Clark's former fiance. Now Ehrengraf has to prove Clark was framed for this murder.
But...at what price? Ehrengraf works on a contingency and he never loses. His price for Mrs. Culhane is $75,000. Ehrengraf makes it clear to Mrs. Culhane that there are no circumstances that can alter his receiving this amount. She agrees and then in the briefest of time Clark is released. What circumstances could have caused his early release?
Now Mrs. Culhane finds that she no longer feels obligated to Ehrengraf for his fee. But how does Ehrengraf feel and how does he demonstrate his feelings regarding this fee?
I find it quite astonishing how L.B. can bring to a peak an ending that others would have needed a volume to arrive at. Excellent work in short order.
Great short read.
By Ellen Rappaport (Florida)
This review is from: The Ehrengraf Defense (Ehrengraf for the Defense) (Kindle Edition)
Mrs. Culhane needs an attorney to defend her son against a charge of murder. But...not just any attorney. Mrs. Culhane needs Ehrengraf for the defense.
It seems her son, Clark, belonged to the Caedmon Society which is well known for it's neckties. The Caedmon Society of Oxford University is the school which Clark attended in England. That same necktie was found to be used to strangle Althea Patton, Clark's former fiance. Now Ehrengraf has to prove Clark was framed for this murder.
But...at what price? Ehrengraf works on a contingency and he never loses. His price for Mrs. Culhane is $75,000. Ehrengraf makes it clear to Mrs. Culhane that there are no circumstances that can alter his receiving this amount. She agrees and then in the briefest of time Clark is released. What circumstances could have caused his early release?
Now Mrs. Culhane finds that she no longer feels obligated to Ehrengraf for his fee. But how does Ehrengraf feel and how does he demonstrate his feelings regarding this fee?
I find it quite astonishing how L.B. can bring to a peak an ending that others would have needed a volume to arrive at. Excellent work in short order.
Great short read.
March 25, 2014
Lawrence Block is fast becoming one of my favorite authors and he makes me wish I had more time to read everything he ever wrote. Martin Ehrengraf is a great character, cool, suave, fashionable and he never loses a case. No matter what I write it isn't going to do credit so let's just say I really really like this.
Recommended
Recommended
December 17, 2015
This set of stories was actually quite scary. Horror lovers will enjoy it, though.
June 30, 2012
This is a fun story about an intriguing lawyer, one who charges high prices and gets results. I was surprised by the ending, and in spite of myself managed to laugh.
December 12, 2012
Block has created an anti-hero who is as fascinating as he is evil. You admire his cleverness even as you abhor his goals.
April 20, 2014
Very funny, quick read, great for a break between other books when you want something fresh.
July 21, 2016
I was given an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. This book cover is on my Pinterest board and my blog, Michelle Dragalin’s Journey.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews