What do you think?
Rate this book
After the First Death
Alex Penn wakes up in a squalid Times Square hotel room. This is what he sees when he finally opens his eyes:
“The floor was a sea of blood. A body floated upon this ocean. A girl—black hair, staring blue eyes, bloodless lips. Naked. Dead. Her throat slashed deeply.
“It had to be a dream. It had to, had to be a dream. It was not a dream. It was not a dream at all.
“I’ve done it again, I thought. Sweet Jesus, I’ve done it again.”
Years before, Alex Penn woke up in similar circumstances, called the police, went to prison. A technicality freed him—and now there’s been another drunken blackout, another dead streetwalker.
But something nags at his memory, and he begins to suspect some other hand wielded the knife. And if he didn’t murder this woman, maybe he didn’t kill the other one, either.
So he runs, adrift in an urban jungle, hoping to steer clear of the police long enough to solve the crime.
AFTER THE FIRST DEATH is sure to appeal to fans of David Goodis and Cornell Woolrich. And, with its gritty New York setting and its undercurrent of alcoholism, it can be considered a precursor to Lawrence Block’s iconic Matthew Scudder series.
THE CLASSIC CRIME LIBRARY brings together Lawrence Block's early crime novels, reformatted and with new uniform cover art. This first volume in the series contains as a bonus the first chapter of DEADLY HONEYMOON
“The floor was a sea of blood. A body floated upon this ocean. A girl—black hair, staring blue eyes, bloodless lips. Naked. Dead. Her throat slashed deeply.
“It had to be a dream. It had to, had to be a dream. It was not a dream. It was not a dream at all.
“I’ve done it again, I thought. Sweet Jesus, I’ve done it again.”
Years before, Alex Penn woke up in similar circumstances, called the police, went to prison. A technicality freed him—and now there’s been another drunken blackout, another dead streetwalker.
But something nags at his memory, and he begins to suspect some other hand wielded the knife. And if he didn’t murder this woman, maybe he didn’t kill the other one, either.
So he runs, adrift in an urban jungle, hoping to steer clear of the police long enough to solve the crime.
AFTER THE FIRST DEATH is sure to appeal to fans of David Goodis and Cornell Woolrich. And, with its gritty New York setting and its undercurrent of alcoholism, it can be considered a precursor to Lawrence Block’s iconic Matthew Scudder series.
THE CLASSIC CRIME LIBRARY brings together Lawrence Block's early crime novels, reformatted and with new uniform cover art. This first volume in the series contains as a bonus the first chapter of DEADLY HONEYMOON
226 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1969
141 people are currently reading
271 people want to read
About the author
Lawrence Block
767 books2,976 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews
August 21, 2014
Alex Penn
is having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. He wakes up painfully hungover, coming out of a blackout drunk. When he finally gets out of bed, he discovers his clothes are all messed up, covered in blood it would seem and, just when he thinks things might have been looking up (
not
having a nosebleed counts as a win in these circumstances), he turns his head. In what I assume is an homage to the words of Julius Caesar:
"I looked, I saw, I vomited."
Sorry Alexander, Penn's got you trumped now, because you, my ginger little friend, did not wake up with a bloodied, dead hooker.* (See clarification re. terminology below). Oh, and did I mention Alex Penn was fresh out of prison on a Supreme Court ruling technicality? Also, he was in prison in the first place for (you guessed it!) killing a hooker.
More bad news for Mr. Penn, the fact that you have no memory of the crime in either case courtesy of voluntary intoxication doesn't get you off in the mens rea department (especially since we're in 1940s New York, and there's not much case law for you to run with). So what’s a fella’ to do?
This wasn't Scudder-level Block for me. I tend not to be big on reading about junkies (though Alex is not one himself) - too much talk of needle marks and being "on the nod" makes my stomach lurch. But, as always, Lawrence Block is a master of the grimy noir ambiance that gets richer in his later work.
_______________________________________
* Terminology clarification and life wisdom courtesy of one Sterling Archer:
Sorry Alexander, Penn's got you trumped now, because you, my ginger little friend, did not wake up with a bloodied, dead hooker.* (See clarification re. terminology below). Oh, and did I mention Alex Penn was fresh out of prison on a Supreme Court ruling technicality? Also, he was in prison in the first place for (you guessed it!) killing a hooker.
More bad news for Mr. Penn, the fact that you have no memory of the crime in either case courtesy of voluntary intoxication doesn't get you off in the mens rea department (especially since we're in 1940s New York, and there's not much case law for you to run with). So what’s a fella’ to do?
This wasn't Scudder-level Block for me. I tend not to be big on reading about junkies (though Alex is not one himself) - too much talk of needle marks and being "on the nod" makes my stomach lurch. But, as always, Lawrence Block is a master of the grimy noir ambiance that gets richer in his later work.
_______________________________________
* Terminology clarification and life wisdom courtesy of one Sterling Archer:
February 8, 2015
It's always interesting when you wake up after a night of heavy drinking and don't recognize the person next to you. When the person next to you is a murdered hooker, things go from "interesting" to "Fuckfuckfuckfuck!" real fast. Especially when it's your second dead hooker. That's a bad day right there.
This is only my second Lawrence Block book, and while I liked it, it didn't work for me quite as well as The Sins of the Fathers. This book feels a bit dated, with the $0.44 packs of cigarettes, smoking in theaters, payphones (Crazy, I know!) and $5.75 hotel rooms. Not to mention things like travelling under an assumed name... on an airline. That is one of those things that people my age have only heard about, and the younger generation will scoff at. Still, it's a good story, and if you can overlook the dated details, it's an interesting mystery.
The end was a bit abrupt though, and more, uhh, uplifting than I would have expected. But this was a decent story, and I definitely plan on reading more of Block's work.
This is only my second Lawrence Block book, and while I liked it, it didn't work for me quite as well as The Sins of the Fathers. This book feels a bit dated, with the $0.44 packs of cigarettes, smoking in theaters, payphones (Crazy, I know!) and $5.75 hotel rooms. Not to mention things like travelling under an assumed name... on an airline. That is one of those things that people my age have only heard about, and the younger generation will scoff at. Still, it's a good story, and if you can overlook the dated details, it's an interesting mystery.
The end was a bit abrupt though, and more, uhh, uplifting than I would have expected. But this was a decent story, and I definitely plan on reading more of Block's work.
April 30, 2015
Alex Penn has had better starts to the day. After waking up following a night of heavy drinking he can, at first, barely face the day. Once he’s persuaded his eyes to open it gets worse – his clothes are covered in blood and what’s that on the floor? It’s a naked and very dead woman. To rub salt in the wound it’s the second time he’s experienced the self same scenario. It surely can’t be just bad luck…
This book was written in 1969 and it’s interesting to see how this simplifies a tale like this. Murderers don’t live in fear of DNA evidence pointing a definitive finger in their direction; mobile phone records can’t be used to track their movements, whereabouts or actions. On the other hand, simple things we take for granted today were impossible so, for example, there were no cash dispensing machines to allow easy access to money on a Sunday, which created a problem for Alex.
It’s is a pretty simple plot, albeit with a few twists along the way. The story telling is fluid – well it is from the hand of Lawrence Block – and the characters are reasonably well drawn. On the downside, the simplicity of the tale does make it a little ‘samey’ throughout and I started to find it a little tedious towards the end.
There is an excellent ‘afterward’ by LB in which he explains that a good deal of the story (though not the killings!) was inspired by actual events in his life. He’d experienced the late night heavy drinking and subsequent blackouts and had frequently inhabited the seedy areas surrounding Times Square at that time.
A small complaint: in the Kindle version I read there were quite a few grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. I’d have hoped these could have been ironed out before it went on sale.
This book was written in 1969 and it’s interesting to see how this simplifies a tale like this. Murderers don’t live in fear of DNA evidence pointing a definitive finger in their direction; mobile phone records can’t be used to track their movements, whereabouts or actions. On the other hand, simple things we take for granted today were impossible so, for example, there were no cash dispensing machines to allow easy access to money on a Sunday, which created a problem for Alex.
It’s is a pretty simple plot, albeit with a few twists along the way. The story telling is fluid – well it is from the hand of Lawrence Block – and the characters are reasonably well drawn. On the downside, the simplicity of the tale does make it a little ‘samey’ throughout and I started to find it a little tedious towards the end.
There is an excellent ‘afterward’ by LB in which he explains that a good deal of the story (though not the killings!) was inspired by actual events in his life. He’d experienced the late night heavy drinking and subsequent blackouts and had frequently inhabited the seedy areas surrounding Times Square at that time.
A small complaint: in the Kindle version I read there were quite a few grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. I’d have hoped these could have been ironed out before it went on sale.
January 24, 2017
I've been going back and reading some of Block's backlist stuff that has been re-released, and this one is the best yet. As anther reviewer said, it's "perfect noir." It was published in 1969, when Block was 31 years old, not yet famous, but writing feverishly. You can feel the enthusiasm coming off the page. It's like Block knew he was going to make it big if he just kept on writing. And of course, he eventually did.
The plot takes off running and never slows down: A man wakes up in a hotel room after an alcoholic blackout, and there is a dead prostitute on the floor who has been killed with a knife. He doesn't remember a thing. The twist is, he has previously served prison time for a similar crime years before--which he also doesn't remember. As his memory slowly comes back, he realizes that he is innocent of both crimes and has been framed. But by whom? He is a former college history professor, an ordinary man with no enemies--or so he thinks.
The book also invokes wonderful nostalgia for 60's New York, when a subway token was 20 cents, and so was a pack of cigarettes.
If you're a noir fan and you know what Block is capable of, no more need be said. Read and enjoy!
The plot takes off running and never slows down: A man wakes up in a hotel room after an alcoholic blackout, and there is a dead prostitute on the floor who has been killed with a knife. He doesn't remember a thing. The twist is, he has previously served prison time for a similar crime years before--which he also doesn't remember. As his memory slowly comes back, he realizes that he is innocent of both crimes and has been framed. But by whom? He is a former college history professor, an ordinary man with no enemies--or so he thinks.
The book also invokes wonderful nostalgia for 60's New York, when a subway token was 20 cents, and so was a pack of cigarettes.
If you're a noir fan and you know what Block is capable of, no more need be said. Read and enjoy!
May 19, 2017
The one thing I have to keep remembering is that I'm a bit jaded when I read these books from the 1950s and 1960s. This one is from 1969 and while I always enjoy Lawrence Block's work, this seemed a bit flat to me. But that is what I should remember: this was written in the 1960s and for its time, this is pretty darn good.
Its a tale of a man, recently released from a murder sentence on a technicality, who finds himself in the exact same setting as the first murder. And right away, he believe he killed again. That's the very, very good part of Lawrence Block. Its gritty and its realistic.
He gets himself away from the crime scene but he knows he will soon be suspected of the crime and that its just a matter of time before the cops come after him. So, he does what he has to to elude police. Everything great so far. Then he begins to remember some things and he begins to believe that not only did he not kill this time, he didn't the other. And he draws up a short list of friends and allies that he believes did it. This is where it spins a little awry for me. Its still a great story and there is suspense but the grittiness seems to lighten and I was hoping for an alternate ending that would be darker.
So its probably me. Because I can't fault anything other than the conclusion comes a little too quickly and a little too neatly for me. But then again, Block was probably just getting started and for its time, this was dark, heavy stuff. Today, not so much.
Its a tale of a man, recently released from a murder sentence on a technicality, who finds himself in the exact same setting as the first murder. And right away, he believe he killed again. That's the very, very good part of Lawrence Block. Its gritty and its realistic.
He gets himself away from the crime scene but he knows he will soon be suspected of the crime and that its just a matter of time before the cops come after him. So, he does what he has to to elude police. Everything great so far. Then he begins to remember some things and he begins to believe that not only did he not kill this time, he didn't the other. And he draws up a short list of friends and allies that he believes did it. This is where it spins a little awry for me. Its still a great story and there is suspense but the grittiness seems to lighten and I was hoping for an alternate ending that would be darker.
So its probably me. Because I can't fault anything other than the conclusion comes a little too quickly and a little too neatly for me. But then again, Block was probably just getting started and for its time, this was dark, heavy stuff. Today, not so much.
December 28, 2019
Block's back catalog's sheer size can be intimidating. I picked up After the First Death because as Block himself suggests in the afterword it is thematically the closest to his Scudder novels. Alex Penn wakes up after an alcoholic blackout with a dead prostitute beside him. He is the obvious suspect because he had just got out of jail on a technicality on a similar charge. Except he has fragments of memory telling him he is innocent. He goes on a run - dodging bullets, scamming idiots, befriending prostitutes with hearts of gold till the answers reveal themselves.
None of it is ground breaking but everything from the final resolution to the prose is done well. If Penn was arrested and had he employed a PI to find the truth, this could easily pass as an early Scudder book. Like all of Block's work, it has a grittiness that will instantly appeal to noir/ hard boiled fans. The helpful, resourceful whore was a blow to the realism of the rest of the plot. But as Block will later show in the Scudder books, he is good at squeezing out some sympathy from that particular archetype. So it did not bother me much. Seeing how frequently he uses the character, I wondered if she was based on someone Block knew and he confirms as much in the afterword.
Seeing how obscure this book is, chances are most potential readers are not new to either the genre or the author. (In case you are, start with Scudder chronologically.) So most will have a pretty good idea what to expect in terms of style and tone and I do not think they will be disappointed. Atmospheric and fast paced even if just lacking the final polish of Block's more famous works, After the First Death is a short, solid mystery well worth checking out for genre fans. Rating - In absence of half stars I will round off 3.5 to 4/5.
None of it is ground breaking but everything from the final resolution to the prose is done well. If Penn was arrested and had he employed a PI to find the truth, this could easily pass as an early Scudder book. Like all of Block's work, it has a grittiness that will instantly appeal to noir/ hard boiled fans. The helpful, resourceful whore was a blow to the realism of the rest of the plot. But as Block will later show in the Scudder books, he is good at squeezing out some sympathy from that particular archetype. So it did not bother me much. Seeing how frequently he uses the character, I wondered if she was based on someone Block knew and he confirms as much in the afterword.
Seeing how obscure this book is, chances are most potential readers are not new to either the genre or the author. (In case you are, start with Scudder chronologically.) So most will have a pretty good idea what to expect in terms of style and tone and I do not think they will be disappointed. Atmospheric and fast paced even if just lacking the final polish of Block's more famous works, After the First Death is a short, solid mystery well worth checking out for genre fans. Rating - In absence of half stars I will round off 3.5 to 4/5.
April 18, 2017
Another reissue of a Block classic that was originally published in 1969. A man wakes in a hotel room only to discover he is covered in blood and there is a dead girl he has apparently murdered while in an alcoholic haze. He had done this before, and had, in fact, just been released from prison for the murder of another prostitute. He was sure of his innocence the first time; now he’s not sure of what he might have done. Could he have done it again?
A lot of Block’s later themes are beginning to show in this book which has the elements of sixties romanticism: the hooker with the heart of gold; redemption, and the Hollywood ending with a slight twist. But it’s a good story even though lacking some of the subtleties of Black’s later work. Very pleasant airplane read.
A lot of Block’s later themes are beginning to show in this book which has the elements of sixties romanticism: the hooker with the heart of gold; redemption, and the Hollywood ending with a slight twist. But it’s a good story even though lacking some of the subtleties of Black’s later work. Very pleasant airplane read.
November 6, 2022
A friend of mine was looking at some of the books I had and said to me "Most of your books have covers showing half naked chicks on a bed with some boozer in the background." I insisted this wasn't true. "Most of my books have covers showing half naked chicks without boozers in the background." But yeah, this is one with a boozer on the cover.
Whatever. These are the type of covers that have always lured me in. Even when I was a young impressionable schoolkid spinning the paperback turnstiles in my neighborhood Eckerd Drugstore. Nothing's changed since. Anyway, this one's about a guy who wakes up from a drunken blackout in a cheap hotel room (not that again!) next to a corpse. He remembers nothing. Did he kill her? If so it's the 2nd time in his life he's killed someone during a blackout. He's already served time for that killing, but has been released after 4 years due to a legal technicality. He figures on turning himself in and going back to prison. He's wracked by guilt. But, in spite not remembering anything, he's certain he didn't murder the girl this time. For one thing, his wallet is missing along with his watch. Someone else had to have killed the girl, framing him.
There are moments that this early (1969) novel feels almost like a Matthew Skudder novel as our protagonist, Alex Penn, makes his way through the New York streets looking for a killer. But Alex is a former college professor instead of an ex-cop. How tough are college professors? Well, this one is pretty tough when he has to be. And he knows his way around the underworld and dive bars. Lawrence Block is one of my favorite writers. This one isn't quite as smooth as his later novels are. There are long passages about hookers and hustlers and sailors and pimps and Times Square at the time. Still it's a fast and engrossing take on the blackout/amnesia plot that turns up so often in noir. I've been slowly reading another book with a similar set up written by Norman Mailer about how tough guys don't dance. Holy shit! This one is way better than the tortured prose that Mailer dumped into that book. Read this one instead.
Whatever. These are the type of covers that have always lured me in. Even when I was a young impressionable schoolkid spinning the paperback turnstiles in my neighborhood Eckerd Drugstore. Nothing's changed since. Anyway, this one's about a guy who wakes up from a drunken blackout in a cheap hotel room (not that again!) next to a corpse. He remembers nothing. Did he kill her? If so it's the 2nd time in his life he's killed someone during a blackout. He's already served time for that killing, but has been released after 4 years due to a legal technicality. He figures on turning himself in and going back to prison. He's wracked by guilt. But, in spite not remembering anything, he's certain he didn't murder the girl this time. For one thing, his wallet is missing along with his watch. Someone else had to have killed the girl, framing him.
There are moments that this early (1969) novel feels almost like a Matthew Skudder novel as our protagonist, Alex Penn, makes his way through the New York streets looking for a killer. But Alex is a former college professor instead of an ex-cop. How tough are college professors? Well, this one is pretty tough when he has to be. And he knows his way around the underworld and dive bars. Lawrence Block is one of my favorite writers. This one isn't quite as smooth as his later novels are. There are long passages about hookers and hustlers and sailors and pimps and Times Square at the time. Still it's a fast and engrossing take on the blackout/amnesia plot that turns up so often in noir. I've been slowly reading another book with a similar set up written by Norman Mailer about how tough guys don't dance. Holy shit! This one is way better than the tortured prose that Mailer dumped into that book. Read this one instead.
June 10, 2019
COUNTDOWN: Mid-20th Century North American Crime
BOOK 216 (of 250)
HOOK - 1 star: >>>"I came up out of it very slowly. At first there was only the simple awareness of existence. I was lying on my right side, my right arm bent oddly so that my head rested upon my wrist...<<< is the opener. In fact, it's 5 pages of a guy waking up. One rule of writing is that you never open with someone waking up in bed, especially for 5 pages, so that's minus one star. Okay, finally, on page 6, this guy finds a dead woman in his cheap hotel room. It's 1969 and this has been used over and over. Minus another star for a 1 star hook.
PACE - 2: Slo-mo opener (1 star), barely okay first half (2 stars), good second half (3 stars) for a 2 star pace.
PLOT - 3: This turns into a good who-done-it, actually. And there are some good twist at the end.
CAST - 2: Alex Penn is the alledged murderer. He's rather rotten but doesn't understand why people think so. He robs 3 sailors early in the book because he's broke, and he still doesn't see he's a bad person. Jackie, a stereotypical hooker with a heart of gold is just like every other hooker with a heart of gold. There are a few other cast members, but I don't recall their names. (And I just finished the book 10 minutes ago.)
ATMOSPHERE - 4: The single saving grace: a very dirty NY with filthy one-hour motel rentals, hookers, drugs, murder. Made me want to wash my hands after closing the final page. Actually, a long, hot shower.
SUMMARY - 2.4 rating. By 1969 this noirish book had been done and done. I believe the author wrote it with the second half in mind (again, a good who-done-it), but it takes much too long to get there. Given all the novels that have started with a man waking to find a dead body in his motel room, this is on the weak side mainly because we've read this story so many times. This is a classic story itself but a fast opener taking us right to the second half would have made for a better book.
BOOK 216 (of 250)
HOOK - 1 star: >>>"I came up out of it very slowly. At first there was only the simple awareness of existence. I was lying on my right side, my right arm bent oddly so that my head rested upon my wrist...<<< is the opener. In fact, it's 5 pages of a guy waking up. One rule of writing is that you never open with someone waking up in bed, especially for 5 pages, so that's minus one star. Okay, finally, on page 6, this guy finds a dead woman in his cheap hotel room. It's 1969 and this has been used over and over. Minus another star for a 1 star hook.
PACE - 2: Slo-mo opener (1 star), barely okay first half (2 stars), good second half (3 stars) for a 2 star pace.
PLOT - 3: This turns into a good who-done-it, actually. And there are some good twist at the end.
CAST - 2: Alex Penn is the alledged murderer. He's rather rotten but doesn't understand why people think so. He robs 3 sailors early in the book because he's broke, and he still doesn't see he's a bad person. Jackie, a stereotypical hooker with a heart of gold is just like every other hooker with a heart of gold. There are a few other cast members, but I don't recall their names. (And I just finished the book 10 minutes ago.)
ATMOSPHERE - 4: The single saving grace: a very dirty NY with filthy one-hour motel rentals, hookers, drugs, murder. Made me want to wash my hands after closing the final page. Actually, a long, hot shower.
SUMMARY - 2.4 rating. By 1969 this noirish book had been done and done. I believe the author wrote it with the second half in mind (again, a good who-done-it), but it takes much too long to get there. Given all the novels that have started with a man waking to find a dead body in his motel room, this is on the weak side mainly because we've read this story so many times. This is a classic story itself but a fast opener taking us right to the second half would have made for a better book.
September 11, 2018
When I finished this book I wasn't that sure of how I felt about it. it puts you in the shoes of Alex who went to jail for killing a prostitute during a drunken blackout, gets released 4 years later on a technicality and apparently does it again with another prostitute. Alex goes from thinking he's guilty of both murders to thinking he was actually framed for both murders. The ending is very interesting in the fact that it doesn't support either explanation. After the surprise of the ending has settled in I think that I like very much the ambiguity and slightly amoral resolution. The novel has some plot holes and coincidences but they fade away when you reach the end.
August 19, 2021
Funny, serious, sad... this is my 1st Lawrence Block novel (I see he's written over fifty books!!!) and I'm officially a big fan! With this book, you just dive right in, and you stay submerged until the end. Hilarious throughout, even though the subject is very serious, laced with touching tenderness. It appears I have more than fourty-nine more Block books to get tangled in😃
March 1, 2017
Great opening chapter but, overall, too many improbabilities make this less than stellar Block, but even at his weakest Block is still better than most.
July 21, 2017
"After The First Death" is a 1969 novel by Lawrence Block. The basis of the plot is nothing new to crime fiction. This is yet another man-on- the-run story about an ordinary, law-abiding guy, who was originally a well-respected professor, who wakes up after an all-night bender in a sleazy hotel room, covered with blood with a dead prostitute on the floor. You say that could happen to anyone. Well, the twist here is that it is not the first time that this has happened to Alex Penn. The first time he spent some years in prison paying for the crime, half- convinced he really did it. No one, almost no one, believes in his innocence the second time around. Would you believe him after he had already been convicted and sentenced for murdering one prostitute?
The bulk of the book is about how this ordinary guy who isn't really a criminal-type escapes the encircling arm of the law and sets about to decipher the tiny bits of clues that could lead him to the real murderer. On the way, it is almost comic the way he sets out in desperation to figure it out, interviewing his ex-wife, her sister, and his best friend to determine who framed him. It gets really comic later when he decides to return to Times Square and interview the street girls who knew Robin, the corpse in the latest hotel room. Of course, with his photograph plastered all over the front pages, he must don a disguise: an army major on weekend leave in full dress uniform walking around late sixties Times Square trying to interview prostitutes without attracting too much attention.
It is a well-written and compelling read that aptly captures Alex's growing desperation and self-doubt as he poses the ridiculous question of who possibly could have framed not once, but twice, in exactly the same manner. It just misses being a great book, however. There is something missing from the book in terms of richness and depth, kind of like a sundae without the whipped cream and cherry on top. Nevertheless, it is a worthwhile read, particularly for those with an interest in crime fiction.
The bulk of the book is about how this ordinary guy who isn't really a criminal-type escapes the encircling arm of the law and sets about to decipher the tiny bits of clues that could lead him to the real murderer. On the way, it is almost comic the way he sets out in desperation to figure it out, interviewing his ex-wife, her sister, and his best friend to determine who framed him. It gets really comic later when he decides to return to Times Square and interview the street girls who knew Robin, the corpse in the latest hotel room. Of course, with his photograph plastered all over the front pages, he must don a disguise: an army major on weekend leave in full dress uniform walking around late sixties Times Square trying to interview prostitutes without attracting too much attention.
It is a well-written and compelling read that aptly captures Alex's growing desperation and self-doubt as he poses the ridiculous question of who possibly could have framed not once, but twice, in exactly the same manner. It just misses being a great book, however. There is something missing from the book in terms of richness and depth, kind of like a sundae without the whipped cream and cherry on top. Nevertheless, it is a worthwhile read, particularly for those with an interest in crime fiction.
November 26, 2017
I'm a recent fan of Block's work. This is an example that I need to add *some* of Block's work. I wasn't nutty about this moody, dark tale. The ending didn't help - Especially in that I never doubted what it would be.
The writing is certainly better than most all done today. But the plot is lacking. There are good elements in it, but seems Block was on a tear punching out books and this may have been a victim of speed. The idea that a man is wanted for murder and then runs pretty freely around as if the police have closed shop for vacation, is not good writing. And there is a part involving a Hide-A-Key that seems to be a trap door Block used to get out of a plotting problem.
The characters; drunks, prostitutes, etc.; are standard for this type of book.
Bottom line: I don't recommend this book. 5 out of ten points.
The writing is certainly better than most all done today. But the plot is lacking. There are good elements in it, but seems Block was on a tear punching out books and this may have been a victim of speed. The idea that a man is wanted for murder and then runs pretty freely around as if the police have closed shop for vacation, is not good writing. And there is a part involving a Hide-A-Key that seems to be a trap door Block used to get out of a plotting problem.
The characters; drunks, prostitutes, etc.; are standard for this type of book.
Bottom line: I don't recommend this book. 5 out of ten points.
May 14, 2012
After the First Death never built up much excitement. The most clever element of the book was its turning certain elements of fiction on their head - specifically that the protagonist will be totally vindicated by the story's end. That made the book's ending a bit of a surprise, but unfortunately made the resolution rely too much on coincidence. Alex's dark side is described - is he just an alcoholic or is there something more? It's never explained. This is an early novel by Block, a good, fun, clever writer, but it's not much to get too excited about. It was a quick weekend read.
The Kindle version is littered with typos. Lawrence, can the author exert any pressure to having these fixed?
The Kindle version is littered with typos. Lawrence, can the author exert any pressure to having these fixed?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 25, 2013
This felt like lesser Block. It was a first person narrative about a despicable person who might have killed another prostitute. The guy drinks a lot and has black outs. He attempts to clear his name because he is convinced someone else did it. The mystery reveal is decent and the ending is very dire and nihilistic, but I just hated the character. I couldn't root for him and I had a hard time following along with him. Maybe if the book was in third person it would have been more palatable, but I don't know.
November 7, 2011
Proto-Block, the ebook is worth a read for fans if only for the afterword.
Read
January 20, 2012Good mystery noir...
May 8, 2012
Great story. The set up is a prelude to Matt Scudder; there are elements of his life in embedded.
June 26, 2020
For the second time in Alex Penn's life, he wakes up in a cheap hotel with a dead body. The dead woman (Robin, a call-girl) was savagely mutilated; blood was everywhere. Then the story tells Alex's backstory. He was convicted of murder (same MO) and after about four years, was released on a technicality. However, the damage was done. He'd lost his job as a college professor and his wife. She moved to California and married someone new.
This story is the first book in Lawrence Block's Classic Crime Library. I didn't really like this book. It's told in the first person. At the end, the police believe Alex (and the clues he's found) and I found that hard to believe. Why would they take his word for anything? He'd already killed Evangeline years ago (according to the police and courts).
Classic Crime Library
*** 1. After the First Death (1969)
2. Deadly Honeymoon (1967)
This story is the first book in Lawrence Block's Classic Crime Library. I didn't really like this book. It's told in the first person. At the end, the police believe Alex (and the clues he's found) and I found that hard to believe. Why would they take his word for anything? He'd already killed Evangeline years ago (according to the police and courts).
Classic Crime Library
*** 1. After the First Death (1969)
2. Deadly Honeymoon (1967)
February 16, 2024
finished 16th february 2024 good read three stars i liked it kindle library loaner have read maybe ten or so from block all good reads and have a long long long collection of short stories i'm working on between other reads and this is a good read too enough rope i think it's called. this one's an entertaining read, fast pace for the most, and this one too has a kind of confession toward story end...as have a number of other block stories and in this case i think it works better than in the others...call if a death bed confession which is what it is. guy walks out of prison for murder on a technicality and another murder happens in his vicinity and it all seems to be connected and he sets out to figure things out.
July 19, 2020
Alex Penn, a former Professor, is released from prison, where he was serving a sentence for murder, on a technicality and helps others to make appeals. Then his world is tipped upside-down and he is on the run. Who will help him and where will he go? Goes along the line of the TV Fugitive but bends direction to keep the reader guessing.
A good main character who has a dark side especially when fueled by heavy drinking. Old friends make him unwelcome but a new person in his life eases his way. Does the book have a happy ending? Maybe but maybe not as might be expected.
A good read that hovers between 3 and four stars.
A good main character who has a dark side especially when fueled by heavy drinking. Old friends make him unwelcome but a new person in his life eases his way. Does the book have a happy ending? Maybe but maybe not as might be expected.
A good read that hovers between 3 and four stars.
November 24, 2022
A man haunted by murders he hopes he hasn't committed . . . It was all too frighteningly familiar. For the second time in his life, Alex Penn wakes up in an alcoholic daze in a cheap hotel room off Times Square and finds himself lying next to the savagely mutilated body of a young woman. After the first death, he was convicted of murder and imprisoned, then released on a technicality. But this time he has to find out what happened during the blackout and why before the police do. Lawrence creates interesting characters and combined with a convoluted plot, the result is a compelling read. Highly recommended.
June 30, 2025
Maybe it should be 3.5 stars. This is clearly one of Block's earlier crime novels, and he hadn't developed into the writer he would be in the 80s and beyond. Even so, it was very enjoyable. Block is one of the best at making you pull for an extremely unlikable character.
Alex is someone who murdered a hooker. This is established from the get-go. And now it looks like he did it again. How are we supposed to LIKE him? And many times, we don't. For one thing, Alex is brutally honest in his thought processes. I don't care how saintly you are, sometimes you think some horrible things. if you won't admit that to yourself, you'll hate Alex all the time, rather than just some of the time.
Alex is someone who murdered a hooker. This is established from the get-go. And now it looks like he did it again. How are we supposed to LIKE him? And many times, we don't. For one thing, Alex is brutally honest in his thought processes. I don't care how saintly you are, sometimes you think some horrible things. if you won't admit that to yourself, you'll hate Alex all the time, rather than just some of the time.
February 27, 2017
Another Lawrence Block book
Lawrence Block writes a ton of crime books, and this is another one of them. After the First Death is your classic tale of a wrongly accused guy on the run and trying to clear his name. He has a bad habit of getting black-out drunk, which complicates things. It's not a super-original premise, but as usual Block bangs out a compelling narrative.
Lawrence Block writes a ton of crime books, and this is another one of them. After the First Death is your classic tale of a wrongly accused guy on the run and trying to clear his name. He has a bad habit of getting black-out drunk, which complicates things. It's not a super-original premise, but as usual Block bangs out a compelling narrative.
November 30, 2025
Man, can this guy write. I was shocked at how old this book was. In the story, he had 5 bucks, bought a pack of cigarettes & still had $4.50 left! Regardless, the story itself is timeless. Not an unnecessary word to be found. Good story. And since he also wrote “A Walk Among the Tombstones”, i of course pictured Alex as Liam Neeson.
January 31, 2018
An excellent 'guy wakes up next to a dead hooker and has to figure out what's going on' story. I finished it in 2 sittings, and it feels like it's meant to be read that way. Fast paced first person narrator takes you through seedy old Times Square of 1969 in search of the 'real' killer.
April 15, 2018
I didn’t realize that this was first published in 1969. It definitely had that atmosphere. Block’s later works are better (especially his Matthew Scudder series) But this is still good. I wasn’t expecting the ending!
December 23, 2019
A man wakes up in a shoddy hotel room with a terrible hangover and a dead girl on the floor. The same thing happened 5 years ago and he went to prison for it. Has he done it again, did he kill both women, what happened? Very satisfying read and unanticipated ending.
September 25, 2023
Short easy read. I personally found it a tad boring. You have the alcoholic murderer, the junkie trying to help him, and a friend who ends up being the one who did it. Well, only the one murder. All for a slight happily ever after.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews