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Chip Harrison #2
Chip Harrison Scores Again
The devilish Chip Harrison--young, broke, and girlless--stumbles on a discarded bus ticket and finds himself in South Carolina, where he becomes the local sheriff's protege+a7 and falls in love with a preacher's daughter. Original.
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1971
9 people are currently reading
142 people want to read
About the author
Lawrence Block
768 books2,995 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 - 24 of 24 reviews
December 13, 2018
Rather silly, but a nice light read which I found amusing. It was rather graphic sexually, so isn't for everyone.
July 21, 2017
Those looking for another Block series akin to Matthew Scudder or Bernie Rhodenbarr should look elsewhere. Block honed his writing craft and made a living in the sixties and early seventies with what are often termed softcore books that appeared on the newsstand racks with racy covers in an era long before anyone dreamed of the internet. These books, particularly the first two Chip Harrison books (“No Score” and “Chip Harrison Scores Again”), which are not mysteries at all, fall into the softcore category. They are meant to be humorous, tongue-in- cheek, bawdy tales of a young man (Chip Harrison) who has adventures wandering from one town to another and meeting women along the way.
“Chip Harrison Scores Again” is the second book in the series. Chip has silly, risqué adventures which range from finding a bus ticket in a stolen wallet and meeting an amorous lady on the bus, to his evening thinking the prostitute he takes to a hotel has fallen for him so badly that she won’t charge him, to ending up in a small Georgia town for no reason, none that he could explain to the sheriff, to working as a deputy sheriff/bouncer in the town brothel, and to spending his lunch hours with the preacher’s daughter. The characters are hilarious and are meant to be that way. It feels as if Block, in writing this, was half- poking fun at the entire genre. It’s not really meant to be taken seriously. All in all, this is a light, humorous, bawdy read, meant for a mature audience and is not part of Block’s body of mystery and noir work, although you can read this and hear his voice developing.
“Chip Harrison Scores Again” is the second book in the series. Chip has silly, risqué adventures which range from finding a bus ticket in a stolen wallet and meeting an amorous lady on the bus, to his evening thinking the prostitute he takes to a hotel has fallen for him so badly that she won’t charge him, to ending up in a small Georgia town for no reason, none that he could explain to the sheriff, to working as a deputy sheriff/bouncer in the town brothel, and to spending his lunch hours with the preacher’s daughter. The characters are hilarious and are meant to be that way. It feels as if Block, in writing this, was half- poking fun at the entire genre. It’s not really meant to be taken seriously. All in all, this is a light, humorous, bawdy read, meant for a mature audience and is not part of Block’s body of mystery and noir work, although you can read this and hear his voice developing.
August 16, 2023
Spoilers ahead.
As I knew from book 1, this is not a mystery series. You could say this is erotic fiction, or at least some of it is but a bit of it isn't, it's a self-discovery kind of book. It reminds me of The World According to Garp.
Anyway, the book starts with Chip in New York City where he finds a bus ticket accidentally. He uses it to go down to Miami but decides to stop in Bordentown, South Carolina. And during the bus trip, he has a sexual encounter with a fellow passenger.
He luckily encounters the sheriff (Tyles) who takes a shine to him. He sets him up as a helper/odd job man of the alcoholic local pastor and as a bouncer, general helper at the local brothel where he also gets room and board. He generally gets along with everyone in town and the owner of the brothel Geraldine comes to depend on him.
He also starts a sexual relationship with the pastor's daughter Lucille. She is attracted to him even though she is already dating someone at school. The relationship appears to be consensual on the surface, but only after persistent pushing against Lucille's reluctance. The author writes it as if Lucille wanted the physical relationship underneath but refused to accede to it due to her mores, which according to Chip, didn't make sense. In 2020 parlance, there's also a little bit of grooming going on.
Meanwhile Geraldine is considering opening a gambling den after the neighboring one burnt down. She feels she's too old but would do it if Chip would consider staying. He knows that with her connections and experience, it would be a big success and Chip would be her heir. This would be the big break he was looking for but it would also mean settling down.
Meanwhile, his sexual relationship with Lucille has come to a head. He tells her he loves her and she tells him she's pregnant. He goes to Geraldine for advice and pours everything out to her, his whole life up to now. She guesses that he doesn't really want to settle down and he agrees. She gifts him her car and tells him to leave right away.
I was going to write down what I thought of this part but I'm not going to. Every reader is going to have a different feeling about it, depending on the reader's situation and POV. All I'm going to say is this is fiction written in a different era and it's written just the way the author wrote it. If he wrote it differently, it'd be a different book.
He drives somewhat aimlessly northwards towards Wisconsin and Hallie from book 1. She's the girl who had sex with him in the final chapter and finally took his virginity before going to college. On the way, he stays mostly at B&B's operated by widows. He usually helps out fixing things and is generally helpful to them. At his last B&B, he has another sexual encounter with a middle-aged widow who was sexually repressed and let it all out. The unsettling part was that the widow was the victim of incest sexual abuse as a minor.
Finally he reaches the college in Wisconsin where Hallie attends and finds her. They immediately have a sexual encounter but Hallie tells him that she has a steady boyfriend and the book ends there.
As I knew from book 1, this is not a mystery series. You could say this is erotic fiction, or at least some of it is but a bit of it isn't, it's a self-discovery kind of book. It reminds me of The World According to Garp.
Anyway, the book starts with Chip in New York City where he finds a bus ticket accidentally. He uses it to go down to Miami but decides to stop in Bordentown, South Carolina. And during the bus trip, he has a sexual encounter with a fellow passenger.
He luckily encounters the sheriff (Tyles) who takes a shine to him. He sets him up as a helper/odd job man of the alcoholic local pastor and as a bouncer, general helper at the local brothel where he also gets room and board. He generally gets along with everyone in town and the owner of the brothel Geraldine comes to depend on him.
He also starts a sexual relationship with the pastor's daughter Lucille. She is attracted to him even though she is already dating someone at school. The relationship appears to be consensual on the surface, but only after persistent pushing against Lucille's reluctance. The author writes it as if Lucille wanted the physical relationship underneath but refused to accede to it due to her mores, which according to Chip, didn't make sense. In 2020 parlance, there's also a little bit of grooming going on.
Meanwhile Geraldine is considering opening a gambling den after the neighboring one burnt down. She feels she's too old but would do it if Chip would consider staying. He knows that with her connections and experience, it would be a big success and Chip would be her heir. This would be the big break he was looking for but it would also mean settling down.
Meanwhile, his sexual relationship with Lucille has come to a head. He tells her he loves her and she tells him she's pregnant. He goes to Geraldine for advice and pours everything out to her, his whole life up to now. She guesses that he doesn't really want to settle down and he agrees. She gifts him her car and tells him to leave right away.
I was going to write down what I thought of this part but I'm not going to. Every reader is going to have a different feeling about it, depending on the reader's situation and POV. All I'm going to say is this is fiction written in a different era and it's written just the way the author wrote it. If he wrote it differently, it'd be a different book.
He drives somewhat aimlessly northwards towards Wisconsin and Hallie from book 1. She's the girl who had sex with him in the final chapter and finally took his virginity before going to college. On the way, he stays mostly at B&B's operated by widows. He usually helps out fixing things and is generally helpful to them. At his last B&B, he has another sexual encounter with a middle-aged widow who was sexually repressed and let it all out. The unsettling part was that the widow was the victim of incest sexual abuse as a minor.
Finally he reaches the college in Wisconsin where Hallie attends and finds her. They immediately have a sexual encounter but Hallie tells him that she has a steady boyfriend and the book ends there.
March 28, 2021
This is classic Lawrence block style. No it’s not like Matthew Scudder or Bernie Rhodenbar, but that’s kind of the point. Lawrence block is able to write multiple types of stories and characters which is why he is one of my favorite authors.
Chip is telling us the story of his life as it happens and he is having quite the adventure. Yes there is a lot of sex and he details it for us. Who doesn’t have sex though and at that age I think that we would all Capture it in great detail if we were writing a book about our lives. This is one of the things that I think makes blocks such a good writer because he does capture The Voice of his characters so well.
Chip is telling us the story of his life as it happens and he is having quite the adventure. Yes there is a lot of sex and he details it for us. Who doesn’t have sex though and at that age I think that we would all Capture it in great detail if we were writing a book about our lives. This is one of the things that I think makes blocks such a good writer because he does capture The Voice of his characters so well.
April 30, 2020
This book continues where No Score left off. Chip is a little older, a little wiser, but still drifting about. I love how he thinks about the world, how he sees it. Well, aside from being a basic sex-crazed teenage boy, anyway. The narrator does a great job of bringing him to life.
Parts are funny, parts rather sad, and more than once I wanted to smack him, he was being such an idiot. But he's going to see that soon, I think.
It's a good read, but based on just the two, best read in order.
Parts are funny, parts rather sad, and more than once I wanted to smack him, he was being such an idiot. But he's going to see that soon, I think.
It's a good read, but based on just the two, best read in order.
February 7, 2021
As with the first book in this series, this is NOT A MYSTERY, no matter what the cover art and the blurb on the back say. (Though the next two in the series are)
This one picks up where the 1st one left off.
Chip is still traveling the country, looking to make a living and get laid.
I enjoyed this one A bit more than the first. That may because of the supporting characters this time around.
Be warned, there is plenty of sex in this one as well, and as with the previous book, its, not P.C.
This one picks up where the 1st one left off.
Chip is still traveling the country, looking to make a living and get laid.
I enjoyed this one A bit more than the first. That may because of the supporting characters this time around.
Be warned, there is plenty of sex in this one as well, and as with the previous book, its, not P.C.
June 10, 2017
This is a continuation of the first Chip Harrison book. It has some requisite weirdness and some equally requisite sex. The better parts of the book are where Chip begins to learn about himself and where he will go from here
May 11, 2018
7/10
256 pages
256 pages
December 11, 2019
The follow up and continuation of No Score, a picaresque novel about a character named Chip Harrison who lets the whims and vicissitudes of fortune case him about. Highly recommended.
February 27, 2022
Entertaining.
March 22, 2020
RPL Audio
A light listen, similar to the first Chip book.
A light listen, similar to the first Chip book.
April 2, 2020
Slumming around New York City, nothing in his pockets, not getting any action to write about, horny as hell teenager Chip Harrison could do with a break. He gets one, of sorts, finding a bus ticket with the destination of Bordentown, South Carolina. Chip decides on a change of scene, hoping to receive some authentic southern hospitality.
And find it he does, in the form of a bus seat blow-jobs, the ministrations of a peachy minister's daughter and a job in a genuine southern whorehouse, where he gets to spend a lot of time alone with the mistress herself and ... play chess.
Yep, Chips back for another score, still looking for willing girls to ball with, still looking for that elusive Job With A Future, and still striking out more often than not. Lawrence Block is an effortless prose artist, whatever kind of serious story or tossed-off trash he turns his hand to. The first Chip Harrison caper was trash really, though not without charm.
Not really adding anything, this second installment suffers by diminishing returns and by the disappointing fact that, once again, Block has the affable Chip do something uncharacteristic, which stopped me rooting for him.
Lawrence, "for Pete's sake!"
And find it he does, in the form of a bus seat blow-jobs, the ministrations of a peachy minister's daughter and a job in a genuine southern whorehouse, where he gets to spend a lot of time alone with the mistress herself and ... play chess.
Yep, Chips back for another score, still looking for willing girls to ball with, still looking for that elusive Job With A Future, and still striking out more often than not. Lawrence Block is an effortless prose artist, whatever kind of serious story or tossed-off trash he turns his hand to. The first Chip Harrison caper was trash really, though not without charm.
Not really adding anything, this second installment suffers by diminishing returns and by the disappointing fact that, once again, Block has the affable Chip do something uncharacteristic, which stopped me rooting for him.
Lawrence, "for Pete's sake!"
July 13, 2020
This review is for the audio version of CHIP HARRISON SCORES AGAIN by Lawrence Block and narrated by Gregory Gorton.
If you’re a fan of Lawrence Block for his Matt Scudder series, beware. This may not be for you. It might not even be for you if you’re a diehard fan of his Bernie Rhodenbarr series.
However, if you’re a fan of light-hearted writing (and good writing, at that), then give this story a try.
Chip Harrison is a young man down on his luck. He finds a bus ticket and leaves New York for South Carolina. The story is full of crazy adventures and whacky characters. But I found myself enjoying it with each passing chapter.
Great job of narrating by Gregory Gorton.
If you’re a fan of Lawrence Block for his Matt Scudder series, beware. This may not be for you. It might not even be for you if you’re a diehard fan of his Bernie Rhodenbarr series.
However, if you’re a fan of light-hearted writing (and good writing, at that), then give this story a try.
Chip Harrison is a young man down on his luck. He finds a bus ticket and leaves New York for South Carolina. The story is full of crazy adventures and whacky characters. But I found myself enjoying it with each passing chapter.
Great job of narrating by Gregory Gorton.
February 21, 2014
The book I'd give 5 stars. I'm taking a star off for the stupid publishers who erroneously call this a mystery when it's not. The first 2 Chip Harrison books (this one and the previous No Score) are more like soft core erotica or light literary fiction. The latter two books are actually mysteries. Block explains all this in the afterwords and it'd have been nice if someone at the publisher actually read that.
Anyway, so now that you know this isn't a mystery, it's more of a coming-of-age story that made me think of Huck Finn as perpetual liar and amateur con man Chip Harrison makes his way from New York to South Carolina and then back north. Along the way he has a lot of sex and gets himself into some trouble. And this leads him to grow up a bit.
There's also a bit of meta-fiction at work as Chip is writing a book about the events in the book, so there are some asides about how the editors demand he put more sex in the thing and some details he left out or glossed over.
Overall it's lighthearted fun and by today's standards the sex scenes aren't very graphic. And now if anyone ever offered a "Waterloo" to me, I'd know what it is.
That is all.
Anyway, so now that you know this isn't a mystery, it's more of a coming-of-age story that made me think of Huck Finn as perpetual liar and amateur con man Chip Harrison makes his way from New York to South Carolina and then back north. Along the way he has a lot of sex and gets himself into some trouble. And this leads him to grow up a bit.
There's also a bit of meta-fiction at work as Chip is writing a book about the events in the book, so there are some asides about how the editors demand he put more sex in the thing and some details he left out or glossed over.
Overall it's lighthearted fun and by today's standards the sex scenes aren't very graphic. And now if anyone ever offered a "Waterloo" to me, I'd know what it is.
That is all.
March 9, 2009
CHIP HARRISON SCORE AGAIN (Mys-Chip Harrison-So. Carolina-Cont) - NR
Block, Lawrence - 3rd in series
Product Description: The devilish Chip Harrison--young, broke, and girlless--stumbles on a discarded bus ticket and finds himself in South Carolina, where he becomes the local sheriff's protege+a7 and falls in love with a preacher's daughter.
A young man obsessed with sex; didn't appeal to me.
Block, Lawrence - 3rd in series
Product Description: The devilish Chip Harrison--young, broke, and girlless--stumbles on a discarded bus ticket and finds himself in South Carolina, where he becomes the local sheriff's protege+a7 and falls in love with a preacher's daughter.
A young man obsessed with sex; didn't appeal to me.
December 17, 2014
The first book, No Score, was laugh out loud funny and had me hooked from the beginning. I thought this book would be the same way, but it wasn't interesting and wasn't funny. This was an unnecessary and uninteresting sequel that actually tainted my view of the first book. This is a story with a limited plot, disappointing arc, and minimal character growth.
April 12, 2016
Another successful effort by Lawrence Block. I give this book 5 stars. I assume the low ratings by other readers is because on the surface Chip Harrison Scores Again seems like a lighthearted sex romp but, like No Score, Scores Again is much more. Heck, the tale by the lighthouse madam, and its literary point, is worth 5 stars alone.
April 27, 2013
#2 in the Chip Harrison series. Very funny and readable; an improvement on #1.
Chip Harrison series - the sequel to "No Score" finds Chip hiring on as a deputy sheriff in a bordello in a small Southern town, his eye all the while on the minister's nubile daughter.
Chip Harrison series - the sequel to "No Score" finds Chip hiring on as a deputy sheriff in a bordello in a small Southern town, his eye all the while on the minister's nubile daughter.
August 10, 2013
Early Block still dabbling in the semi-soft core genre but with a serial character. Eh. May have been hip in it's day, maybe even somewhat shocking, but didn't wear well. Still, it was a start to an outstanding career and is a curio from that vantage point
June 1, 2015
Another fun book from Lawrence Block. Chip Harrison decides to leave the cold of New York city and ends up in Bordentown, South Carolina. In his usual manner Chip stumbles along and is cared for by all who encounter him. A quick, fun story.
Want to read
September 28, 2009AKA: Sheldon Lord, Jill Emerson, Paul Kavanaugh, Chip Harrison, Lawrence Block
February 25, 2019
Still not a mystery, still fun
February 25, 2016
Chip Harrison #2
May 10, 2016
Might have been funny in 1971. Among the least of Block's works.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews