A Long Line of Dead Men Audiobook By Lawrence Block cover art

A Long Line of Dead Men

A Matthew Scudder Crime Novel, Book 12

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A Long Line of Dead Men

By: Lawrence Block
Narrated by: Joe Barrett
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An ancient brotherhood meets annually in the back room of a swank Manhattan restaurant, a fraternity created in secret to celebrate life by celebrating its dead. But the past three decades have not been kind to the Club of 31. Matthew Scudder - ex-cop and ex-boozer - has known death in all its guises, which is why he has been asked to investigate a baffling thirty-year run of suicides and suspiciously random accidents that has thinned the ranks of this very select group of gentlemen.

But Scudder has mortality problems of his own, for his is a city that feeds mercilessly on the unsuspecting - even the powerful and those who serve them are easy prey. There are too many secrets here, too many places fora maddeningly patient serial killer to hide…and wait…and strike.

©1994 Lawrence Block (P)2014 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Crime Fiction Hard-Boiled Mystery Fiction Crime
Engaging Story • Clever Plot • Excellent Narration • Compelling Mystery • Unique Storyline • Intriguing Premise
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What made the experience of listening to A Long Line of Dead Men the most enjoyable?

Fascinating believable story! Narration superb. Joe Barrett's voice is welcoming and his accents subtle & spot on. One of those you didn't want to end.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Matt Scudder of course!
Not often that I read a book that references other books /ideas and I take the time to look them up. In this case a quick reference to "tontine" the idea and the old books made me look them up and want to read them too. Also logic game of the 3 Christians and 3 cannibals mentioned I wasn't familiar with and looked it up and tried to solve too.
The ending was creative/ Overall an engaging & satisfying - I"m off to read another of Blocks' books read by Barrett

What does Joe Barrett bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

May just be the best narrator I've heard. Just love the tone of his voice, his accents are slight but all work.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes!

Fantastic! First time to read a Block book

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DARK, sorry and sorted. This is the type of dialogue peppered through out this novel. I love Joe Barrett’s narrations, And gave this author a second try. Author is too dark and depressing for me or at least the main character. This is well written don’t get me wrong, but if the author can choose a dark over light adjective, he chooses dark. Not for me. The mystery was good, A. G. Ten Little lndians.
See Mike Lawson series on audible plus for Joe Barrett great narration of a great series, Joe DeMarco
Were my comments of help?

Good Audible Plus

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Good story ... as always. Full of good characters, good conversation. Highly recommend it whether you've read it before or not.

Perfect ending

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I enjoy these books, even though they can be very dark. Solid narration, twisty stories, improbable coincidences, and quirky characters. I can set my brain on cruise control. And, they are included in Audible!

easy to listen to....

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A mystery story, a detective story plus something
Different. Excellent. Beautifully plotted and written. You can't go wrong with this one.

4 plus

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Convoluted plot upon plot. I don’t like the woman on the side. I hope his wife has her own side piece. I’m glad he’s not drinking.

Same Old Scudded

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I listened to this book because of the narrator, but continued because of the story…. as stated once I hit play I continued listening until the end.

Finished in a day!

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New and interesting story. Would like to have known in more detail how this man was invited to join the group.
Only read a couple books from this author but looking forward to many more.

A unique story

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From beginning to end, don’t want to put it down; not overly exciting or thrilling but a compelling urgent story that has you “turning the pages” again and again. I agree about the right ending. Worthwhile especially as this was a free audible book.

A Satisfying Read

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I have listened to the entire Scudder set to this point (plus a few others out of sequence) , and this is my favorite to this point in the series. Unlike the previous entry (The Devil Knows You're Dead), this one has a great plot and a compelling, almost eerie mystery that grabs the reader. I would compare it to other detective novels but that would comprise a spoiler.

Joe Barrett has really grown on me as a narrator, too.

My only complaint is that I didn't want it to end. Block wraps things up pretty quickly, when he could have prolonged the story for quite a while had he wanted to. But that "complaint" just indicates that I was having a good time with the book. Highly recommended.

My favorite Scudder to date (probably)

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