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The Night and the Music
- The Matthew Scudder Short Story Collection
- Narrated by: Lawrence Block
- Length: 6 hrs and 31 mins
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The Night and the Music
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Summary
Lawrence Block's 17 Matthew Scudder novels have won the hearts of readers throughout the world - along with a bevy of awards including the Edgar, the Shamus, the Philip Marlowe (Germany), and the Maltese Falcon (Japan). But Scudder has starred in short fiction as well, and it's all here, from a pair of late-'70s novelettes ("Out the Window" and "A Candle for the Bag Lady") through "By the Dawn's Early Light" (Edgar) and "The Merciful Angel of Death" (Shamus), all the way to "One Last Night at Grogan's", a moving and elegiac story never before published. Some of these stories appeared in such magazines as Alfred Hitchcock, Ellery Queen, and Playboy.
The title vignette, "The Night and the Music", was written for a NYC jazz festival program; another, "Mick Ballou Looks at the Blank Screen", has appeared only as the text of a limited-edition broadside. Several stories look back from the time of their writing, with Scudder recounting events from his former life as a cop, first as a patrolman partnered with the legendary Vince Mahaffey, then as an NYPD detective leading a double life. Along with these eleven stories and novelettes, The Night and The Music includes a list of the seventeen novels in chronological order, and an author's note detailing the origin and bibliographical details of each of the stories.
Brian Koppelman, the prominent screenwriter and director (Solitary Man, Ocean's Thirteen, Rounders) and a major Matt Scudder fan, has sweetened the pot with an introduction.
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What listeners say about The Night and the Music
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Keith
- 13-06-15
New York City Crime
If you could sum up The Night and the Music in three words, what would they be?
New York. Police. Crime.
What other book might you compare The Night and the Music to, and why?
All of the Mathew Scudder books and crime fiction. You are taken into an intimate picture of the criminal underworld showing the connection between police and criminals and the effect such a job has. It's a fascinating journey into this world of New York, alcoholism, recovery, and the people who live these lives.
Which character – as performed by Lawrence Block – was your favourite?
Mathew Scudder.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
As it is composed of short stories, it is easy to listen to one and then come back to a new story later. Probably not one to listen to in one sitting as it would be too overwhelming. Much better to dip into and save more for later.
Any additional comments?
Lawrence Block's reading is compelling and authentic. It's as if he is talking directly to you in one of those poorly lit New York bars and you can imagine jazz playing softly in the background. Atmospheric!
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Clifton.D
- 03-04-23
Super Collection of Noir detective stories
I do accept the Author’s voice is not going to be to everyones taste but I really enjoyed his reading of these great stories..I even found myself talking a bit like him! Some great observations on life, often with a deceptive twist.
A very comprehensive anthology of his short story work.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- jerry lindsay
- 31-08-22
A GREAT WRITER BUT AWFUL TO LISTEN TO
I am a long-term fan of Lawrence Block. I have enjoyed almost all of his fiction including, 'The Burglar who....' series and countless others. So I am sad to say I couldn't finish this book. I don't even know if it was a good story because the narration was so rotten that I wanted to shoot the reader. Imagine a doddery old man crossed with Lady Bracknell from, 'The Importance of Being Earnest' and you're close to getting the idea. His delivery is excruciating, characters are barely distinguishable because of the awful tone and pace and I marvelled, only, at the cheek required to read so badly. For an example of an author who can do this trick well try Simon Brett. As for LB, well if he's reading it I'm not listening - no-one deserves that level of punishment twice.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
- Wac61
- 28-11-22
Ruined
Terrible narration by the author, never even got ½ way through the 1st chapter and turned it off !!
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