Got recommended Lawerence Block by a co-worker the same week a YouTuber promoted him. This was the first book available at the library for an immediate take out.

I greatly enjoyed this shorter story. The first person perspective carried this story telling. All the characters were interesting, and the plot was intriguing.

Was *slightly* predictable, but it’s an earlier crime story and I don’t read much crime novels, so I still enjoyed it. I’m excited to read more Lawerence Block ( )

March 13, 2022
The Girl With the Long Green Heart by Lawrence Block

John Hayden and Doug Rance are ready to pull off a big con. To scam a big time real estate man Wallace Gunderman. But they need help on the inside, their best bet Evelyn Stone. Gunderman's Secretary and lover. But she is a woman scorned and wants revenge.

The story moves at a steady pace with engaging dialog and intense moments. The two men have the job well planned out, until things go sour. Soon they are at a cross roads as the story takes a turn, heading to a slow burn. Overall I found The Girl with the Long Green Heart enjoyable and recommend to those who enjoy hard case crimes. ( )

An excellent story. ( )

This is a reissue of a paperback original. This 1965 novel is classic Lawrence Block at his best. The biggest flaw is that the kindle version has a plain Jane cover instead of the racy one found on the paperback version. Think Redford and Newman in The Sting and you'll have a handle on this book. Although in an afterword, Block points out that his book was published half a dozen years before the movie came out.

John Hayden is eight months out of San Quentin after doing a seven year stretch and working in a Colorado bowling alley when Doug Rance looks him up. Hayden was a guy who ran long cons and usually was successful at it. The best two handed con, the narrator explains, is when one guy has the charm and the other the sincerity. Hayden was the guy people trusted and Rance was the charmer. Hayden and Rance offer to buy from William Gunderman Canadian property he bought years before at the behest of a sharp salesman. Gunderson is fighting mad about having been suckered on that deal. His secretary, Evelyn Stone, is something worth looking at. In fact, Evvie is in on the con cause she's tired of waiting on Gunderman to marry her. The hook is baited and they are going to reel in the big fish this time.

The amazing thing about this book is how absolutely engrossing it is without much real action for most of it. Just some dialogue and some narrative. First class writing deserving of nothing less than the highest rating. I enjoyed it from beginning to end. ( )

Not one of my favorites. Too noir. ( )