Lawrence Block Books in Order

How many Lawrence Block books are there?

Lawrence Block has 262 books, released between 1958 and 2025. They include 13 separate series.

Lawrence Block Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 262 Lawrence Block books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

Lawrence Block series in order

Each series linked below has its own reading-order page.

• Matthew Scudder books in order 29 books
• Bernie Rhodenbarr books in order 18 books

Lawrence Block books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.

Lawrence Block Books in Chronological Order

By publication date, the Lawrence Block books run from Carla (1958) to Writing Drunk, Writing Sober (2025), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for Lawrence Block in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.

Do you have to read Lawrence Block books in order?

You only need to read Lawrence Block books in order within each series: the books listed here span 13 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with Lawrence Block

Start with the first book of the Lawrence Block series you want to read: Matthew Scudder starts with The Sins of the Fathers (1976) and Bernie Rhodenbarr starts with Burglars Can't Be Choosers (1977). The earliest catalogued title overall is Carla (1958).

What is the newest Lawrence Block book?

Writing Drunk, Writing Sober (2025) is the newest Lawrence Block book released so far.

Is there a new Lawrence Block book coming?

No next Lawrence Block book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Awards Lawrence Block has won

Wikidata records 11 awards for Lawrence Block. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

• Edgar Awards2017Wonfor Autumn at the Automat
• Cartier Diamond Dagger2004Won
• Shamus Award2002Won
• Edgar Awards1998Wonfor Keller on the Spot
• Shamus Award1995Wonfor By Dawn's Early Light
• Edgar Awards1994Wonfor Keller's Therapy
• Shamus Award1994Won
• The Grand Master1994Won
• Edgar Awards1992Wonfor A Dance at the Slaughterhouse
• Shamus Award1983Wonfor Eight Million Ways to Die
• Nero Award1979Wonfor The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling

Lawrence Block at a glance

Still publishing

Lawrence Block published a book as recently as 2025.

Release pace

Lawrence Block books have appeared more than one a year on average.

Length

26,364 pages across the 98 of 262 books with a recorded length, a median of 250 pages each.

Busiest decade

Most Lawrence Block books, 85 of 262, were published in the 2010s.

What the Lawrence Block books are about

103 of the 262 Lawrence Block books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: mystery & detective is tagged on 31 of 103. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

• Mystery & detective 31 of 103 books
• New York (N.Y.) 26 of 103 books
• Private investigators 24 of 103 books
• Mystery & detective, hard-boiled 19 of 103 books
• Matt Scudder (Fictitious character) 14 of 103 books
• Scudder, matt (fictitious character) 13 of 103 books
• Erotica 12 of 103 books
• Bernie Rhodenbarr (Fictitious character) 11 of 103 books
• Suspense 11 of 103 books
• Thieves 11 of 103 books