The Night and the Music cover art

The Night and the Music

The Matthew Scudder Short Story Collection

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Night and the Music

By: Lawrence Block
Narrated by: Lawrence Block
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

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.

©2011 Lawrence Block (P)2012 AudioGo
Detective Modern Detectives Private Investigators Mystery Fiction Heartfelt Short Stories Mystery Collection
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Sins of the Fathers cover art
Out the Window cover art
Small Town cover art
Resume Speed and Other Stories cover art
Burglars Can't Be Choosers cover art
True Detective cover art
Hit List cover art
Bust cover art
Little Girl Lost cover art
The Long-Legged Fly cover art
Known to Evil cover art
Dead Irish cover art
A Certain Justice cover art
The Anderson Tapes cover art
The Gideon Lowry Key West Mysteries: Box Set cover art
The Screaming Mimi cover art

What listeners say about The Night and the Music

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    16
  • 4 Stars
    5
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    13
  • 4 Stars
    7
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    16
  • 4 Stars
    5
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

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!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

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.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

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.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars

Ruined

Terrible narration by the author, never even got ½ way through the 1st chapter and turned it off !!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!