<p>You might as well know this going in: Lawrence Block&rsquo;s new novel is not for everyone. It&rsquo;s recounted in journal form by its protagonist, and begins when he walks into a roadhouse outside of Bakersfield, California, and walks out with a woman.<br />
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And rapes and murders her.<br />
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But, um, not in that order.<br />
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Right. But it&rsquo;s what he does with the rest of his life that&rsquo;s really interesting&hellip;<br />
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Lawrence Block has been writing and publishing crime fiction for sixty years. He&rsquo;s received recognition for lifetime achievement in the US and the UK. His books have won awards and occasionally show up on bestseller lists. Several of them have been fimed.<br />
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Here&rsquo;s what he&rsquo;s said about DEAD GIRL BLUES:<br />
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&ldquo;I don&#39;t think it&#39;s terribly commercial. And there are elements that will put off a lot of readers.<br />
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&ldquo;But, see, Dead Girl Blues doesn&#39;t owe me a thing. I hadn&#39;t planned to write it, so it doesn&#39;t have to bring in money to justify the time I spent on it. The book is its own justification. I&#39;ll publish it myself, on my 82nd birthday, and all of y&#39;all can buy it or not buy it, read it or not read it, and like it or not like it.<br />
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&ldquo;I&#39;ve shown it to some friends whose opinions I trust, and they told me that Dead Girl Blues is one of the very best things I&#39;ve ever written. And then they added that they could see where it might have problems.<br />
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&ldquo;So I read it again last week, and I realized DGB was exactly the book I wanted it to be. And how often does that happen? And what more could an old man possibly ask for?&rdquo;</p>