The Recurring Cast
Character guide · 34 books · 1976 to 2022 · Set in New York

Lawrence Block

Crime and mysteryPrivate eyeAmateur sleuthCosy and comicNoir and hardboiled

Matthew Scudder, an ex-cop and recovering alcoholic, works as an unlicensed private investigator in New York. Block’s lighter series follow Bernie Rhodenbarr, a bookseller and burglar, and Keller, a hit man who collects stamps.

Best estimate, compiled from series guides, publisher descriptions and reviews where available, and from memory otherwise. Book level only, not chapter level. Minor includes cameos and brief references. Each book carries a confidence rating in its tooltip. Story collections and the Scudder novella A Time to Scatter Stones are left out.

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Who appears in which book

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LLeadMMajor·MinorHas a note
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Lawrence Block books in order

Each series in publication order, with its lead characters. Where the story runs in a different order, switch to Story order. Crossover books are marked and listed under their main series. Use My books to track what you have read.

Matthew Scudder

17 books · Set in New YorkPrivate eyeNoir and hardboiled
  1. 1The Sins of the Fathers1976With Matthew ScudderBuy on Amazon
  2. 2In the Midst of Death1976With Matthew ScudderBuy on Amazon
  3. 3Time to Murder and Create1977With Matthew ScudderBuy on Amazon
  4. 4A Stab in the Dark1981With Matthew ScudderBuy on Amazon
  5. 5Eight Million Ways to Die1982With Matthew ScudderBuy on Amazon
  6. 6When the Sacred Ginmill Closes1986With Matthew ScudderBuy on Amazon
  7. 7Out on the Cutting Edge1989With Matthew ScudderBuy on Amazon
  8. 8A Ticket to the Boneyard1990With Matthew ScudderBuy on Amazon
  9. 9A Dance at the Slaughterhouse1991With Matthew ScudderBuy on Amazon
  10. 10A Walk Among the Tombstones1992With Matthew ScudderBuy on Amazon
  11. 11The Devil Knows You’re Dead1993With Matthew ScudderBuy on Amazon
  12. 12A Long Line of Dead Men1994With Matthew ScudderBuy on Amazon
  13. 13Even the Wicked1997With Matthew ScudderBuy on Amazon
  14. 14Everybody Dies1998With Matthew ScudderBuy on Amazon
  15. 15Hope to Die2001With Matthew ScudderBuy on Amazon
  16. 16All the Flowers Are Dying2005With Matthew ScudderBuy on Amazon
  17. 17A Drop of the Hard Stuff2011With Matthew ScudderBuy on Amazon

Bernie Rhodenbarr

12 books · Set in New YorkCosy and comicAmateur sleuth
  1. 1Burglars Can’t Be Choosers1977With Bernie RhodenbarrBuy on Amazon
  2. 2The Burglar in the Closet1978With Bernie RhodenbarrBuy on Amazon
  3. 3The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling1979With Bernie RhodenbarrBuy on Amazon
  4. 4The Burglar Who Studied Spinoza1980With Bernie RhodenbarrBuy on Amazon
  5. 5The Burglar Who Painted Like Mondrian1983With Bernie RhodenbarrBuy on Amazon
  6. 6The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams1994With Bernie RhodenbarrBuy on Amazon
  7. 7The Burglar Who Thought He Was Bogart1995With Bernie RhodenbarrBuy on Amazon
  8. 8The Burglar in the Library1997With Bernie RhodenbarrBuy on Amazon
  9. 9The Burglar in the Rye1999With Bernie RhodenbarrBuy on Amazon
  10. 10The Burglar on the Prowl2004With Bernie RhodenbarrBuy on Amazon
  11. 11The Burglar Who Counted the Spoons2013With Bernie RhodenbarrBuy on Amazon
  12. 12The Burglar Who Met Fredric Brown2022With Bernie RhodenbarrBuy on Amazon

Keller

5 books · Set in New YorkNoir and hardboiled
  1. 1Hit Man1998With KellerBuy on Amazon
  2. 2Hit List2000With KellerBuy on Amazon
  3. 3Hit Parade2006With KellerBuy on Amazon
  4. 4Hit and Run2008With KellerBuy on Amazon
  5. 5Hit Me2013With KellerBuy on Amazon

Characters

11 recurring and key characters, with the book each one first appears in.

Scudder’s New York

Matthew Scudder

Former NYPD detective and recovering alcoholic, an unlicensed investigator

17 books · 1976 to 2011First appears in The Sins of the Fathers
Buy the first book

Bernie and Keller