She was every man’s dream—and one man’s nightmare. Johnny Hayden and Doug Rance had a scheme to take real estate entrepreneur Wallace Gunderman for all he was worth. But they needed a girl on the inside to make it work. Enter Evelyn Stone: Gunderman’s secretary, his lover—and his worst enemy. Gunderman had promised to marry her, but never came through. Now she’s ready to make him pay …
Download and start listening now!
"This was a cool book. I especially liked the dialog, it reminded me of old detective movies. The target of the con was often referred to as a mooch for example. A good read with a twist ending. My only problem was with author explaining the con a few too many times. "
— Derek (4 out of 5 stars)
“Block is one of the best!”
— Washington Post“Alan Sklar’s experience doing radio and TV commercials serves him well as he impersonates Johnny, who pitches the deal to Gunderman. You believe every word he says in his warm, gravelly voice even though you know Johnny is lying through his teeth. Sklar also zeros in on Gunderman’s smarmy self-assuredness and Evelyn’s sexy persuasiveness as she worms her way into the scheme. This was written in 1965, before audiobooks became popular, but it makes the transition nicely.”
— AudioFile“[The Girl with the Long Green Heart] is a demonstration of the early, and unacknowledged, brilliance that Block was exhibiting while toiling in relative shadow…Highly recommended.”
— Bookreporter" a old fashioned con and a good read "
— Heidi, 2/8/2014" Not one of Lawrence Block's best. I learned a lot about the art of grifting or the long con, but the story really dragged on. There was a little fun here and there, but much was obvious. "
— Jeffrey, 2/2/2014" Paperback original from the 1960s re-issued by Hard Case Crime. Spoiler alert - the con doesn't come off as planned. "
— David, 1/27/2014" A great book for those who love a long con. It follows the traditional hard boiled Noir threads, but knows it, and comes out the other side better for it. "
— Joel, 1/21/2014" so i saw Kalki koechlin reading this in DevD, a fav film. And so i read it. TOP NOTCH NOIR !!! "
— Aditya, 1/19/2014" A grift. The set-up, the inevitable betrayal, and the fallout. Nothing more offered, or needed. "
— Neil, 1/16/2014" This one and "Grifter's Game" are my favorite Block books so far. This one was a lot like "The Sting" or "Matchstick Men" about a long con and cons within cons and so forth. It's fun if you like that sort of thing, which I do. "
— Patrick, 1/13/2014" Fun Sixties noir set mainly in Olean, of all places. One scene took place in the restaurant I went on a Big Date for my eighteenth birthday back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. "
— Ruth, 1/12/2014" This one was pretty predictable and the ending left something to be desired, namely a good twist or something. I'll take the two adversaries beating the crap out of each other though, that's cool. "
— Tony, 1/11/2014" Classic Block ... although it was written in the 1960s, I loved it. "
— Linda, 1/7/2014" This was a cool book. I especially liked the dialog, it reminded me of old detective movies. The target of the con was often referred to as a mooch for example. A good read with a twist ending. My only problem was with author explaining the con a few too many times. "
— Derek, 12/22/2013" Very good, true Block form. ENjoyed it. "
— Cynthia, 12/15/2013" Scotch, sex, grifters... classic noir. "
— Timothy, 10/12/2013" I love that Hard Case is republishing some of these great mystery novels from the '60s. They remind me of some of the stuff that Playboy Publishing used to put out that was sexy, but more funny and with a great plot. "
— Christine, 9/11/2013" A fast, well written, enjoyable read about a con artist's elaborate scheme. The plot is fairly predictible but the setting and tone is reminiscent of an old black and white classic movie before email and iphones and google. "
— Tamara, 7/4/2013" Listened to the audiobook -- great narrator; nice and sleazy. A good crime novel about two grifters. Moved along at a good clip with moments of surprising insight. Easy listen. Great cover. "
— Nate, 6/29/2013" Too much set-up, not enough pay-off. Not as tautly plotted as the superior Lucky at Cards, either. Still, Lawrence Block does serviceable work with the predictable double-cross formula. (And the title is a killer!) "
— Ellen, 3/19/2013" Good long con story, and had much of the feel of my favorite Marlowe. Good entertainment if you like noir. "
— Meade, 2/2/2013" love Block's language, dialogue and descriptions "
— Jim, 12/2/2012" This was such an incredibly boring book. Half the book is filled with two grifters filing papers and making useless phone calls. The rest of the book is half-hearted attempts at action that don't amount to much of anything. It gets a 2 out of 5. "
— Chris, 11/20/2012" As pulp as it gets. It isn't Hesse, but it's fun, and sometimes that's enough. "
— Marcus, 4/16/2012" I LOVE Block... his old school crimes always end with an interesting twist. "
— Ronica, 3/18/2012" A great noir novel, would make a great movie, too. :P "
— Jennifer, 3/9/2012" As always, Block puts an unforeseen twist at the end. Many of his books have the feel of New York in the late 40s or early 50s, and the characters have more depth than current inhabitants. Lawrence Block is always a good choice for an easy, interesting read. "
— Larraine, 11/28/2011" The plot was thin. Anyone who falls for that caper is an idiot. "
— John, 10/12/2011" I loved it. Block is (or at least was in the 60s, I haven't read any of his recent work) such a really good writer for this sort of pulpy pulp. This one felt like a lighter Jim Thompson. "
— Remy, 7/22/2011" love Block's language, dialogue and descriptions "
— Jim, 4/2/2011" This was such an incredibly boring book. Half the book is filled with two grifters filing papers and making useless phone calls. The rest of the book is half-hearted attempts at action that don't amount to much of anything. It gets a 2 out of 5. "
— Chris, 1/3/2011" Paperback original from the 1960s re-issued by Hard Case Crime. Spoiler alert - the con doesn't come off as planned. "
— David, 9/27/2010" I LOVE Block... his old school crimes always end with an interesting twist. "
— Ronica, 8/10/2010" I like Block's writing. <br/> <br/>This book is interesting for education it offers on the long con. <br/> <br/>Waited a while for the double-cross that I knew was inevitable. Satisfactory ending. "
— Lois, 4/17/2010" I love that Hard Case is republishing some of these great mystery novels from the '60s. They remind me of some of the stuff that Playboy Publishing used to put out that was sexy, but more funny and with a great plot. "
— Christine, 1/19/2009" As pulp as it gets. It isn't Hesse, but it's fun, and sometimes that's enough. "
— Marcus, 5/13/2008" This one was pretty predictable and the ending left something to be desired, namely a good twist or something. I'll take the two adversaries beating the crap out of each other though, that's cool. "
— Tony, 3/27/2008" Scotch, sex, grifters... classic noir. "
— Timothy, 9/13/2007Lawrence Block is the recipient of a Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America and a New York Times bestselling author. His prolific career spans over one hundred books, including four bestselling series and dozens of short stories and articles. He has won multiple Edgar, and Shamus awards, two Falcon Awards from the Maltese Falcon Society of Japan, the Nero and Philip Marlowe Awards, the Cartier Diamond Dagger from the Crime Writers Association of America, and many others. Aside from being a mystery writer, he has also written a number of episodes for television, including two episodes of the ESPN series Tilt; he also cowrote the screenplay for the film My Blueberry Nights, starring Norah Jones. Block currently lives in New York City with his wife, Lynne.
Alan Sklar, a graduate of Dartmouth, has excelled in his career as a freelance voice actor. Named a Best Voice of 2009 by AudioFile magazine, his work has earned him several Earphones Awards, a Booklist Editors’ Choice Award (twice), a Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Award, and Audiobook of the Year by ForeWord magazine. He has also narrated thousands of corporate videos for clients such as NASA, Sikorsky Aircraft, IBM, Dannon, Pfizer, AT&T, and SONY.