勞倫斯·布洛剋，享譽世界的美國偵探小說大師，當代硬漢派偵探小說最傑齣的代錶。他的小說不僅在美國備受青睞，而且跨越瞭大西洋，完全徵服瞭自詡為偵探小說故鄉的歐洲。

偵探小說界最重要的兩個奬項，愛倫·坡奬的終身成就奬和鑽石匕首奬均肯定瞭勞倫斯的大師地位。此外，他曾三次獲愛倫·坡奬，兩獲馬耳他之鷹奬，四獲夏姆奬(後兩個奬項都是重要的硬漢派偵探小說奬項)。

勞倫斯被稱為“紐約犯罪風景的行吟詩人”，其作品主要包括以下四個係列：

馬修·斯卡德係列：以一名戒酒無執照的私人偵探為主角；

雅賊係列：以一名中年小偷兼二手書店老闆伯尼·羅登巴爾為主角；

伊凡·譚納係列：以一名朝鮮戰爭期間遭炮擊從此睡不著覺的偵探為主角；

奇波·哈裏森係列：以一名肥胖、不離開辦公室的、自我陶醉的私人偵探為主角。

此外，布洛剋還著有殺手約翰·保羅·凱勒係列。

勞倫斯·布洛剋生於紐約布法羅，現居紐約，已婚，育有二女。

尤傳莉，譯有《圖書館的故事》《達·芬奇密碼》《天使與魔鬼》《隔離島》《雨的祈禱》《殺人排行榜》《依然美麗》等。

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Keller is friendly. Industrious. A bit lonely, sometimes. If it wasn't for the fact that he kills people for a living, he'd be just your average Joe. The inconvenient wife, the troublesome sports star, the greedy business partner, the vicious dog, he'll take care of them all, quietly and efficiently. If the price is right. Like the rest of us, Keller's starting to worry about his retirement. After all, he's not getting any younger. (His victims, on the other hand, aren't getting any older.) So he contacts his "booking agent," Dot, up in White Plains, and tells her to keep the hits coming. He'll take any job, anywhere. His nest egg needs fattening up. Of course, being less choosy means taking greater risks—and that could buy Keller some big trouble. Then again, in this game, there are plenty of opportunities for some inventive improvisation . . . and a determined self-motivator can make a killing.