Sinner Man

LAWRENCE BLOCK'S FIRST CRIME NOVEL -- LOST FOR NEARLY 50 YEARS! "To escape punishment for a murder he didn't mean to commit, insurance man Don Barshter has to take on a new identity: Nathaniel Crowley, ferocious up-and-comer in the New York mob. But can he find safety in the skin of another man...a worse man...a sinner man...?" Sinner Man was Lawrence Block's first crime novel, written over sixty years ago. After a near-miss at Random House, his agent tred it unsuccessfully with several publishers, then returned it. Later another agent sold it to off to a downmarket paperback house, where it was published under a pen name. Block never saw a copy, or knew the new title, and when he wanted to search for it years later he didn't know where to start. It was a reader and Facebook friend, Christ Gunter, who tracked the book down as Savage Lover by Sheldon Lord. LB tweaked the first chapter and published the book with Hard Case Crime, adding a detailed afterword explaining the book's origins, its lengthy disappearance, and its glorious return. This ebook edition marks Sinner Man's entry into LB's Classic Crime Library, and the cover by Jaye Manus incorporates the cover art from its original appearance as Savage Lover.