AMONG THE MOST VERSATILE, prolific, accomplished, and popular writers in the mystery genre (and in others as well), Lawrence Block (1938–) has created numerous series characters that range from the light humor of Bernie Rhodenbarr (star of the “Burglar” series), Chip Harrison (an homage to the Nero Wolfe character, written as Chip Harrison), and Evan Tanner (a reluctant spy with a sleep disorder that keeps him constantly awake), to the very dark Matthew Scudder series about an alcoholic former cop who functions as an unpaid private detective drawn into mysteries by a desire to aid friends or just those who need help. While it is generally acknowledged that the Scudder novels are his greatest work, ranking among the best private eye fiction ever written, it is possible that his most brilliant stories feature a shady lawyer, Ehrengraf, who has no problem subverting the law to free his clients. His short stories featuring Keller, a hit man, have won him two of his four Edgar Awards (he also won for best short story with “By Dawn’s Early Light” in 1985 and best novel with A Dance at the Slaughterhouse in 1992). For lifetime achievement, the Mystery Writers of America honored him with the Grand Master Award in 1994.
Lynne Wood Block (1943–), Lawrence Block’s wife since 1983, was born in New Orleans and moved to New York in 1964 for her career as a fashion model (both print and runway). She also worked as an antiques dealer before establishing The Lynne Wood Company, a bookkeeping and accounting practice with the motto “You Make It, We Count It.”
“The Burglar Who Smelled Smoke” was first published in the Summer/Fall 1997 issue of Mary Higgins Clark’s Mystery Magazine; it was first collected in The Collected Mystery Stories (London, Orion, 1999).