(1938– ) has created numerous series characters, including the light humor of Bernie Rhodenbarr (star of the Burglar series); the shady lawyer, Ehrengraf, who has no problem subverting the law to free his clients; Keller, a hit man, who tries to kill only those who need killing; Chip Harrison (an homage to the Nero Wolfe character, written as Chip Harrison); Evan Tanner (a reluctant spy with a sleep disorder that keeps him constantly awake); and the dark Matthew Scudder series about an alcoholic former cop who functions as an unpaid private detective drawn into mysteries by a desire to help friends or just those who need help. It is generally acknowledged that the Scudder series is his greatest work, ranking among the best private eye fiction ever written. His body of work includes more than a hundred novels and short stories collections in every subgenre of the mystery field as well as more than a dozen soft-core porn novels produced in his earliest years as a professional writer.
Among the films inspired by Block’s work are Eight Million Ways to Die (1986), a weak adaptation of the 1982 Matt Scudder novel, starring Jeff Bridges and Rosanna Arquette; Burglar (1987), a dreadful film based on the Rhodenbarr character that starred Whoopi Goldberg and Bobcat Goldthwait; and A Walk Among the Tombstones (2014), a very good rendering of the 1992 Scudder novel, starring Liam Neeson and Dan Stevens.
Block has won four Edgar Awards: three for best short story and one in 1992 for best novel with A Dance at the Slaughterhouse (1991). For lifetime achievement, the Mystery Writers of America honored him with the Grand Master Award in 1994.
“Headaches and Bad Dreams” was first published in the December 1997 issue of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine; it was first collected in The Collected Mystery Stories (London, Orion, 1999).