Originally, 1970’s ME TANNER, YOU JANE was to be the last book of Lawrence Block’s Tanner spy series, since it would be close to 30 years before another would appear. It opens like most of the Tanner books, with our hero in some sort of predicament, and him explaining how he got there. Well, this time, it’s his own funeral.

As the sleepless Tanner sits in a coffin waiting to be buried, he recounts how it all happened. Simple enough, one of the many fringe groups he belongs to is the impetus to this premature burial, since it’s the only way they could think of to get him out safely. But, of course, we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

Flashback to New York, where Tanner’s little ward Mina wants to play in the snow, and one of Tanner’s longtime girlfriends Kitty explains that he can’t keep living like this. Kitty wants him to settle down and make Mina a proper home; then she explains that someone has proposed to her and she is considering it.

With all this on Tanner’s mind, a job from the chief seems like a welcome invite, since most of his adventures take him to some sort of exotic locale. Here, he’s sent to the heart of Africa on a search for fellow agent Sam Bowman, a former Black Panther turned spy for the outfit. Sam’s mission has gone all kinds of wrong, and he’s now on the run with the former leader of the country Modonoland, whose treasury he’s taken with him.

If only things went according to plan, Tanner’s life would be much easier. But Block just throws roadblock after roadblock in his way, which is what make these books so enjoyable for longtime spy-fiction fans. Tanner is also saddled with a 14-year-old girl whose sex drive is driving him insane – the one thing that you wish hadn’t made the cut (or at least undergone a considerable age change).

Even though it was written more than three decades ago, ME TANNER was really never looked upon with full support. Reader, be forewarned that it’s all just a set up to an enemy that Block has a little fun with: a white woman named Sheena controlling a group of bushmen. No, not Sheena the comic-book character or the pop-rocker, but a daughter to missionaries who were brutally killed in front of her. So she has a few issues to work through. This character is so over-the-top as Block describes her the ultimate Playboy centerfold who just happens to kill any women or whites, and has an appetite for human flesh.

Like the previous entries, the novel flies by, and makes a fine closure to the series. In the afterword, Block explains that this was the first of the Tanner books to be published by a different company and also in hardcover –  a huge step up for him at the time. He goes into detail of how he became bored with the character and would have continued if it sold better, then lavishes praise on these new reissues, making a slight joke about how the original hardback is about the same price as this mass-market-paperback version.

The true end for Tanner came with 1998’s TANNER ON ICE. Our unexpected spy made his debut in the Korean War, so how could a man who would be in his late 60s be able to handle the modern lifestyle? Block pulls a little trick with Tanner by freezing him with cryogenics technology. Back in 1972, Tanner went off to meet a member of one of his fringe groups, only to have been slipped a mickey and set up in a freezer that would have kept him on ice forever – until the house he was stored in was sold.

Once Tanner awakes, he gets a massive shock, learning he was out for more than just a few days. It doesn’t hurt that Tanner has not aged one day, either; suspend disbelief now. The first 70 pages deal with Tanner in his new world, going to his old apartment – still in his name – to find out little Minna has grown up to be a beautiful woman, now 36 and divorced. Tanner spends six months or so getting acclimated with everything that’s happened, including computers.

Then the strange calls start that Minna keeps hanging up on, until Tanner picks up and gets a surprise he never expected: His old boss is still alive, but he seems not to only have missed a step or two, but maybe a whole staircase. The chief has a job for his spy who literally came out from the cold: Go to Burma and assassinate an important female leader in order to get the locals riled up to overthrow the government. From here on out, the novel could easily be called FEAR AND LOATHING IN BURMA, since Tanner meanders around, being chased by the local cops who believe he is the drug business.

I felt as though ON ICE got a bit bogged down in the middle. There were passages that could have easily been edited down, especially the long travels he makes to escape his situation. Even Block admits to this in the afterword, stating it’s a lot easier to write on the computer than in hand or a Smith-Corona, which were his previous tools. Block also goes into why he brought Tanner back and poses an idea to make him still viable, promising another adventure might make an appearance in 2026. I’ll be there waiting for it. –Bruce Grossman

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OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS AUTHOR:
• THE BURGLAR IN THE LIBRARY by Lawrence Block
• THE BURGLAR IN THE RYE by Lawrence Block
• THE BURGLAR WHO THOUGHT HE WAS BOGART by Lawrence Block
• A DANCE AT THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE by Lawrence Block
• A DIET OF TREACLE by Lawrence Block
• THE GIRL WITH THE LONG GREEN HEART by Lawrence Block
• GRIFTER’S GAME by Lawrence Block
• HIT PARADE by Lawrence Block
• LUCKY AT CARDS by Lawrence Block
• THE SCORELESS THAI by Lawrence Block
• TANNER’S TIGER by Lawrence Block
• TANNER’S TWELVE SWINGERS by Lawrence Block
• TANNER’S VIRGIN by Lawrence Block