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Ariel
Ariel Jardell, an adopted 12-year-old girl, is possessed, her mother thinks, by jealousy and by forces far more bizarre. An unnerving tale woven together with a fascinating, terrifying child at the center of each twist and turn it takes, this book gives new definition to the old conflict of good versus evil, sane versus insane.
281 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
28 people are currently reading
239 people want to read
About the author
Lawrence Block
756 books3,001 followersLawrence Block has been writing crime, mystery, and suspense fiction for more than half a century. He has published in excess (oh, wretched excess!) of 100 books, and no end of short stories.
Born in Buffalo, N.Y., LB attended Antioch College, but left before completing his studies; school authorities advised him that they felt he’d be happier elsewhere, and he thought this was remarkably perceptive of them.
His earliest work, published pseudonymously in the late 1950s, was mostly in the field of midcentury erotica, an apprenticeship he shared with Donald E. Westlake and Robert Silverberg. The first time Lawrence Block’s name appeared in print was when his short story “You Can’t Lose” was published in the February 1958 issue of Manhunt. The first book published under his own name was Mona (1961); it was reissued several times over the years, once as Sweet Slow Death. In 2005 it became the first offering from Hard Case Crime, and bore for the first time LB’s original title, Grifter’s Game.
LB is best known for his series characters, including cop-turned-private investigator Matthew Scudder, gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, globe-trotting insomniac Evan Tanner, and introspective assassin Keller.
Because one name is never enough, LB has also published under pseudonyms including Jill Emerson, John Warren Wells, Lesley Evans, and Anne Campbell Clarke.
LB’s magazine appearances include American Heritage, Redbook, Playboy, Linn’s Stamp News, Cosmopolitan, GQ, and The New York Times. His monthly instructional column ran in Writer’s Digest for 14 years, and led to a string of books for writers, including the classics Telling Lies for Fun & Profit and The Liar’s Bible. He has also written episodic television (Tilt!) and the Wong Kar-wai film, My Blueberry Nights.
Several of LB’s books have been filmed. The latest, A Walk Among the Tombstones, stars Liam Neeson as Matthew Scudder and is scheduled for release in September, 2014.
LB is a Grand Master of Mystery Writers of America, and a past president of MWA and the Private Eye Writers of America. He has won the Edgar and Shamus awards four times each, and the Japanese Maltese Falcon award twice, as well as the Nero Wolfe and Philip Marlowe awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, and the Diamond Dagger for Life Achievement from the Crime Writers Association (UK). He’s also been honored with the Gumshoe Lifetime Achievement Award from Mystery Ink magazine and the Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement in the short story. In France, he has been proclaimed a Grand Maitre du Roman Noir and has twice been awarded the Societe 813 trophy. He has been a guest of honor at Bouchercon and at book fairs and mystery festivals in France, Germany, Australia, Italy, New Zealand, Spain and Taiwan. As if that were not enough, he was also presented with the key to the city of Muncie, Indiana. (But as soon as he left, they changed the locks.)
LB and his wife Lynne are enthusiastic New Yorkers and relentless world travelers; the two are members of the Travelers Century Club, and have visited around 160 countries.
He is a modest and humble fellow, although you would never guess as much from this biographical note.
Born in Buffalo, N.Y., LB attended Antioch College, but left before completing his studies; school authorities advised him that they felt he’d be happier elsewhere, and he thought this was remarkably perceptive of them.
His earliest work, published pseudonymously in the late 1950s, was mostly in the field of midcentury erotica, an apprenticeship he shared with Donald E. Westlake and Robert Silverberg. The first time Lawrence Block’s name appeared in print was when his short story “You Can’t Lose” was published in the February 1958 issue of Manhunt. The first book published under his own name was Mona (1961); it was reissued several times over the years, once as Sweet Slow Death. In 2005 it became the first offering from Hard Case Crime, and bore for the first time LB’s original title, Grifter’s Game.
LB is best known for his series characters, including cop-turned-private investigator Matthew Scudder, gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, globe-trotting insomniac Evan Tanner, and introspective assassin Keller.
Because one name is never enough, LB has also published under pseudonyms including Jill Emerson, John Warren Wells, Lesley Evans, and Anne Campbell Clarke.
LB’s magazine appearances include American Heritage, Redbook, Playboy, Linn’s Stamp News, Cosmopolitan, GQ, and The New York Times. His monthly instructional column ran in Writer’s Digest for 14 years, and led to a string of books for writers, including the classics Telling Lies for Fun & Profit and The Liar’s Bible. He has also written episodic television (Tilt!) and the Wong Kar-wai film, My Blueberry Nights.
Several of LB’s books have been filmed. The latest, A Walk Among the Tombstones, stars Liam Neeson as Matthew Scudder and is scheduled for release in September, 2014.
LB is a Grand Master of Mystery Writers of America, and a past president of MWA and the Private Eye Writers of America. He has won the Edgar and Shamus awards four times each, and the Japanese Maltese Falcon award twice, as well as the Nero Wolfe and Philip Marlowe awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, and the Diamond Dagger for Life Achievement from the Crime Writers Association (UK). He’s also been honored with the Gumshoe Lifetime Achievement Award from Mystery Ink magazine and the Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement in the short story. In France, he has been proclaimed a Grand Maitre du Roman Noir and has twice been awarded the Societe 813 trophy. He has been a guest of honor at Bouchercon and at book fairs and mystery festivals in France, Germany, Australia, Italy, New Zealand, Spain and Taiwan. As if that were not enough, he was also presented with the key to the city of Muncie, Indiana. (But as soon as he left, they changed the locks.)
LB and his wife Lynne are enthusiastic New Yorkers and relentless world travelers; the two are members of the Travelers Century Club, and have visited around 160 countries.
He is a modest and humble fellow, although you would never guess as much from this biographical note.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
April 27, 2019
As a fan of Mr. Block, this story may be my least favorite. 3 of 10 stars
Want to read
October 16, 2017This hardcover is copy 334 of 500 published, plus 26 lettered copies, that are signed by Lawrence Block.
April 23, 2012
Lawrence Block has few fans more devoted than myself (in my humble opinion). This comparatively early work (1980) has much to recommend it, particularly for those of us who feasted upon The Turning of the Screw or The House Next Door. This book is laden with long, introspective, what-if contemplations of its characters, rich with the speculations that are central to the continuing curiosity of both these characters and the book's readers. That can be an issue with two types of readers: (1) The Impatient (I can be one of those, I admit), and (2) The Literal (those who want a clear explanation of what happens, rather than be left hanging with hints and intimations).
Block is a natural storyteller, the kind of guy who, even if you know where the story is going, you want to travel the full length of the road he's taking you down. I can safely say that one might guess the ultimate ending, but it's not too likely, neither is it a dull ride. Our Friend Larry has more than a few mild shocks to deliver as he wends his way to the finish line.
This book is not one for those looking for the crisp, breezy prose of a Bernie Rhodenbarr, or even the sharp edge of a Matthew Scudder. This book is one that requires the reader to submerge into its murky mists and be content to jump at shadows, much like the James and Siddons novels I mentioned earlier. Much will happen, slowly, thickly, like that moment when one is trying to rise from a sleep just a little too deep to have been wholly natural, and one wonders if, instead of waking, one has begun to surface on the other side of consciousness... and there's no telling what you might find there that will follow you back to your bed.
Block is a natural storyteller, the kind of guy who, even if you know where the story is going, you want to travel the full length of the road he's taking you down. I can safely say that one might guess the ultimate ending, but it's not too likely, neither is it a dull ride. Our Friend Larry has more than a few mild shocks to deliver as he wends his way to the finish line.
This book is not one for those looking for the crisp, breezy prose of a Bernie Rhodenbarr, or even the sharp edge of a Matthew Scudder. This book is one that requires the reader to submerge into its murky mists and be content to jump at shadows, much like the James and Siddons novels I mentioned earlier. Much will happen, slowly, thickly, like that moment when one is trying to rise from a sleep just a little too deep to have been wholly natural, and one wonders if, instead of waking, one has begun to surface on the other side of consciousness... and there's no telling what you might find there that will follow you back to your bed.
September 29, 2017
I'll repeat the review I gave it on Amazon (it was so long ago that you could be anonymous!, so I was "A reader").
Originally marketed as "occult horror", Ariel is neither. It's a story of the madness that lies just under the surface, and what it takes to bring it out; the need to give evil a face and a name. Who better to scapegoat for unexplainable tragedies than the one who is Different? Ariel is adopted, and looks slightly unusual. Her unstable mother never fails to assume the worst, almost deliberately misreading the girl's ordinary teenage perceptiveness and need for privacy. By the book's end, almost everyone believes that Ariel is a monster -- including Ariel herself.
Great characterizations, wonderful descriptions -- I want to live in Ariel's house. I could wish for a sequel, or just for more books like it.
2017-09-28: Mr Block himself says on amazon.com:
"A publisher provided the premise of Ariel—an adoption that went awry. I was in Charleston when I began the book, and chose that extraordinary city as its setting. I don’t know to what extent the book works—I should note that not every reader agreed with the one quoted above—but I greatly enjoyed the interplay of Ariel and her friend Erskine, and on certain nights I can still hear her flute off in the distance."
Originally marketed as "occult horror", Ariel is neither. It's a story of the madness that lies just under the surface, and what it takes to bring it out; the need to give evil a face and a name. Who better to scapegoat for unexplainable tragedies than the one who is Different? Ariel is adopted, and looks slightly unusual. Her unstable mother never fails to assume the worst, almost deliberately misreading the girl's ordinary teenage perceptiveness and need for privacy. By the book's end, almost everyone believes that Ariel is a monster -- including Ariel herself.
Great characterizations, wonderful descriptions -- I want to live in Ariel's house. I could wish for a sequel, or just for more books like it.
2017-09-28: Mr Block himself says on amazon.com:
"A publisher provided the premise of Ariel—an adoption that went awry. I was in Charleston when I began the book, and chose that extraordinary city as its setting. I don’t know to what extent the book works—I should note that not every reader agreed with the one quoted above—but I greatly enjoyed the interplay of Ariel and her friend Erskine, and on certain nights I can still hear her flute off in the distance."
July 11, 2015
If you’ve read any number of Lawrence Block’s detective stories or noir crime novels, you will be unprepared for “Ariel.” It is quite unlike any of the other books he has written. In it, we have a husband and wife (David & Roberta), their teenage adopted daughter (Ariel of the title), and their son (Caleb), born not long before the start of the story. They live in an old house that may have a ghost in it, a shadowy old woman seen by Roberta (and only her) just before she finds Caleb dead in his crib.
Although each character seems quite lucid and honest when placed at the forefront of the novel, that lucidity and honesty is called into question when other characters are given their voices. As Block works his way around the main characters, then starts to bring in minor characters who observe traits unknown to the others, the story, which seemed at first either a straight ghost story or a case of murder by a family member, becomes more complicated and ambiguous. In that twilight of ambiguity, which only grows murkier as the characters descend into madness, we find unrelenting psychological suspense and a mounting feeling of menace and horror. By sublimely manipulating characters and plot elements, Block has created a very disturbing story of a family’s journey into darkness, fear and suspicion.
Although each character seems quite lucid and honest when placed at the forefront of the novel, that lucidity and honesty is called into question when other characters are given their voices. As Block works his way around the main characters, then starts to bring in minor characters who observe traits unknown to the others, the story, which seemed at first either a straight ghost story or a case of murder by a family member, becomes more complicated and ambiguous. In that twilight of ambiguity, which only grows murkier as the characters descend into madness, we find unrelenting psychological suspense and a mounting feeling of menace and horror. By sublimely manipulating characters and plot elements, Block has created a very disturbing story of a family’s journey into darkness, fear and suspicion.
February 24, 2013
Reading the first forty pages, I thought this would be a hackneyed horror story, but as I read I realized this was a unique story. I was very impressed how Mr. Block subtly evoked the horror as he entered the minds of his characters, using superior writing technique, a subtle technique. I was impressed. I enjoyed the story thoroughly.
April 29, 2016
(copied from my blog)
Disclaimer: I’ve been a Lawrence Block fan for years. Decades, even. I went to a book signing of his about 20 years back, and I can report that his self-deprecating humor was exactly what you’d expect…
More than that? I’ve benefited enormously from his books on writing. I’ve even used his “Write for Your Life” affirmations…meaning, yes, I had them playing over and over while I wrote and slept. (I’d probably do that still, but I lost the copies I downloaded. Might invest ten bucks in re-acquiring them at some point.)
So, all that said? I hate to say this next bit…but I’m a much bigger fan of his more recent work. By “more recent” I generally mean the books he’s published in the last…oh, I don’t know…30 years or so. Ariel is older than that.
But it’s amazing, in spite of my probably-stupid generalization above. Ariel is…well, it doesn’t easily fit into any sort of genre boundaries. In fact accurately fitting it into a genre would ruin much of the suspense. Occult? Crime? Coming of age? Maybe!
It doesn’t hurt, given my own recent interest in foster parenting, that the story involves an adopted child…but maybe that won’t matter much to most of you who read this. It’s astoundingly (why am I so surprised, again?) well-written. It kept me up late. I’d like to share it with you.
Want something different? I don’t care what you’ve been reading; this one’s different.
Truly a wonderful book. Go buy it if you’ve a mind (heh), or get it via Kindle Unlimited. Since it is in Kindle Unlimited, you’ll have to get the ebook from Amazon. Print versions are likely more generally available.
Disclaimer: I’ve been a Lawrence Block fan for years. Decades, even. I went to a book signing of his about 20 years back, and I can report that his self-deprecating humor was exactly what you’d expect…
More than that? I’ve benefited enormously from his books on writing. I’ve even used his “Write for Your Life” affirmations…meaning, yes, I had them playing over and over while I wrote and slept. (I’d probably do that still, but I lost the copies I downloaded. Might invest ten bucks in re-acquiring them at some point.)
So, all that said? I hate to say this next bit…but I’m a much bigger fan of his more recent work. By “more recent” I generally mean the books he’s published in the last…oh, I don’t know…30 years or so. Ariel is older than that.
But it’s amazing, in spite of my probably-stupid generalization above. Ariel is…well, it doesn’t easily fit into any sort of genre boundaries. In fact accurately fitting it into a genre would ruin much of the suspense. Occult? Crime? Coming of age? Maybe!
It doesn’t hurt, given my own recent interest in foster parenting, that the story involves an adopted child…but maybe that won’t matter much to most of you who read this. It’s astoundingly (why am I so surprised, again?) well-written. It kept me up late. I’d like to share it with you.
Want something different? I don’t care what you’ve been reading; this one’s different.
Truly a wonderful book. Go buy it if you’ve a mind (heh), or get it via Kindle Unlimited. Since it is in Kindle Unlimited, you’ll have to get the ebook from Amazon. Print versions are likely more generally available.
January 4, 2013
I love this book to bits & pieces. It was the first Lawrence Block book I read & I took out every other one the library had after it, although this book is unique and not like any other Block book to me (even though I have liked all the others I've read). I've probably read it about 5 times. The lead character is so real & yet so ghost-like as well. It's a short read, an easy read - and the kind of book where you might just turn it over & read it again once you've finished. I'm not good at doing a really professional sounding review - but if you like suspense, wit and mystery, this is a good one. The lead character is a child - and her childhood is not a happy childhood - but it's not disturbing in any real sick kind of way.
I'm wanting to read this again now to refresh my memory, as it's been years - all I can say really is read.this.book.
I'm wanting to read this again now to refresh my memory, as it's been years - all I can say really is read.this.book.
November 30, 2014
It's a story of suspense which takes after novels such as Bad Seeds. The writing is solid (after all it's written by Mr. Block) and the air of suspense is set nicely throughout the story, but things start getting messed up in the ending part, and the ending itself leaves too many things to be desired. I feel like Mr. Block was merely writing and publishing this book to gain money, it's far from his better works.
August 14, 2015
Interesting attempt at southern gothic/psychological suspense. The children in the story are supposed to be 12 but talk and act like high school teenagers. Also, while the book was published in 1980 and meant to be contemporary, it really felt like it should have been placed twenty or thirty years earlier. Hitchcockian, but not as good as Hitchcock. I could see Tippy Hedren as Roberta and Montgomery Cliff as Jeff Channing.
February 16, 2012
I really wanted to like this book. It had all the makings of a book I would love. Weird misfit kid with a troubled relationship with her mother. Spooky southern haunted house. Tragedy. Torrid affair. It just never came together. Then it ended. No real closure or suspense. Nothing left to wonder, but no real answers.
July 28, 2017
This one started as a horror book. I assure you I'm not than impressionable but two nights ago, I was reading late, alone at home, my wife and kids out of town on holidays. It was a hot summer night I had the air conditioned on. And the first chapters gave me the creeps. I though the air conditioned was guilty in part of it so I turn it off and continued reading a couple of chapters more with no powerful scenes. Then I woke up at 3 in the morning and I didn't dare to continue reading and took a Batman comic instead. With the daylight I not only saw things differently, but the book itself took another direction and wasn't a horror book at all, although it has some heavy mystery ingredients bordering the supernatural. I think this novel is very cleverly contructed and it's more about feelings and how distinct characters see things from different points of view. It's not a crime book or not exactly a crime book at least.
I've read tons of novels by Lawrence Block, and I love the Matthew Scudder misteries. However some titles by him didn't excited me so much, like the Bernie Roddenbar or Chip Harrison series, so I was a little bit skeptical about this one, which I had never heard of. I can't but recommend it. I was yesterday absolutely hooked on it and I couldn't stop reading until finished. A great pleasure.
The book was originally published in 1980, by Carroll & Graf and there are some other titles by Block in its collection, many of them also rare to me in the Block canon, like After the First Death, Coward's Kiss, Such Men Are Dangerous, You Could Call It Murder, Deadly Honeymoon or The Triumph of Evil. I'm williling to read all of them. Also in this Carroll & Graf collection are The Long Of The Long Green Heart and Mona, both of them recently published by Hard Case Crime and already in my collection and The Specialists, which I've got in the Gold Medal edition and didn't know had been published again after it. By the way, for those not knowing, The Specialists is said to be the book on which The A-Team got its inspiration.
I've read tons of novels by Lawrence Block, and I love the Matthew Scudder misteries. However some titles by him didn't excited me so much, like the Bernie Roddenbar or Chip Harrison series, so I was a little bit skeptical about this one, which I had never heard of. I can't but recommend it. I was yesterday absolutely hooked on it and I couldn't stop reading until finished. A great pleasure.
The book was originally published in 1980, by Carroll & Graf and there are some other titles by Block in its collection, many of them also rare to me in the Block canon, like After the First Death, Coward's Kiss, Such Men Are Dangerous, You Could Call It Murder, Deadly Honeymoon or The Triumph of Evil. I'm williling to read all of them. Also in this Carroll & Graf collection are The Long Of The Long Green Heart and Mona, both of them recently published by Hard Case Crime and already in my collection and The Specialists, which I've got in the Gold Medal edition and didn't know had been published again after it. By the way, for those not knowing, The Specialists is said to be the book on which The A-Team got its inspiration.
November 17, 2023
I've never read another book like this. It's part coming-of-age-story (with enjoyable, realistic banter between two sarcastic 12-year-olds, and a surprisingly excellent representation of a 12-year-old girl by a male author), part Gothic haunted house story, part suspense thriller involving adultery and a descent into madness, and it's one of only two books I've ever read that didn't leave me disappointed by an ambiguous ending. I'm going to be mulling this one over for a long time.
The cover art on my edition is extremely misleading. When I first picked up the book, I assumed the baby in the crib was Ariel and that this was an "evil child" book. And that assumption definitely influenced my perception of the novel for the first couple of chapters. I wonder how I would have interpreted things if the cover art had been different.
Highly recommended.
The cover art on my edition is extremely misleading. When I first picked up the book, I assumed the baby in the crib was Ariel and that this was an "evil child" book. And that assumption definitely influenced my perception of the novel for the first couple of chapters. I wonder how I would have interpreted things if the cover art had been different.
Highly recommended.
April 10, 2021
An excellent novel that focuses more on character than on plot. At times I felt that I knew more about a character than the character himself because I could notice things that the character glossed over. The slow simmering emotions push a Twilight Zone style plot. I found it interesting that each character developed his own fantasy based on the briefest of experiences, and that private view of their relationships drove them to the most monsterous of errors. Usually I would get bored reading about the failings of adults, but Ariel, the teenage girl, kept me reading. This is not a whodunnit, but I didn't guess the ending.
June 6, 2017
7.5/10
281 pages
Book # 33 of 2017
Not your typical Block book, this one reads like an early King horror tale, (think cross between Carrie and Firestarter. Set in Charleston, SC, the book follows a family residing in a house filled with mystery and possible haunts. Ariel is a twelve year old girl, adopted, and struggling with her own thoughts and dreams.
Definitely worth a read. Ariel surprised me in proving Block is quite the diverse author and has great range.
281 pages
Book # 33 of 2017
Not your typical Block book, this one reads like an early King horror tale, (think cross between Carrie and Firestarter. Set in Charleston, SC, the book follows a family residing in a house filled with mystery and possible haunts. Ariel is a twelve year old girl, adopted, and struggling with her own thoughts and dreams.
Definitely worth a read. Ariel surprised me in proving Block is quite the diverse author and has great range.
October 8, 2018
Oof. What to say about this. I guess I'm glad I read it? Maybe not? While it was eerie and well-written, I REALLY did not care for the subject matter. Color me sensitive, but the turn towards pedophilia turned me off.
April 5, 2024
Yikes the kid predators and creeps--pretty dated in that regard and the attitude toward that aspect of the story. Other than that, I found the relationship between Ariel and her family to be engaging.
October 22, 2018
3.5... good book, classic theme...
March 1, 2019
Curiosity to the end
dnf
July 18, 2020I love Lawrence Block's series about Bernie Rhodenbarr and Matthew Scudder but I couldn't get into this one at all.
Read
October 11, 2021DNF at 15%. Would have quit at that point with a physical book. I just didnt become interested and I didnt care and I hate baby deaths
July 29, 2025
Almost gave up on this one, the first 30-40 pages are really, truly awful. But then it engaged me. And went some places I'm not sure it should have gone. But Block is entertaining, as usual.
September 1, 2025
3.5 ⭐️
October 23, 2025
A fascinating slow-burn that never reveals too much of itself. Weird, funny, clever but also restrained.
March 28, 2023
A different kind of horror and definitely with a twist I did not see coming at the end!
May 26, 2010
Meh. It started out ok. I didn't like the fact that the main story is based around a baby's crib death. The story got better as it went on and I was waiting for certain things to happen and they never did. People died without explanation. I suppose it leaves it to your imagination to decide what was going on in this book but I felt a bit let down at the end. Not completely terrible though ;)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 6, 2015
This novel was a very interesting book. While Lawrence Block is known as a crime writer, Ariel was almost supernatural in design. I had read this bock decades ago, but had forgotten how spooky this one was, and I mean right to the end. A first-rate book from a first-rate author.
August 22, 2016
An interesting take on psycological horror by a prolific author who, so far as I know, hasn't published any other horror novels to date. This one displays a nice subtle growth of the horror elements but comes to a rather abrubt ending.
I've read several of his other works and plan to read many more.
I've read several of his other works and plan to read many more.
December 31, 2014
The first book I read in 2008. Found it to be character written.
Want to read
September 28, 2009AKA: Sheldon Lord, Jill Emerson, Paul Kavanaugh, Chip Harrison, Lawrence Block
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews