Those looking for another Block series akin to Matthew Scudder or Bernie Rhodenbarr should look elsewhere. Block honed his writing craft and made a living in the sixties and early seventies with what are often termed softcore books that appeared on the newsstand racks with racy covers in an era long before anyone dreamed of the internet. These books, particularly the first two Chip Harrison books (“No Score” and “Chip Harrison Scores Again”), which are not mysteries at all, fall into the softcore category. They are meant to be humorous, tongue-in- cheek, bawdy tales of a young man (Chip Harrison) who has adventures wandering from one town to another and meeting women along the way.

“Chip Harrison Scores Again” is the second book in the series. Chip has silly, risqué adventures which range from finding a bus ticket in a stolen wallet and meeting an amorous lady on the bus, to his evening thinking the prostitute he takes to a hotel has fallen for him so badly that she won’t charge him, to ending up in a small Georgia town for no reason, none that he could explain to the sheriff, to working as a deputy sheriff/bouncer in the town brothel, and to spending his lunch hours with the preacher’s daughter. The characters are hilarious and are meant to be that way. It feels as if Block, in writing this, was half- poking fun at the entire genre. It’s not really meant to be taken seriously. All in all, this is a light, humorous, bawdy read, meant for a mature audience and is not part of Block’s body of mystery and noir work, although you can read this and hear his voice developing. ( )