Good news from Lawrence Block: The prolific mystery author's next book, Hit Parade, hits stores July 4. Nothing like a good old feel-good book about a professional hit man to stir that patriotic spirit. It's Block's third to follow hit man Keller, and the book again follows the formula of offering short stories that, when read back-to-back, stitch together nicely as a novel (or, one assumes. I'm out of the business of getting galleys way in advance, so I must wait like everyone else). After a long winning streak, Block has been a bit hit or miss over his last few books. It felt like he was a bit off his game with his last two Matthew Scudder novels, All the Flowers Are Dying and Hope to Die, while the lurid, overlong, yet strangely compelling stand-alone Small Town and the fantastic Scudder outing Everyone Dies proved he still has talent to burn. Where will Hit Parade fall? The first two Keller outings were a nice change of pace and among his best recent work, so hope springs eternal.

In his spring newsletter Block also shares some interesting news about long-rumored film work. He writes that he has been working with Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-wai for the past two years and that his is now working on a screenplay for the director's first English-language feature called "My Blueberry Nights." The film is to star singer Norah Jones, and is based on a short filmed by Kar-wai a few years ago. Block hasn't had the best luck with films -- he shares his thoughts on the dismal adaptations of "Burglar" and "Eight Million Ways to Die" on his web site -- but maybe being involved from the start will allow him some quality control.

In other news, the latest issue of Bold Type is up, this one about secrets and featuring reviews of books by Sheila Heti, Frank Warren and Cloud Atlas scribe David Mitchell.