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teejayniu's review
4.0
This is the second book in the Matthew Scudder series. Great story about blackmail and murder. I liked how Scudder draws the other characters out to solve the mystery. Lawrence Block knows how to weave a tight story in less than 200 pages.
moreadsbooks's review against another edition
3.0
While I agree with Scudder that murder is worse than most other crimes & that Spinner, for all his faults, at least has never killed anyone & thus deserves better than being dumped in the river with a broken skull, let's be honest here - raping kids is pretty much as horrible & reprehensible as murder. This would've been a four-star book for me, but the fact that Scudder is willing to let Huysendahl off the hook basically because he says he's not into pedophilia all that much anymore does not sit well with me. It jars with my (admittedly limited) experience with what Scudder finds reasonable & with how he defines his morality. It reminds me a lot of why I was angry with Spero Lucas at the end of The Double. I'm not breaking up with Scudder or anything, but in the future, please let's have the pedophiles get more than just a slap on the wrist, shall we?
ericwelch's review against another edition
4.0
An early Scudder (apparently the second) when he was still off the wagon. Matt agrees to hold an envelope for"Spinner," a con so-named because of his habit of constantly spinning silver dollars on the table while talking to you. Spinner turns up dead and following the instructions left by Spinner, Matt opens the envelope to discover blackmail details on three otherwise upstanding citizens. Spinner's instructions are for Matt to find out who killed him, deal with that individual, and to leave the other two off the blackmail hook. Matt's only way to discover the identity of the killer is to set himself up as Spinner's successor, i.e. painting a big fat bullseye on his back. Needless to say things don;t quite work out as planned and Matt is forced to dispense his own brand of justice -- in this case one I heartily approve of.
A lot of rumination on the consequences of small actions. We never know what the outcome will be of any myriad of small decisions, e.g., what if we had left home 5 minutes earlier; would we have avoided the accident, that kind of thing. Really excellent example of Block's talent. Perfect for a short flight.
A lot of rumination on the consequences of small actions. We never know what the outcome will be of any myriad of small decisions, e.g., what if we had left home 5 minutes earlier; would we have avoided the accident, that kind of thing. Really excellent example of Block's talent. Perfect for a short flight.
ctgt's review against another edition
4.0
I'm loving this Scudder series. In these early books, Block seems to be using the mystery/murder to explore his character's motivations rather than solving as a means to an end.
carol26388's review against another edition
4.0
Second edition of Matthew Scudder's saga, and I'm looking forward to the next.
(Oh, who am I kidding? I've already started the next one, but had to stop and do the review for this so I can give it the thought it deserves).
Scudder's daily meander between bourbon and coffee is interrupted when Spinner, one of his ex-stoolies, comes to him with a request. Hold on to an envelope; if Spinner dies, open it and take whatever action Scudder thinks is right. If nothing happens to Spinner, no fair eyeballing the contents. Needless to say, something happens to Spinner, the envelope is opened and Scudder finds himself contacting the unsavory victims of Spinner's blackmail in an effort to solve his murder.
Block's skill at characterization continues to shine. Scudder's actions, while somewhat considered, still have unintended and unfortunate consequences, much like his shooting the bystander in the robbery. Good intentions, half-baked implementation and disastrous consequences. I liked that Block was willing to throw his lead into such difficult situations, but equally unwilling to let him wallow there. Even as Scudder flirts with an alcoholic haze, he finds himself unable to abandon responsibility. I can see why this would be an Edgar nominee; the level of moral ambiguity and compassion for the characters is impressive.
Trina is fast becoming one of my favorite guest characters, with her sympathetic ear and her sassy humor. Here she checks out a visitor for Scudder and her description makes a strange kind of sense:
"You know who he looks like? The Marlboro man."
"From the commercials? Didn't they use more than one guy?"
"Sure. He looks like all of them. You know, high rawhide boots and a wide-brimmed hat and smelling of horseshit, and the tattoo on his hand. He's not wearing boots or a hat, and he doesn't have the tattoo, but it's the same image. Don't ask me if he smells of horseshit. I didn't get close enough to tell."
Block's writing so clearly captures an image that there are spots that I find myself re-reading for sheer pleasure. He had the best description of a cigarette after a long hiatus that almost lured me into picking one up:
"I brought a pack of cigarettes out of the machine and smoke three of them with my coffee. They were the first I'd had in almost two months, and I couldn't have gotten a better hit if I'd punched them right into a vein. They made me dizzy but in a nice way."
That's right, kids--cigarettes used to be sold in vending machine. But don't worry; there was a sign on them that said it was illegal to sell or buy them if you were under 18, so it was perfectly safe).
For me, the one downside was the mystery itself. Scudder thinks he's fingered the killer, and it is such an illogical assumption that one can almost see the flick of a red tail in the pages. Still, the twists and big reveal are satisfactory, if for no other reason than Scudder's unique resolution skills.
Three and a half stars, rounding up because Trina made me laugh and Block made me remember a cigarette from ten years ago.
(Oh, who am I kidding? I've already started the next one, but had to stop and do the review for this so I can give it the thought it deserves).
Scudder's daily meander between bourbon and coffee is interrupted when Spinner, one of his ex-stoolies, comes to him with a request. Hold on to an envelope; if Spinner dies, open it and take whatever action Scudder thinks is right. If nothing happens to Spinner, no fair eyeballing the contents. Needless to say, something happens to Spinner, the envelope is opened and Scudder finds himself contacting the unsavory victims of Spinner's blackmail in an effort to solve his murder.
Block's skill at characterization continues to shine. Scudder's actions, while somewhat considered, still have unintended and unfortunate consequences, much like his shooting the bystander in the robbery. Good intentions, half-baked implementation and disastrous consequences. I liked that Block was willing to throw his lead into such difficult situations, but equally unwilling to let him wallow there. Even as Scudder flirts with an alcoholic haze, he finds himself unable to abandon responsibility. I can see why this would be an Edgar nominee; the level of moral ambiguity and compassion for the characters is impressive.
Trina is fast becoming one of my favorite guest characters, with her sympathetic ear and her sassy humor. Here she checks out a visitor for Scudder and her description makes a strange kind of sense:
"You know who he looks like? The Marlboro man."
"From the commercials? Didn't they use more than one guy?"
"Sure. He looks like all of them. You know, high rawhide boots and a wide-brimmed hat and smelling of horseshit, and the tattoo on his hand. He's not wearing boots or a hat, and he doesn't have the tattoo, but it's the same image. Don't ask me if he smells of horseshit. I didn't get close enough to tell."
Block's writing so clearly captures an image that there are spots that I find myself re-reading for sheer pleasure. He had the best description of a cigarette after a long hiatus that almost lured me into picking one up:
"I brought a pack of cigarettes out of the machine and smoke three of them with my coffee. They were the first I'd had in almost two months, and I couldn't have gotten a better hit if I'd punched them right into a vein. They made me dizzy but in a nice way."
That's right, kids--cigarettes used to be sold in vending machine. But don't worry; there was a sign on them that said it was illegal to sell or buy them if you were under 18, so it was perfectly safe).
For me, the one downside was the mystery itself. Scudder thinks he's fingered the killer, and it is such an illogical assumption that one can almost see the flick of a red tail in the pages. Still, the twists and big reveal are satisfactory, if for no other reason than Scudder's unique resolution skills.
Three and a half stars, rounding up because Trina made me laugh and Block made me remember a cigarette from ten years ago.
satyridae's review against another edition
3.0
Scudder is one of those characters who really kind of grows on you. He's sort of broken, and you want to help him. At the same time, he's very competent and quick to figure out what's happening. I like Block's writing even though I'm not usually a big mystery fan. I'm enjoying revisiting this series on audio.
jamespatrickjoyce's review against another edition
4.0
Two things I'm thinking. One is that Matt Scudder is a son-of-a-bitch.
Don't take my word for it, he gets called that (and other things) enough times. He's not a knight in shining armor, though he is a hero. Tarnished, dirty, mean and nasty, and honest enough to own up to all the above.
A friend who is also a blackmailer of criminals and a not-so-decent human being is murdered by one of his victims. But he knew it was coming and, in preparation, he gifted Matt with all the blackmail evidence for his three victims, and a large chunk of money. And he knew Matt was the kind of guy who can turn a blind eye to almost any crime... except murder. Especially when the murder victim was a friend (however slim) and asked him to solve it.
The other thing I'm thinking is that these novels read like you're experiencing Scudder's life and these murders and attempts on his life (count them off, as they occur) are just events that happen, along the way.
But mostly, I'm just thinking that Matt Scudder is a son-of-a-bitch and it's cool that I enjoy his company... (though I probably wouldn't want to have a drink with him).
Don't take my word for it, he gets called that (and other things) enough times. He's not a knight in shining armor, though he is a hero. Tarnished, dirty, mean and nasty, and honest enough to own up to all the above.
A friend who is also a blackmailer of criminals and a not-so-decent human being is murdered by one of his victims. But he knew it was coming and, in preparation, he gifted Matt with all the blackmail evidence for his three victims, and a large chunk of money. And he knew Matt was the kind of guy who can turn a blind eye to almost any crime... except murder. Especially when the murder victim was a friend (however slim) and asked him to solve it.
The other thing I'm thinking is that these novels read like you're experiencing Scudder's life and these murders and attempts on his life (count them off, as they occur) are just events that happen, along the way.
But mostly, I'm just thinking that Matt Scudder is a son-of-a-bitch and it's cool that I enjoy his company... (though I probably wouldn't want to have a drink with him).