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em_beddedinbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Another BR with Manju.
Have been wanting to read a Mathew Scudder book for long.. and jumped in at this opportunity.. and it was a short but satisfactory read.
A young girl who had left her loving home and had questionable means of earning livelihood is murdered by bloodbath. Her house mate , a younger man , who is estranged feom his priest father is found semi inaked and covered in blood on the road near their apartment. He is caught, imprisoned ... and within a few hours, commits suicide.
The girl's father wants to know the reason behind these unseeming acts. He employs Mathew Scudder, who gets to the core of the matter.
Enjoyed this tale of love gone astray and longings never satisfied.
Guessed at the killer as well as the reason behind it by about approx 60% ... and patted self when proven correct.
Would recommend this to anyone who likes a good psychological murder mystery .
Would definitely continue with the series .
Have been wanting to read a Mathew Scudder book for long.. and jumped in at this opportunity.. and it was a short but satisfactory read.
A young girl who had left her loving home and had questionable means of earning livelihood is murdered by bloodbath. Her house mate , a younger man , who is estranged feom his priest father is found semi inaked and covered in blood on the road near their apartment. He is caught, imprisoned ... and within a few hours, commits suicide.
The girl's father wants to know the reason behind these unseeming acts. He employs Mathew Scudder, who gets to the core of the matter.
Enjoyed this tale of love gone astray and longings never satisfied.
Guessed at the killer as well as the reason behind it by about approx 60% ... and patted self when proven correct.
Would recommend this to anyone who likes a good psychological murder mystery .
Would definitely continue with the series .
sjlee's review against another edition
3.0
I picked up this book because I was looking for something along the lines of a traditional detective/noir mystery. I watched the film 'A Walk Among the Tombstones' and so the Matthew Scudder character and style definitely had an appeal.
The story takes place in the 1970s and the book was written at the same time. As a result, there were aspects to it that were difficult to easily digest as a reader in 2021. The discussion or depiction of women, abuse, and queer people is definitely not what I would consider 'correct' in the current era. However, the book got a pass because certain ideas were not developed at that time. Moreover, I thought Block did a decent job of making people into characters rather than caricatures. Many of the characters in the story are dealing with trauma and their behaviours are informed by that. Some of Block's conclusions may be a bit simplistic, but one could argue it's working with familiar tropes and clichés.
Scudder is an interesting protagonist. He's clearly pressed in the noir/anti-hero mould. He's a good investigator, but he's haunted by past mistakes. He operates under his own system of morality, which at times will be in opposition to the reader's. He wasn't a clean, heroic cop, but he does seek justice - in his own terms.
Probably my principle objection was how the primary victim in the case found herself in a life of sex work. I found the narrative leading to that point off-putting. The ultimate killer did tie things together, but seemed pretty straightforward. I suppose the interesting aspect to that is the killer's motive rather than who the killer is.
Overall I am willing to give Block and Matthew Scudder another look.
The story takes place in the 1970s and the book was written at the same time. As a result, there were aspects to it that were difficult to easily digest as a reader in 2021. The discussion or depiction of women, abuse, and queer people is definitely not what I would consider 'correct' in the current era. However, the book got a pass because certain ideas were not developed at that time. Moreover, I thought Block did a decent job of making people into characters rather than caricatures. Many of the characters in the story are dealing with trauma and their behaviours are informed by that. Some of Block's conclusions may be a bit simplistic, but one could argue it's working with familiar tropes and clichés.
Scudder is an interesting protagonist. He's clearly pressed in the noir/anti-hero mould. He's a good investigator, but he's haunted by past mistakes. He operates under his own system of morality, which at times will be in opposition to the reader's. He wasn't a clean, heroic cop, but he does seek justice - in his own terms.
Probably my principle objection was how the primary victim in the case found herself in a life of sex work. I found the narrative leading to that point off-putting. The ultimate killer did tie things together, but seemed pretty straightforward. I suppose the interesting aspect to that is the killer's motive rather than who the killer is.
Overall I am willing to give Block and Matthew Scudder another look.
noonjinx's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this one but it’s slightly odd. The first two thirds of the book are a fairly sedate description of a murder investigation. That’s OK because the characters are good and the writing is excellent. Then there is some action but it’s the hero, Matthew Scudder, taking out his frustration on a mugger which has nothing to do with the plot. In the last third the author revels in the unpleasantness of everything that happened before the story started. I liked enough to read the next in the series though
thereaderred's review against another edition
4.0
Hoooo boy! Where do I start with this?
My first Matt Scudder book and it did not disappoint. Although I have read Lawrence Block before I had not gotten the chance to read one of his series works. Sure I had read one of his early novels (see Borderline) and one of his later ones (see Girl With The Blue Eyes) but this fit nicely alongside them. Written in 1976, this book still feels quite relevant in its subject matter, in addition it’s somewhat philosophical as the internal struggle of the hero is not just the mystery but the way he buries his past in his personal life.
Block’s writing is very crisp and natural, it’s got the same prose style as Raymond Chandler or Richard Stark but it’s also more colourful in its use of language - one thing I respect is that it doesn’t shy away from the down and dirty. I also liked the twist at the end because not only was it relevant it was logical, which can be a hard thing to pull off to a lesser writer.
I thought this was a very good book, I finished it in just over a day and I hope to read the rest of the series some time, despite hearing how bleak each new title gets.
My first Matt Scudder book and it did not disappoint. Although I have read Lawrence Block before I had not gotten the chance to read one of his series works. Sure I had read one of his early novels (see Borderline) and one of his later ones (see Girl With The Blue Eyes) but this fit nicely alongside them. Written in 1976, this book still feels quite relevant in its subject matter, in addition it’s somewhat philosophical as the internal struggle of the hero is not just the mystery but the way he buries his past in his personal life.
Block’s writing is very crisp and natural, it’s got the same prose style as Raymond Chandler or Richard Stark but it’s also more colourful in its use of language - one thing I respect is that it doesn’t shy away from the down and dirty. I also liked the twist at the end because not only was it relevant it was logical, which can be a hard thing to pull off to a lesser writer.
I thought this was a very good book, I finished it in just over a day and I hope to read the rest of the series some time, despite hearing how bleak each new title gets.
thomasroche's review against another edition
4.0
This is a very good P.I. novel, but I would be remiss if I didn't point out that the author and narrator essentially spend the whole novel blaming a prostitute for her own (borderline "inevitable") murder. Naturally, the perpetrator turns out to be someone "unexpected", and there's more to the story than first appears, or even appears until the 90% point. These facts don't quite override any political objection I have to this novel, but I'll live with it because it's very well-written and ultimately blames the blameworthy. Let's face it, if I really started beefing classic noir writers for underlying sex-negativity, uh... that wouldn't end well for anybody. In any event, Block is a damn solid writer; this is one of the classic seventies P.I. novels, and it's well worth a read if that's your jam.
birdmanseven's review against another edition
5.0
I was pleasantly surprised by this series. It was well plotted, the characters were original and the dialogue was crisp. Scudder is a well-crafted character and I will definitely be reading more of Lawrence Block.
soavezefiretto's review against another edition
3.0
It should probably be more of a two-star book. I liked the beginning, but was disappointed in the end. Scudder's psychological insights and big talks to Wendy's and the boy's father, respectively, were just not believable for me. But I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this, given that I almost never read crime novels. I even read this with my little New York map by my side so I could follow Matt's steps. Geeky, I know. I may read more Scudder mysteries, since I hear he's a character that really develops over the years. Also, yes, I read this because I watched that film with Liam Neeson. Shut up.
urbaer's review against another edition
4.0
My only real issue with the book relates to the title (I mean it's like reading a book called "The Butler Did It"). It's an interesting take on the PI solving murder shtick. Matt's never in any danger, he's just going around asking questions and rarely pushes anyone too hard and even without the aid of the title you'll probably get a bit of the jist of what went down before he does.
Still it's interesting to follow him go through his investigation and try and eek out his backstory.
Still it's interesting to follow him go through his investigation and try and eek out his backstory.