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sandin954's review against another edition
4.0
Vintage Matt Scudder. Set during the early eighties when Matt was still trying to make it through his first year of sobriety the plot, setting, and characterizations were all up to the standards of the best books in the series.
dantastic's review against another edition
5.0
A friend of Matt Scudder's from AA winds up dead and it looks as if someone he named in his eight step is the murderer. Scudder takes the case for a cool grand and begins working the people on the list. Only the killer isn't take things lying down. Will Matt make it to one year sobriety?
You know, every time I read one of Lawrence Block's Matthew Scudder books, I feel as if I've entered a metaphorical genital measuring contest with the esteemed Mr Block. I unzip my pants to reveal that I've read the entire Scudder series and a couple hundred other mystery books besides and have a pretty good head for sleuthing and Block takes his out and shames me with 50 years of misdirecting guys like me. Like a lot of the Scudder books, Block hides the killer in plain sight and dares you to figure out the mystery before Matt. Yeah, old Lawrence got me again.
A Drop of the Hard Stuff is a flashback tale akin to When the Sacred Gin Mill Closes. Matt and Mick Ballou are talking late into the night and Matt brings up a case from the early days. Block did a good job with his references, from the double-bladed disposable razor to the mysterious disease afflicting gay men. It was fantastic seeing old supporting cast members like Jan, Jim, and Danny Boy Bell. The case itself was vintage Scudder. Block crafted a nice cast of losers and douche bags for Matt to interact with. Like I said before, I had no idea who the killer was until Matt figured it out. I'd say that's the mark of an exceptional mystery.
Matt's personal life and continued struggle with sobriety were center stage in A Drop of the Hard Stuff, much like they would be for many books to come. Matt Scudder continues to be one of my favorite characters in all of crime fiction.
Any gripes? Yeah, I wasn't that thrilled with the ending. I didn't like how things were resolved between Matt and the killer. Other than that, I don't have a single complaint.
For Scudder fans of old, this is a must read. It lives up to its predecessors and you won't be disappointed.
You know, every time I read one of Lawrence Block's Matthew Scudder books, I feel as if I've entered a metaphorical genital measuring contest with the esteemed Mr Block. I unzip my pants to reveal that I've read the entire Scudder series and a couple hundred other mystery books besides and have a pretty good head for sleuthing and Block takes his out and shames me with 50 years of misdirecting guys like me. Like a lot of the Scudder books, Block hides the killer in plain sight and dares you to figure out the mystery before Matt. Yeah, old Lawrence got me again.
A Drop of the Hard Stuff is a flashback tale akin to When the Sacred Gin Mill Closes. Matt and Mick Ballou are talking late into the night and Matt brings up a case from the early days. Block did a good job with his references, from the double-bladed disposable razor to the mysterious disease afflicting gay men. It was fantastic seeing old supporting cast members like Jan, Jim, and Danny Boy Bell. The case itself was vintage Scudder. Block crafted a nice cast of losers and douche bags for Matt to interact with. Like I said before, I had no idea who the killer was until Matt figured it out. I'd say that's the mark of an exceptional mystery.
Matt's personal life and continued struggle with sobriety were center stage in A Drop of the Hard Stuff, much like they would be for many books to come. Matt Scudder continues to be one of my favorite characters in all of crime fiction.
Any gripes? Yeah, I wasn't that thrilled with the ending. I didn't like how things were resolved between Matt and the killer. Other than that, I don't have a single complaint.
For Scudder fans of old, this is a must read. It lives up to its predecessors and you won't be disappointed.
ericbuscemi's review against another edition
5.0
A perfect detective story. It was well framed, had a tight plot, great descriptions, believable three-dimensional characters, phenomenal dialogue, and an unseen ending that didn't seem forced or gimmicky.
A Drop of the Hard Stuff is worth reading if only as a case study for how to write dialogue realistically, or how to research a setting -- the entire book revolves around Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and writings, which Block wrote so well, I was certain he was a recovering alcoholic.
A Drop of the Hard Stuff is worth reading if only as a case study for how to write dialogue realistically, or how to research a setting -- the entire book revolves around Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and writings, which Block wrote so well, I was certain he was a recovering alcoholic.
nixieknox's review against another edition
4.0
Loved it! This was my first Matthew Scudder but it won't be my last. I've been needing a new mystery series to follow. This had the perfect amount of crime/clues/relationships/hard-boiledness.
arthur_pendrgn's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this. Not as much as the Keller series, but I liked it. This was a re-read and I still liked it. But oh, the difference cell phones make.
usbsticky's review against another edition
4.0
Spoilers ahead:
I'm almost at the end of the series and this is the last full length novel. But it isn't the last one chronologically. It actually goes back in time a bit. It occurs right when Scudder breaks up with Jan. I can't remember where it would slot in the series but it's also before he becomes friends with Mick or meets TJ, two people who would be of great help in his investigations. Joe Durkin is still on the force but doesn't appear much.
So an old elementary school friend of Scudder meets him up. Jack was a small time criminal and starting on his own journey of sobriety. One of the steps is where he makes amends (step 4?). And what Jack is doing is going around trying to apologize to all the people he's robbed or ripped off.
Then Jack is killed, shot in the mouth and head. Jack's sponsor, Gregory, hires Scudder to look into the murder. The most obvious place to look is the list of people who Jack has wronged and contacted, in case one of them decided to take revenge. One of them is angry but most don't care, in fact Scudder ruled them out.
Then one of those victims is murdered, then Greg is murdered. But the first seems to be a robbery gone wrong and the second seems to be suicide. Scudder doesn't believe it. This becomes a certainty when the killer tries to get Scudder drinking again by breaking into his hotel room and dousing his bed and mattress with two bottles of bourbon.
During all this time, Scudder's investigations have revealed that Jack sometimes had a partner in crime and that person is shaping up to be the person responsible. The crime in particular seems to be a home invasion gone wrong into two murders and obviously Jack's partner doesn't want this to come up during Jack's amends, hence killing him to prevent that.
Eventually Scudder figures it out, however there is no evidence or none that could stand up to a conviction to tie the partner with any of the murders. Eventually Scudder meets up with him and agrees to a Mexican standoff where the killer won't kill Scudder and Scudder will keep mum.
The ending was a bit disappointing to me and seemed rushed. The usual MO would have been the killer coming to an untimely accident by the hands of Scudder. The usual quirks of Block's writing make their usual appearance. There are stretches of what I call long dialog where characters spend 3-4 pages talking about something which could have been done in 2 sentences or really just have no meaning. There's also a lot of reference to AA and Scudder's journey to sobriety. I'm actually going to go back to book one to see what his level of addiction was there because I don't remember it being a major part of the story. Overall still a great series and Scudder has become one of my favorite detectives.
I'm almost at the end of the series and this is the last full length novel. But it isn't the last one chronologically. It actually goes back in time a bit. It occurs right when Scudder breaks up with Jan. I can't remember where it would slot in the series but it's also before he becomes friends with Mick or meets TJ, two people who would be of great help in his investigations. Joe Durkin is still on the force but doesn't appear much.
So an old elementary school friend of Scudder meets him up. Jack was a small time criminal and starting on his own journey of sobriety. One of the steps is where he makes amends (step 4?). And what Jack is doing is going around trying to apologize to all the people he's robbed or ripped off.
Then Jack is killed, shot in the mouth and head. Jack's sponsor, Gregory, hires Scudder to look into the murder. The most obvious place to look is the list of people who Jack has wronged and contacted, in case one of them decided to take revenge. One of them is angry but most don't care, in fact Scudder ruled them out.
Then one of those victims is murdered, then Greg is murdered. But the first seems to be a robbery gone wrong and the second seems to be suicide. Scudder doesn't believe it. This becomes a certainty when the killer tries to get Scudder drinking again by breaking into his hotel room and dousing his bed and mattress with two bottles of bourbon.
During all this time, Scudder's investigations have revealed that Jack sometimes had a partner in crime and that person is shaping up to be the person responsible. The crime in particular seems to be a home invasion gone wrong into two murders and obviously Jack's partner doesn't want this to come up during Jack's amends, hence killing him to prevent that.
Eventually Scudder figures it out, however there is no evidence or none that could stand up to a conviction to tie the partner with any of the murders. Eventually Scudder meets up with him and agrees to a Mexican standoff where the killer won't kill Scudder and Scudder will keep mum.
The ending was a bit disappointing to me and seemed rushed. The usual MO would have been the killer coming to an untimely accident by the hands of Scudder. The usual quirks of Block's writing make their usual appearance. There are stretches of what I call long dialog where characters spend 3-4 pages talking about something which could have been done in 2 sentences or really just have no meaning. There's also a lot of reference to AA and Scudder's journey to sobriety. I'm actually going to go back to book one to see what his level of addiction was there because I don't remember it being a major part of the story. Overall still a great series and Scudder has become one of my favorite detectives.
books_and_tea_with_me's review against another edition
I am not sure if I will read more or these series or not, there was a lot about being an alcoholic and that was interesting.
bundy23's review against another edition
4.0
We go back in time for this one, Scudder is coming up to his 1 year sober anniversary and he finds himself sucked into another murder/mystery. Some probably won’t like the resolution but, for mine, that’s what makes this series so good...
boleary30's review against another edition
4.0
Another good Scudder book as he battles the bad guys and his own demons.
r_q_b's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not sure if it's because I haven't read the other books and joined the series at what appears to be the end, but I was not a huge fan of this particular story. I kept waiting for things to pick up, but essentially it turned out to be 319 pages of what the main character ate, which AA meeting he made it to and where he walked. Add to that, the end was disappointing and overshadowed any redeeming qualities the book might have had. I've read worse, but this is far from a favorite.