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arthur_pendrgn's review against another edition
3.0
This was a re-read. More like noir detective fiction than some of the later ones in this series.
usbsticky's review against another edition
4.0
I read this book because I read book 1 and liked it. This series has a very gumshoe noir feel to it, very 70's. The series background is that Scudder is an ex-cop. Ex because he accidentally shot and killed a little girl. Exonerated by the police board but he still can't get over it. In the series he is an unlicensed PI type guy who does favors for people.
Spoilers: the plot for this book is something I hadn't come across before and give it full marks for a different story. A small time crook (the Spinner) comes to Scudder and gives him an envelope. He says open it and follow the directions if I die and gives him some money for the "favor".
Well Spinner dies and he opens the envelope. It turns out that the Spinner has been blackmailing 3 different people. If he dies, then one of them will have killed him. He wants Scudder to find who the killer is and expose him. At first Scudder wants to turn the whole thing over to the police but if he does, the back stories of all people will be known. And he doesn't want the backstories of the 2 innocent people to be known to the world, he figures that they paid the Spinner and their secret deserves to be kept a secret, whereas the killer's secret should be exposed.
These books are quick to read and I finished it in a couple of days. I like them because I like Scudder and his story. As it is now, he's a very troubled individual, troubled because of what he did and I would like to see him eventually come to grips with it.
Spoilers: the plot for this book is something I hadn't come across before and give it full marks for a different story. A small time crook (the Spinner) comes to Scudder and gives him an envelope. He says open it and follow the directions if I die and gives him some money for the "favor".
Well Spinner dies and he opens the envelope. It turns out that the Spinner has been blackmailing 3 different people. If he dies, then one of them will have killed him. He wants Scudder to find who the killer is and expose him. At first Scudder wants to turn the whole thing over to the police but if he does, the back stories of all people will be known. And he doesn't want the backstories of the 2 innocent people to be known to the world, he figures that they paid the Spinner and their secret deserves to be kept a secret, whereas the killer's secret should be exposed.
These books are quick to read and I finished it in a couple of days. I like them because I like Scudder and his story. As it is now, he's a very troubled individual, troubled because of what he did and I would like to see him eventually come to grips with it.
henrismum's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Audiobook (All of my entries on The Story Graph are audiobooks.)
#2 in series (I started reading this series in October 2022.)
Will I read other installments?Probably Not Maybe Definitely I will continue with this series. The books are quick and action packed with just enough emotional depth. This was a story about blackmail and murder.
Comparison to others in series: Not as goodAbout the same Better This was good and kept you guessing, but book one was better.
The narrator was Alan Sklar. He didn't seem quite right for this book.
#2 in series (I started reading this series in October 2022.)
Will I read other installments?
Comparison to others in series: Not as good
The narrator was Alan Sklar. He didn't seem quite right for this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Pedophilia, Grief, Murder, and Alcohol
on_a_sunbeam's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The dialogue reminded me a lot of Brick (which makes sense, I suppose, seeing as they're both in the noir genre), and while I don't think the mystery itself was the greatest I've read, it was still quite good and the rest of the book surely made up for it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Pedophilia, Suicide, and Murder
Minor: Sexual content
bundy23's review against another edition
4.0
Much better than the first Matthew Scudder book, I can see myself flying through the rest of these...
sonofthe's review against another edition
4.0
Scudder is approached by an old confidential informant of his. He’s worried that someone’s out to get him and, in case he shows up dead, he wants Scudder to solve his murder.
More hard-boiled goodness from Block. I’m glad there are so many of his books for me to go through.
Alan Sklar continues as an excellent narrator.
More hard-boiled goodness from Block. I’m glad there are so many of his books for me to go through.
Alan Sklar continues as an excellent narrator.
hpuphd's review
4.0
Reviewers here refer to the Scudder novels as escapist or as “mindless entertainment” perhaps because they are genre novels or because they were popular. Block’s attention, however, seems to be more on the main character and his damaged state of mind than on the plot and its resolution. Scudder wants to hang on to whatever integrity he still may have, and he seems to see that as connected somehow to his loneliness. This is a good entry and worth reading, but overall it is less than the first and third books.
boleary30's review against another edition
4.0
A very good follow up to the first of the series, the main character is very strong and will keep you reading.