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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).
knowledgelost's review against another edition
2.0
Matthew Scudder is back and this time a small-time stoolie named Jake “The Spinner” Jablon has come to him for help. This informer has found a new line of business in blackmail but now one of his clients has figured it was better to kill than keep paying for his silence. After an attempt on his life goes wrong, The Spinner turns to Scudder to be his avenging angel if he ever does wind up dead. Only problem is when he eventually was found floating in the river, Scudder had to work out just who finally caught up to The Spinner and killed him.
Having just finished War and Peace (a review that is quite difficult to write) I felt the need to read something quick and easy. The Matthew Scudder series is just that, 1970’s hard-boiled with a gritty and fast paced style to it. Scudder is a former New York Police officer who now does ‘favours’ for people as he isn’t a licenced Private Investigator. One of the things I really like about Lawrence Block’s hard-boiled detective is the fact that there are signs that he isn’t what he claims to be. It’s revealed that Scudder was a corrupt cop and you can see the corruption start to seep into his PI work. Hard-Boiled characters normally walk that fine line between good and evil but with Matthew Scudder I get the sense that he can’t walk a straight line.
You might have noticed that I’ve been trying to write critical reviews lately but when it comes to a book like Time to Murder and Create it is hard to have in-depth criticism. This is pure escapism, a quick and entertaining read full of dark gritty characters that all have a secret to keep. Like In the Midst of Death, Time to Murder and Create wasn’t as good as The Sins of the Fathers, the series started off strong but now it feels like those crime shows on TV where there is just a new case every time and nothing new or exciting.
If I ever need a quick easy palate cleaner, then I might return to the Matthew Scudder because sometimes you need mindless entertainment. I have an idea of what I would like to see with this character but I don’t think they will go in that direction. Sometimes I wish I had the skills to write a hard-boiled crime series, just because they are fun to read and I have never found a series that lived up to the excitement of Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe series and I’m frustrated enough to want to create my own. If anyone has a recommendation for a great hard-boiled crime series, please let me know.
This review originally appeared on my blog; http://literary-exploration.com/2014/03/08/time-to-murder-and-create-by-lawrence-block/
Having just finished War and Peace (a review that is quite difficult to write) I felt the need to read something quick and easy. The Matthew Scudder series is just that, 1970’s hard-boiled with a gritty and fast paced style to it. Scudder is a former New York Police officer who now does ‘favours’ for people as he isn’t a licenced Private Investigator. One of the things I really like about Lawrence Block’s hard-boiled detective is the fact that there are signs that he isn’t what he claims to be. It’s revealed that Scudder was a corrupt cop and you can see the corruption start to seep into his PI work. Hard-Boiled characters normally walk that fine line between good and evil but with Matthew Scudder I get the sense that he can’t walk a straight line.
You might have noticed that I’ve been trying to write critical reviews lately but when it comes to a book like Time to Murder and Create it is hard to have in-depth criticism. This is pure escapism, a quick and entertaining read full of dark gritty characters that all have a secret to keep. Like In the Midst of Death, Time to Murder and Create wasn’t as good as The Sins of the Fathers, the series started off strong but now it feels like those crime shows on TV where there is just a new case every time and nothing new or exciting.
If I ever need a quick easy palate cleaner, then I might return to the Matthew Scudder because sometimes you need mindless entertainment. I have an idea of what I would like to see with this character but I don’t think they will go in that direction. Sometimes I wish I had the skills to write a hard-boiled crime series, just because they are fun to read and I have never found a series that lived up to the excitement of Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe series and I’m frustrated enough to want to create my own. If anyone has a recommendation for a great hard-boiled crime series, please let me know.
This review originally appeared on my blog; http://literary-exploration.com/2014/03/08/time-to-murder-and-create-by-lawrence-block/
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