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usbsticky's review against another edition
5.0
Spoilers ahead: This is the 4th book I've read in the series. I liked the first two (4 star ratings), thought the 3rd was meh (3 star rating) and stopped for a while. Taking a break from Bernard Cornwell I decided to read #4 in this series and was blown away.
This is an investigator procedural. The protagonist is a former NYPD detective who quit his job because he inadvertently shot and killed a child shooting at a robbery gone bad. Since then he has become an unofficial unlicensed PI who looks at cases when they are referred to him. They are referred to him because people (usually cops he used to work with) know that he's good, and unofficial.
The whole setting is a bit strange, it's based in NY but the dollar amounts (a few hundred bucks for rent), people casually smoking, diners in pharmacies, the lack of technology and the way people behave make it seem like it's in the 50-60's when the book is published in the 1980 or so. It never really gives dates.
Back to the book. A serial killer (ice picks) has been apprehended but the father of a victim doesn't believe his daughter was killed by the serial killer and hires Scudder for another look.
This procedural is faithful to its name because it follows the formula of Scudder doing the footwork, looking up and interviewing witnesses one by one and piecing the story together and building up the excitement.
It isn't fast paced but I'm glued to the book because of the work the author puts in to make the setting and characters feel real and interesting. By the middle of the book I already knew I was going to give the book 5 stars and I was going to read the next one.
There is a lot of noir feeling in this book despite the dubious (to me) timeline. And every notable mystery series protagonist has a catch, in this case Scudder is an alcoholic. I read the first 3 books some time ago so I don't remember how much he was drinking but in this book, he's drink every meal and in between.
The reveal and ending is quite quick. The enjoyment of the book to me isn't really in the goal (solving the mystery), it's in the journey. I'm going to get book 5 not because of what new mystery he's going to solve but because I want to find out what is going to happen to Scudder next, and that's what a truly good book and series is.
This is an investigator procedural. The protagonist is a former NYPD detective who quit his job because he inadvertently shot and killed a child shooting at a robbery gone bad. Since then he has become an unofficial unlicensed PI who looks at cases when they are referred to him. They are referred to him because people (usually cops he used to work with) know that he's good, and unofficial.
The whole setting is a bit strange, it's based in NY but the dollar amounts (a few hundred bucks for rent), people casually smoking, diners in pharmacies, the lack of technology and the way people behave make it seem like it's in the 50-60's when the book is published in the 1980 or so. It never really gives dates.
Back to the book. A serial killer (ice picks) has been apprehended but the father of a victim doesn't believe his daughter was killed by the serial killer and hires Scudder for another look.
This procedural is faithful to its name because it follows the formula of Scudder doing the footwork, looking up and interviewing witnesses one by one and piecing the story together and building up the excitement.
It isn't fast paced but I'm glued to the book because of the work the author puts in to make the setting and characters feel real and interesting. By the middle of the book I already knew I was going to give the book 5 stars and I was going to read the next one.
There is a lot of noir feeling in this book despite the dubious (to me) timeline. And every notable mystery series protagonist has a catch, in this case Scudder is an alcoholic. I read the first 3 books some time ago so I don't remember how much he was drinking but in this book, he's drink every meal and in between.
The reveal and ending is quite quick. The enjoyment of the book to me isn't really in the goal (solving the mystery), it's in the journey. I'm going to get book 5 not because of what new mystery he's going to solve but because I want to find out what is going to happen to Scudder next, and that's what a truly good book and series is.
bambooty's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
hpuphd's review against another edition
5.0
This novel works expertly as both a detective story and a character-driven story on the struggle to keep the light on in our soul. Chapter 8 is a great example. Matt Scudder goes to talk to a woman familiar with the nine-year-old murder he is investigating. But they both happen to be incipient alcoholics, a condition they slowly begin to sense about each other in a long conversation with some difficult and revealing questions. As it develops, you suddenly realize that Block has set the crime story aside to favor the deeper concerns of a mainstream novel. Later, Scudder’s ex-wife calls him to say that the aged family dog had to be put to sleep. Their sons had grown so old that they ignored the pet, but the wife cherished and misses the dog. She has no one else who knew of him to talk to. Block devotes a page and a half to that awkward, human moment. Again and again lonely people reach out or fool themselves into thinking they don’t need to. The book is a dark but honest meditation on human need.
nantoka_neko's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
moreilly1917's review against another edition
5.0
I continue to find Matt Scudder’s unconventional sense of justice engaging. Coupled with his increasingly perilous relationship with booze, his hero persona has begun to have leanings towards the ‘anti’ side of the hero spectrum, adding complexity and intrigue to these short investigative stories.
Steamy scale 0.5 of 5. (Audible)
Steamy scale 0.5 of 5. (Audible)
jakewritesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Made a recent commitment to make my way through Lawrence Block’s Matthew Scudder series. I found the first three enjoyable enough for passing the time but mostly unmemorable. This was the first one that really moved me.
And that’s surprising because the crime itself is based on a mystery trope I hate: slashed women/murdered women/serial killer. When I saw the plot for A Stab in the Dark, I audibly groaned. I can’t stand books like that and I rarely read them. Had I not already been familiar with Block’s work, I might’ve just dead ended the series here.
Fortunately, Block does not give in to cliches. Sure, his Scudder is an alcoholic ex-cop working as a PI but I knew I wasn’t going to get any We have to protect the city from the bad men who seek to ruin it kind of bs. Scudder doesn’t have the energy to be a cynic; he’s too drunk and depressed most days. He’s just trying to do his job because it gives him focus.
So no, there are no genius serial killing masterminds. Just a guy taking a case in part for cash and also to stave off the boredom that leads to binge drinking. We get a whirlwind tour of the city, from Scudder’s Hell’s Kitchen haunts out to Brooklyn and even as far as Long Island. The people he interviews feel real and not like stock characters. The plot is tense. The conclusion is iffy; it’s probably my least favorite part of the book. But it works.
I’m excited that Block took this series up a notch and am looking forward to getting to the rest of it.
And that’s surprising because the crime itself is based on a mystery trope I hate: slashed women/murdered women/serial killer. When I saw the plot for A Stab in the Dark, I audibly groaned. I can’t stand books like that and I rarely read them. Had I not already been familiar with Block’s work, I might’ve just dead ended the series here.
Fortunately, Block does not give in to cliches. Sure, his Scudder is an alcoholic ex-cop working as a PI but I knew I wasn’t going to get any We have to protect the city from the bad men who seek to ruin it kind of bs. Scudder doesn’t have the energy to be a cynic; he’s too drunk and depressed most days. He’s just trying to do his job because it gives him focus.
So no, there are no genius serial killing masterminds. Just a guy taking a case in part for cash and also to stave off the boredom that leads to binge drinking. We get a whirlwind tour of the city, from Scudder’s Hell’s Kitchen haunts out to Brooklyn and even as far as Long Island. The people he interviews feel real and not like stock characters. The plot is tense. The conclusion is iffy; it’s probably my least favorite part of the book. But it works.
I’m excited that Block took this series up a notch and am looking forward to getting to the rest of it.
lobo1tomia's review against another edition
4.0
Eredetileg: http://olvasonaplo.net/olvasonaplo/2008/01/22/lawrence_block_dofes_a_sotetben/
Block főhőseinek mind van egy kisebb-nagyobb hibája. Bernie Rhodenbarr tolvaj, J.P. Keller embereket öl, Matthew Scudder pedig, ennek a könyvnek a főhőse magányos és iszik. Többnyire magában, bár itt éppen találkozik valakivel, aki mellett még ha részegen fekszik le, akkor se ébred másnaposan, de ezt az állapotot nem lehet tartani. Scuddert egy kilenc éve történt gyilkosság megoldásával bízzák meg. Vagyis felkérik, hogy tegyen szívességet, hisz ő hivatalosan nem magánnyomozó. Akkoriban ugyanis sorozat gyilkos jégcsákánnyal nőket ölt, méghozzá nyolcan estek neki áldozatul. Most elfogták a tettest, aki hét gyilkosságot be is ismert, a nyolcadikat azonban nem. Az áldozat apja kéri fel Scuddert, hogy derítse ki, vajon ki ölte meg Barbarát. Senki se áltatja azzal, hogy könnyű dolga lesz: hisz annak idején azonnal úgy gondolta mindenki, a jégcsákányos a gyilkos, ezért aztán nem is nyomoztak más irányban, hanem egy kalap alá vették a többivel, ezért nincsenek meg a rutin kihallgatások, nyomozások amik egyedi esetekhez kijárnak. Ráadásul mintha mindenkinek, akinek köze lett volna az esethez, felfordult volna az élete, akárcsak Scuddernek, aki anno részt vett a nyomozásban. De ő módszeresen beleveti magát a nyomozásba, s a maga tempójában egyre több mindent talál, ami érdekes lehet. Nagyon bírom, hogy Block nem kendőzi el, mennyi felesleges talpalással, telefonálással, kutatással, hány zsákutcával jár egy ilyen nyomozás, nem minden pikk-pakk oldódik meg, mint a filmeken.
Szóval Scudder nyomoz, járja New York utcáit, ahol spórolásból egyre rövidebb ideig tartanak nyitva a könyvtárak, fogyatkoznak a rendőrök, nő a bűnözés és folyik az alkohol. A főhősnek pedig a saját életével, múltjával és a pohár fenekével is szembe kell nézni. Rövid regény, de a Blocktól megszokott tömör stílus mögött van elgondolkodtató mondanivaló is. Na és persze a nyomozás is izgalmas.
Block főhőseinek mind van egy kisebb-nagyobb hibája. Bernie Rhodenbarr tolvaj, J.P. Keller embereket öl, Matthew Scudder pedig, ennek a könyvnek a főhőse magányos és iszik. Többnyire magában, bár itt éppen találkozik valakivel, aki mellett még ha részegen fekszik le, akkor se ébred másnaposan, de ezt az állapotot nem lehet tartani. Scuddert egy kilenc éve történt gyilkosság megoldásával bízzák meg. Vagyis felkérik, hogy tegyen szívességet, hisz ő hivatalosan nem magánnyomozó. Akkoriban ugyanis sorozat gyilkos jégcsákánnyal nőket ölt, méghozzá nyolcan estek neki áldozatul. Most elfogták a tettest, aki hét gyilkosságot be is ismert, a nyolcadikat azonban nem. Az áldozat apja kéri fel Scuddert, hogy derítse ki, vajon ki ölte meg Barbarát. Senki se áltatja azzal, hogy könnyű dolga lesz: hisz annak idején azonnal úgy gondolta mindenki, a jégcsákányos a gyilkos, ezért aztán nem is nyomoztak más irányban, hanem egy kalap alá vették a többivel, ezért nincsenek meg a rutin kihallgatások, nyomozások amik egyedi esetekhez kijárnak. Ráadásul mintha mindenkinek, akinek köze lett volna az esethez, felfordult volna az élete, akárcsak Scuddernek, aki anno részt vett a nyomozásban. De ő módszeresen beleveti magát a nyomozásba, s a maga tempójában egyre több mindent talál, ami érdekes lehet. Nagyon bírom, hogy Block nem kendőzi el, mennyi felesleges talpalással, telefonálással, kutatással, hány zsákutcával jár egy ilyen nyomozás, nem minden pikk-pakk oldódik meg, mint a filmeken.
Szóval Scudder nyomoz, járja New York utcáit, ahol spórolásból egyre rövidebb ideig tartanak nyitva a könyvtárak, fogyatkoznak a rendőrök, nő a bűnözés és folyik az alkohol. A főhősnek pedig a saját életével, múltjával és a pohár fenekével is szembe kell nézni. Rövid regény, de a Blocktól megszokott tömör stílus mögött van elgondolkodtató mondanivaló is. Na és persze a nyomozás is izgalmas.