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hpuphd's review against another edition
5.0
I have been rereading some of the books by Lawrence Block that I first read when a student. The novels seem way better now than then. Matt Scudder reminds me of the narrator in Andre DuBus’s great short story, “A Father’s Story.” The novel’s greatest appeal is in Scudder’s thoughts and reactions to things rather than in the plot and its outcome, which is why I probably didn’t appreciate the novels before. Scudder’s thoughts about churches and tithing (early in chapter 8) remind me of the thoughts of DuBus’s character Luke; both men are looking to retain all the wholeness and integrity they can after some soul-shaking losses. This book is better than the second novel in the series, slightly weaker than the first. I don’t remember if Scudder is as meditative in the later, longer, and more popular entries in the series. Most people seem to rank those books higher, but these early novels are impressive.
boleary30's review against another edition
3.0
No where near as good as the second, but Scudder is great
nocto's review against another edition
I like the sparsity of Block's books. Nothing is included that isn'trelevant, there's no filler, and yet I feel the books are richer thansome with huge wads of descriptive verbiage. However I got a bit lostin motives in this one. I'm glad that there's lots and lots and lotsmore of Block that I've yet to discover though.
nantoka_neko's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
birdmanseven's review against another edition
2.0
Likeable, well-rounded characters stuck in a very uninteresting plot.
teejayniu's review against another edition
3.0
This is the third book in the Matthew Scudder series and I thought it was a big of a let down after the first two. It had a little too much "tell me" versus "show me" writing regarding the investigation. The title also doesn't have much to do with the story. I still enjoy the character quite a bit.
ctgt's review against another edition
4.0
I loved the first two Scudder books, but I was trying to decide between 3 or 4 stars for this third entry. What I enjoyed so much about the first two books was the exploration of the character himself, not so much the cases. This one seemed to back off that somewhat and I didn't enjoy it quite as much as the first two. So, probably a 3.5 star. I will continue with the series, but am hoping we get more of a look into Scudder with upcoming volumes.