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A review by usbsticky
A Walk Among the Tombstones by Lawrence Block
5.0
I'm going to assume that person reading review is familiar with this series so I won't explain the background. If not, I would recommend reader starts from book #1.
Spoilers ahead:
Heroin dealer Kenan Khoury's wife is kidnapped. After paying $400k in ransom, instead of being returned unharmed she is killed and dismembered. Kenan's brother Peter, who knows Scudder through AA, hires him to find the killers.
Since a week has passed and the body (illegally) cremated, there are few clues to look at. Thinking that this might be targeted towards dope dealers Scudder tells Kenan to warn other dealers and ask if there have been other attempts. Then he examines her movements on that day and interviews any witness who might have seen the abduction. He also checks newspapers to see if there have been similar cases.
The first results start to come in and he discovers that the kidnappers are 2-3 men in a van. He's also found that there have been a history of such abductions and all the victims have been killed.
Next he tries to trace the calls that Kenan received from the kidnappers. He's unable to get anywhere with the phone company but TJ comes up with 2 hackers who are able to hack into the telephone company's network and trace them. He is able to find that the phone calls have been coming in from payphones around a certain neighborhood and feels that the kidnappers live around there. Furthermore some of the calls are from a payphone in a laundromat that he feels no stranger would know about.
Next, by posing as a movie production company he's able to find a woman who was abducted and survive. She is able to give a description of the men and the abduction. At this point Scudder decides to hand the investigation over to the police as they have more resources but the police don't seem to be able to get anywhere either.
Their big break comes when a Russian dope dealer (Yuri) is targeted and his daughter kidnapped. He calls up Kenan (because Kenan had warned the dealers at the beginning of the book) and Scudder and his team head over to deal with the demands. Scudder sends TJ over to the laundromat and TJ sees the kidnapper talk on the phone and leave in his car. He is able to get the license plate and Scudder traces it to find the identity of the man (Ray).
Scudder convinces Ray to keep the daughter alive and meet up at a cemetery at midnight for an exchange, the money for the girl. They do the exchange and the girl is returned to Yuri. By this time they also find the kidnappers' home. They go there, retrieve the ransom and leave Konan alone to deal with the kidnapper.
This is the best book in the series to date, it's the only one so far to keep me up early in the morning to finish it. The best parts of the book is the protocol part where you follow Scudder along as he tries to identify the kidnappers from scratch. It's like when you teacher asks you to do the work and show the steps and Scudder shows why he's worth the money. It's satisfying to read because you can follow along and see the investigative process.
There are also a few long winded parts but this is pure Lawrence Block too. One of them is where Elaine and Scudder profess their love for each other far too long. I can't remember the other one(s) but I think it was where one of the drug dealers philosophize. Whereas in the past they turned me off and I stopped read his books I've now learned to fast read these parts to get to the good parts. I have no idea why Block chooses to put such a long damper and slow-down in an otherwise engrossing narrative. I mean I like the characters but I don't read the book(s) for Scudder's love life and the display of affection and love could have been written in 2 pages instead of 20 with better effect; longer is not always better.
And as per the last book, all the criminals with hearts of gold are a bit too syrupy sweet but I guess satisfying to most readers and I have to admit I hated didn't like pure villains either.
Overall, this is a character and setting driven series which has evolved. I read somewhere that Block ended the series a few books back but continued after a long intermission. Maybe Block has evolved during this time as well, but not so that it made a big difference in the characters. When I finish the series I'll probably go back to the first book to see if there have been any major changes.
Spoilers ahead:
Heroin dealer Kenan Khoury's wife is kidnapped. After paying $400k in ransom, instead of being returned unharmed she is killed and dismembered. Kenan's brother Peter, who knows Scudder through AA, hires him to find the killers.
Since a week has passed and the body (illegally) cremated, there are few clues to look at. Thinking that this might be targeted towards dope dealers Scudder tells Kenan to warn other dealers and ask if there have been other attempts. Then he examines her movements on that day and interviews any witness who might have seen the abduction. He also checks newspapers to see if there have been similar cases.
The first results start to come in and he discovers that the kidnappers are 2-3 men in a van. He's also found that there have been a history of such abductions and all the victims have been killed.
Next he tries to trace the calls that Kenan received from the kidnappers. He's unable to get anywhere with the phone company but TJ comes up with 2 hackers who are able to hack into the telephone company's network and trace them. He is able to find that the phone calls have been coming in from payphones around a certain neighborhood and feels that the kidnappers live around there. Furthermore some of the calls are from a payphone in a laundromat that he feels no stranger would know about.
Next, by posing as a movie production company he's able to find a woman who was abducted and survive. She is able to give a description of the men and the abduction. At this point Scudder decides to hand the investigation over to the police as they have more resources but the police don't seem to be able to get anywhere either.
Their big break comes when a Russian dope dealer (Yuri) is targeted and his daughter kidnapped. He calls up Kenan (because Kenan had warned the dealers at the beginning of the book) and Scudder and his team head over to deal with the demands. Scudder sends TJ over to the laundromat and TJ sees the kidnapper talk on the phone and leave in his car. He is able to get the license plate and Scudder traces it to find the identity of the man (Ray).
Scudder convinces Ray to keep the daughter alive and meet up at a cemetery at midnight for an exchange, the money for the girl. They do the exchange and the girl is returned to Yuri. By this time they also find the kidnappers' home. They go there, retrieve the ransom and leave Konan alone to deal with the kidnapper.
This is the best book in the series to date, it's the only one so far to keep me up early in the morning to finish it. The best parts of the book is the protocol part where you follow Scudder along as he tries to identify the kidnappers from scratch. It's like when you teacher asks you to do the work and show the steps and Scudder shows why he's worth the money. It's satisfying to read because you can follow along and see the investigative process.
There are also a few long winded parts but this is pure Lawrence Block too. One of them is where Elaine and Scudder profess their love for each other far too long. I can't remember the other one(s) but I think it was where one of the drug dealers philosophize. Whereas in the past they turned me off and I stopped read his books I've now learned to fast read these parts to get to the good parts. I have no idea why Block chooses to put such a long damper and slow-down in an otherwise engrossing narrative. I mean I like the characters but I don't read the book(s) for Scudder's love life and the display of affection and love could have been written in 2 pages instead of 20 with better effect; longer is not always better.
And as per the last book, all the criminals with hearts of gold are a bit too syrupy sweet but I guess satisfying to most readers and I have to admit I hated didn't like pure villains either.
Overall, this is a character and setting driven series which has evolved. I read somewhere that Block ended the series a few books back but continued after a long intermission. Maybe Block has evolved during this time as well, but not so that it made a big difference in the characters. When I finish the series I'll probably go back to the first book to see if there have been any major changes.