A review by hpuphd
In the Midst of Death by Lawrence Block

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.