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A review by redsg
Out on the Cutting Edge by Lawrence Block
3.0
"Out on the Cutting Edge" presents a return to form for the Scudder series following the disappointing "When the Sacred Ginmill Closes". While it doesn't live up to the heights of "Eight Million Ways to Die" or even "A Stab in the Dark," I was overall impressed enough with the novel to recommend it.
That's not to say that it doesn't have flaws, which I'll definitely get to soon, but what I really enjoyed about "Cutting Edge" was how it delved deep into Scudder's mindset in a very similar way to "8 Million Ways." One of the biggest issues I had with "Sacred Ginmill" was how it forcibly threw in these changes into the Scudder series without fleshing them out. While this wouldn't be a problem for newcomers to the series, for those who would have been following the series like myself, it came off as pointless borderline-retcons. I get the need to spice things up in a universe but this didn't seem like the way to go.
"Cutting Edge" introduces more such changes - Jan Keane and Scudder have broken up, Scudder has stopped tithing churches, Armstrong's has moved to a different location and Scudder no longer attends it - but here things were fleshed out. We get more insight into Scudder's, now three-year, sobriety, and how he views drinking, alcohol, AA meetings, and alcoholism in general. I have to wonder if Block himself ever dealt with the illness as the writing, when it comes to this topic, feels authentic. Take Scudder's reaction to tasting scotch from kissing a woman- he doesn't have this "oh, I must have it" reaction that someone with no knowledge on the subject would write, but instead has more complicated feelings on the matter that ride the line between liking and disliking it. Which is how human beings in general are.
Jan isn't also tossed to the side the way Jane was in Thor: Ragnarok. Scudder really seems to miss her, and his ruminations on what went wrong fit in well with his character (ex. not being someone who would stay committed to a long-term relationship). I had been a fan of their relationship before in the prior books, so this part definitely hurt me a bit, but I understood why it happened and I really appreciated Block for giving it the care it deserved.
Scudder moving from tithing churches to giving money to the poor was an interesting, yet also very believable transition. I don't know how to describe it other than that it feels natural to who he is, and demonstrates that Block continues to have a strong understanding of his character in a way that other authors tend to forget over the years.
All this talk about Scudder's mindset would probably lead you to believe that this there isn't an important mystery here, and the answer to that question is both yes and no. Yes, "Cutting Edge" is definitely more akin to a psychological novel as it is more interested in the innerworkings of Scudder himself. However, there are a couple of mysteries woven as backdrops/starting points to this journey Scudder takes.
Unfortunately, the first (and main one), which involves Scudder searching for someone's missing daughter, starts off well but finishes on a disappointing note. It's disappointing because it's by pure coincidence (not deductive reasoning) that Scudder resolves the situation, and it feels like Block designed it this way from the beginning to tie his two plots together. It's written well-enough that it doesn't come off as contrived the way "Time to Murder and Create's" resolution felt, but it was still disappointing.
The second mystery, which I won't delve into as I don't want to spoil anything, is much better resolved and feels very genuine, though it also has a glaring flaw. See, one trend I've noticed in both "Cutting Edge" and its predecessor "Sacred Ginmill" is that Block deliberately has Scudder do some last-minute investigating to find the finishing integral notes to a case before delivering the finale off-screen. He describes Scudder (or rather Scudder describes himself) as doing these things, but doesn't go into detail as to what they are, and I have to ask why. Is it because he is getting lazy or is it because he wants there to be a real surprise for readers when Scudder reveals his cards?
I believe the answer to be a middle ground between these two ideals. I feel Block has forgotten that laying the bread crumbs throughout a story and then having the main protagonist pick them all up is what leads to a satisfying conclusion, not throwing in some hackneyed information that the detective gleamed from an outside source.
And that is what happens with this second plot. Though there are enough "bread crumbs" provided to make it satisfying, I still didn't like Block implementing this tactic (regarding the autopsy reports in particular). To be fair though, there is the chance that this was a case of fighting an editorial mandate of a page count limit, though I somehow doubt that to be the case here.
Overall though, I did enjoy "Out on the Cutting Edge." Because Scudder books generally have good mysteries, I was tempted to give this a 2.5/5 (upraised to a 3/5 per Goodreads scale). As I finished it though, I came to appreciate the psychological and slice-of-life aspects that Block incorporated into the book. He has really made Scudder a damn good character, which makes his adventures worth reading, even if the crime doesn't live up to his likable nature.
That's not to say that it doesn't have flaws, which I'll definitely get to soon, but what I really enjoyed about "Cutting Edge" was how it delved deep into Scudder's mindset in a very similar way to "8 Million Ways." One of the biggest issues I had with "Sacred Ginmill" was how it forcibly threw in these changes into the Scudder series without fleshing them out. While this wouldn't be a problem for newcomers to the series, for those who would have been following the series like myself, it came off as pointless borderline-retcons. I get the need to spice things up in a universe but this didn't seem like the way to go.
"Cutting Edge" introduces more such changes - Jan Keane and Scudder have broken up, Scudder has stopped tithing churches, Armstrong's has moved to a different location and Scudder no longer attends it - but here things were fleshed out. We get more insight into Scudder's, now three-year, sobriety, and how he views drinking, alcohol, AA meetings, and alcoholism in general. I have to wonder if Block himself ever dealt with the illness as the writing, when it comes to this topic, feels authentic. Take Scudder's reaction to tasting scotch from kissing a woman- he doesn't have this "oh, I must have it" reaction that someone with no knowledge on the subject would write, but instead has more complicated feelings on the matter that ride the line between liking and disliking it. Which is how human beings in general are.
Jan isn't also tossed to the side the way Jane was in Thor: Ragnarok. Scudder really seems to miss her, and his ruminations on what went wrong fit in well with his character (ex. not being someone who would stay committed to a long-term relationship). I had been a fan of their relationship before in the prior books, so this part definitely hurt me a bit, but I understood why it happened and I really appreciated Block for giving it the care it deserved.
Scudder moving from tithing churches to giving money to the poor was an interesting, yet also very believable transition. I don't know how to describe it other than that it feels natural to who he is, and demonstrates that Block continues to have a strong understanding of his character in a way that other authors tend to forget over the years.
All this talk about Scudder's mindset would probably lead you to believe that this there isn't an important mystery here, and the answer to that question is both yes and no. Yes, "Cutting Edge" is definitely more akin to a psychological novel as it is more interested in the innerworkings of Scudder himself. However, there are a couple of mysteries woven as backdrops/starting points to this journey Scudder takes.
Unfortunately, the first (and main one), which involves Scudder searching for someone's missing daughter, starts off well but finishes on a disappointing note. It's disappointing because it's by pure coincidence (not deductive reasoning) that Scudder resolves the situation, and it feels like Block designed it this way from the beginning to tie his two plots together. It's written well-enough that it doesn't come off as contrived the way "Time to Murder and Create's" resolution felt, but it was still disappointing.
The second mystery, which I won't delve into as I don't want to spoil anything, is much better resolved and feels very genuine, though it also has a glaring flaw. See, one trend I've noticed in both "Cutting Edge" and its predecessor "Sacred Ginmill" is that Block deliberately has Scudder do some last-minute investigating to find the finishing integral notes to a case before delivering the finale off-screen. He describes Scudder (or rather Scudder describes himself) as doing these things, but doesn't go into detail as to what they are, and I have to ask why. Is it because he is getting lazy or is it because he wants there to be a real surprise for readers when Scudder reveals his cards?
I believe the answer to be a middle ground between these two ideals. I feel Block has forgotten that laying the bread crumbs throughout a story and then having the main protagonist pick them all up is what leads to a satisfying conclusion, not throwing in some hackneyed information that the detective gleamed from an outside source.
And that is what happens with this second plot. Though there are enough "bread crumbs" provided to make it satisfying, I still didn't like Block implementing this tactic (regarding the autopsy reports in particular). To be fair though, there is the chance that this was a case of fighting an editorial mandate of a page count limit, though I somehow doubt that to be the case here.
Overall though, I did enjoy "Out on the Cutting Edge." Because Scudder books generally have good mysteries, I was tempted to give this a 2.5/5 (upraised to a 3/5 per Goodreads scale). As I finished it though, I came to appreciate the psychological and slice-of-life aspects that Block incorporated into the book. He has really made Scudder a damn good character, which makes his adventures worth reading, even if the crime doesn't live up to his likable nature.