A Stab in the Dark (1981)

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Another page turner from Lawrence Block!

Hard drinking, world weary detective Matthew Scudder is at it again, taking on a case that no one else would even consider.

Matthew Scudder is a former police detective who has chosen to drop out of the mainstream and coast along on the fringes of society. When he needs money - or when he feels like it - he takes on cases as a "favor" to those who need his help, he makes a point of telling potential favor seekers that, since he doesn't have a license, he's not technically a private detective. They give him a certain amount of money up front in the form of "a gift" (whatever amount comes to his mind at a given time), if he needs more he'll ask, if he thinks they've got change coming back they'll get it, if they don't want to pay him then so be it. Once he takes on a case he's like a starving dog with a bone, you just about have to kill him to get him to let go... just about.

In this book Matt is brought in to investigate the cold case of a woman who was originally believed to be one of several victims of a serial killer, now the killer has been caught and he's got a solid alibi for that particular killing - it wasn't him - so the victim's father brings in Scudder. It's been nine years and there's not much there, the case was always thought to be part of a larger killing spree so it was never fully investigated any other way. Scudder's job, as one associate puts it, "Is like hunting a black cat in a coal mine." He starts to unravel the pieces and in the process does a little unraveling himself. It rapidly becomes less about the case and more about the man doing the investigating.

The ending was a surprise but then again it wasn't. It doesn't come completely out of nowhere and once the answer is right there it's a feeling of `Well, of course!' Like putting together a jigsaw puzzle that doesn't really look like anything until you get down to the final few pieces and it's so obvious you can't imagine how you ever missed it.

A Stab in the Dark is the fourth novel in the Matthew Scudder series and the one where it really starts to show that this series is a little different, it's not just another collection of hard-boiled crime stories. The reader gets a better insight into who the character is, who he was, and just how messed up his whole life has become. Things are going on beneath the surface, there is more nuance here than in the previous three novels. We are shown a less flattering side of Matt Scudder as he himself seems to become aware (possibly for the first time) that there is no going back and starts to deal with the consequences of where he's at in life. For the first time the other characters (some will become series regulars) begin to come forward more and the city, which was always a vital part of the series, comes alive as never before. ( )

As someone else said in their review - this story is short, gritty and to-the-point. (I read it in a single sitting and couldn't wait to find out what happened from the end of the first chapter.)

That's what makes Block my favorite writer in this genre. I loved his Keller series and just found Tanner and, now, Scudder... and I'm very pleased that both are long series so I have lots of fast, furious and non-flowery reading ahead of me.

Sure, it's a bit dated (people smoking in their workplaces, 10 cent payphones, etc) but it was published in the early 80s so what else could I expect? But, unlike lots of earlier generation noire-thriller writers, Block doesn't get all hung up on sexist point of views and any racist comments are presented as inappropriate, not normalized. ( )

Decent story about an ex-cop as he is hired by the father of a serial killer's victim to find out the truth about who killed her

A little bit different from the first three. What for nine years people thought was one victim of a serial icepick killer is revealed to be the victim of a copycat. Scudder investigates the very cold trail and discovers the killer. Meanwhile meets a fellow alcoholic, but she is ahead in her self-awareness.. ( )