A Stab in the Dark

This is by far, my favorite of the Scudder books at this point. Once again, I am presented with the 5 star problem. With the other 3 getting the same rating, how do I differentiate between the installments? I don't have an answer for that. Stop making me feel bad!

I really wanted to open this review with the line, "My favorite part was when Scudder drinks coffee with bourbon" (get it? 'cause that's like 90% of the novel) but I thought better of it. Scudder's boozing is totally out of control in A Stab In The Dark. He recognizes that he has a problem but he's under the impression that he can stop at any point. It appears that he's in denial but I guess I'll find that out shortly as it looks like it's starting to replace water as his main show more source of hydration - someone can only do that for so long.

Considering that Scudder is given a case that's 9 years old with the victim being "buried so goddamn deep", Block shows the true range of Scudder's talent. Block has true writing chops. The fact that he can have Scudder solve a crime of that age under those circumstances AND make it seem plausible is pretty damn impressive.

About halfway through, I thought I had it all figured out but once again, Block turned the tables and shocked me. Don't even get me started on another big reveal at the end which I also didn't clue in on (but I'd be shocked to know of anyone who did).

Once again, I'll finish with how excited I am to continue this series. Picked up 8 Million Ways to Die last night and started it right away. I'll be a very sad Brandon when I finish this series. show less

Matt Scudder is a former NY cop whose life has fallen apart. After quitting the force, separating from his wife and moving into a hotel, he spends his days in bars "maintenance drinking". That's where his detective buddy sends a man named London to find Scudder. London's daughter was murdered by The Icepick Slasher nine years before, but the recent arrest of the slasher, and his admission to all the murders except London's daughter, sends the father to Scudder, a drunk who isn't in any business now, but whose tenacity and financial need makes him take the offer.
I've yet to be disappointed by Block. This is a good hardboiled, with murder, dames and lots of drinking.

A lightweight read at only 156 pages. Good suspense and interesting mystery.

In this one, a serial killer is caught by police. The catch? He only confesses to seven of the murders and has an airtight alibi for the eighth. The father of the eighth victim realizes he needs a new kind of closure and hires Scudder to investigate. He pursues it like a terrier; hanging on, chasing down leads from nine years ago, drinking his way through the city. After he interviews the remarried husband and his new wife, he looks up the owner of the daycare center where the victim worked. She's now a sculptor in the Village and struggling with alcohol as well. Personal collides with professional. Eventually, the client makes a feeble effort to call Scudder show more off, but like the terrier down the rat hole, he won't let up.

This one is notable for Scudder's drinking picking up pace, clearly speeding him along to rock bottom. Slowly, it dawned on me as I read that Scudder's drinking was out of control. There's a few moments when he realizes it and pulls back, but never for long. It's interesting the way Block writes it; the murders capture the reader's attention while Scudder slowly slides off the bar stool in the background.

Definitely a likeable read, with a surprise ending to the murder that I'm not entirely sure was believable. show less

Much better than the other Lawrence Block I read this year (The Specialist). Matthew Scudder is a long running series. The classic book in the series is the 5th, Six Million Ways To Die where Scudder comes to grips with his growing alcoholism. Six Million Ways To Die was made into a horrible movie starring Jeff Bridges. Don't watch it. A Stab in the Dark is the 4th book. Scudder is investigating the 9-year old murder of a young woman. This murder was one of a string perpetrated by the so-called ice-pick prowler who had never been captured. Now the murderer has been caught and has admitted to all the killings except for this one. Scudder takes on the investigation at the bequest of the girl's father. An undercurrent to the story is show more Scudder's near constant drinking and his weaker and weaker defense to himself that he can handle it. show less

These early Matthew Scudder books, written in the late 70s and early 80s, feel like a window into another world. Scudder isn’t so much a private investigator as he is 'a guy who does favors and sometimes takes some money in exchange for them'. He solves his mysteries without the aid of computers and databases and cell phones — his tools of the trade are footwork, conversation, and public libraries. He spends a lot of time knocking on doors and dropping dimes(!) into pay phones. Unfortunately, he also spends a lot of time in the bottle, a trait that follows him through the series. In this book, a man has been arrested for a series of murders several years earlier. The problem is, he couldn’t have killed the final victim. That show more victim’s father is looking for answers, and Scudder is going to try to find them. I enjoy these books because they’re short, gritty, and to the point. show less

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 show more 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. show less

Digital audiobook read by William Roberts


Matthew Scudder series, number four. Scudder is a former NYPD detective who now free-lances as a detective on seemingly impossible cases. He doesn’t have an office, or business cards, and takes only those cases that interest him and that he feels he may be able to help. Definitely unconventional

This time out he’s approached by a man who wants answers on his daughter’s murder some nine years previous. Her killing was attributed to the Ice Pick Killer, a serial killer who recently confessed to a series of murders. But he could not possibly have murdered Barbara Ettinger; he was hospitalized at the time of her death. So who did it?

Block writes a tight, fast-moving, noir police-procedural. show more Scudder is something of a mystery himself. Oh, we know why he left the force and we’re privy to his demons, but he plays his cards close to the vest. Watching him ferret out the truth is engaging and fascinating.

William Roberts does a fine job of narrating the audiobook. He sets a good pace and brings Scudder (and the other characters) to life. show less