A Ticket to the Boneyard

I am not the target audience for this book.

1) I'm a chicken when it comes to horror/thriller.
2) In Ticket, Block experiments with a thriller plot of a sadistic freak stalking Scudder and Elaine for revenge. Yes, they set him up, but they were totally justified, because he was stalking prostitutes, assaulting and raping them and trying to use mind Jedi tricks to convince them to let him be their pimp for good. No cop thought the charges would stick because, you know, this is a New York jury: they would have thought the pros totally deserved it, right?
3) Did I mention I am a chicken when it comes to horror? I am.
4) While the stalker-rapist was in jail, he killed at least two people and possibly three more, but the prison authorities show more couldn't prove anything (cuz he was already in a prison, natch)
5) I made it to about page 50 before I read ahead so I could know who survives.
6) Yes, I know there are like 10 other Scudder books. See #3.
7) Now that I know the ending (roughly; I didn't totally cheat--what do you think I am?? I skimmed it) I'll go back and finish the book.

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Alright, plowed through it today. Not out of any great love, mind you, but out of sense of responsibility and completion. The fact that there were some very nicely written sections and several great scenes with Scudder and his retinue (Elaine, Danny Boy, Mick Ballou, a random Ohio detective) were sheer bonus, much like discovering bacon bits on a spinach salad. One of the pleasures remains Scudder's struggles with personal growth. Jim Faber, AA sponsor, recommended he take up The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius and Scudder's been meditating on it (and finding it useless, but that's part of the fun). There's a nice bit where dry Scudder feels slightly frustrated by the ghosts of hangovers past: "I like to think I'd given up mornings like this along with the booze. Instead my head ached and my mouth and throat were dry and every minute took three or four minutes to pass." He ends up discussing the experience at an AA meeting, and it's refreshing to see him taking the time to puzzle out his feelings instead of drowning them in Kentucky coffee.

He still makes a stupid mistake or three because he is so very desperate to take down the stalker. Scudder seriously abuses some shoe leather as he knocks on doors (so to speak) and hits just about every flophouse in town. Those parts are believable enough, but I'm surprised his cop friends give him so much grief later in the book about pressing charges for assault. That is less explicable in context of prior books and the old-boys' club, and it feels more like a device to create a feeling of entrapment and futility. I feel like some of the plotting in building the stalker-tension was more forced, less consistent with Scudder and his NYC world. The psychological intimidation on the part of the stalker was enough to put me off, but I'm not sure it squared as well with the addition of the sadistic murdering qualities as well; it was a little too "this is the ultimate bad guy so everything that happens to him is justified." I'm not sure it was psychologically consistent within the criminal personality either--he killed in a multitude of ways, a multitude of people (some not even connected), sodomized, had sex with dead bodies, targeted women, etc. He did everything but abuse puppies and kittens. What Block really does well are nuanced characters--witness Ballou--and this villain didn't play to his strengths. Still, decent enough. Onward! show less

Wow!

This was less of a Matt Scudder mystery and more of a Matt Scudder thriller! James Leo Motley plays the first truly aggressive adversary he's ever faced, almost like an insane arch-nemeses in a way. This guy really hates Scudder, to the point where he wants to kill him and everyone he cares about. Talk about a grudge!

The whole thing dates back to a situation where Motley had been harassing Scudder's on again-off again call-girl/girlfriend, Elaine, a few years back. The only way that Scudder could stop the endless torture was to frame him, putting him in jail for the foreseeable future. When Motley finally found his way out of the big house, he decided to exact this revenge against the one who took him off the street.

Within these show more pages, Block stretches Scudder to the limit. Nearly pushing him back into the world of alcohol, Scudder instead turns to the newest recurring character, Mick Ballou. While Block begins to build what is due to become a satisfying relationship, Ballou gives Scudder the guidance he needs. I'm growing very fond of ol' Mick and I can't wait to read more about him.

A Ticket to the Boneyard is the best book since 8 Million Ways to Die and shows that this series is in no way showing signs of fatigue. show less

Lawrence Block knows what he's doing and he does it well. This is a worthy addition to the Matthew Scudder series. Scudder is a recovering alcoholic, ex-cop who lives in a low-rent residential hotel and earns his living as an unlicensed private investigator.

A Ticket to the Boneyard is the 8th Lawrence Block novel to feature Matthew Scudder. This book finds Matthew Scudder doing well with his sobriety. He's got a semi-regular gig working as an operative for a large detective agency and while life isn't perfect it isn't all that bad either. Then he gets a call from someone he hasn't heard from in years... someone with whom he has a history... part of that history includes framing a psycho and sending him to prison... now the psycho has show more been released from prison and he wants revenge in the worst way.

The story moves at its own leisurely pace. Scudder is doing what he does -- detecting, investigating -- while also maintaining who he is -- a recovering alcoholic. Along the way he runs into a few of his known associates like Butcher Boy Mick Ballou, Danny Boy Bell, and cop Joe Durkin. The case heats up and the story moves with it, the case stalls and the story coasts along on its own momentum. It never stops but it doesn't go, go, go in an adrenaline fueled race to the finish.

I've read this particular novel at least twice before so obviously I like it. I think one of the reasons I am so drawn to the character of Matt Scudder is that he is retrospective, he's always thinking about the various mysterious, peculiarities and inconsistencies of life. Not in a melancholy or self pitying way, more in the sense of someone who is and always will be a student of life and the way of people. I recognize that this same aspect could also be a very big turn off for a lot of crime/mystery fans. If you like nonstop action from start to finish then you may want to take a pass on this one

If you're unfamiliar with Lawrence Block or new to the Matthew Scudder series then don't start with this novel. It's a good one, it stands alone (as they all do), but it features a Scudder who is familiar and has become something of an acquired taste. If you don't know him you can still absolutely enjoy the story but if you do know him, if you're familiar with where he's been and who he is then it's just ever so much sweeter. show less

I adore Lawrence Block's Matt Scudder books, and am working my way through them. At first I preferred the drunk Scudder of the first few novels to the sober one of the next few, but A ticket to the Boneyard, is the best yet. Scudder is still sober, but tempted! When a face from the past who Matt had put in jail returns to haunt him and his old friend Elaine with threats of retribution, a game of cat and mouse starts. The body count is higher than in most Block books, and James Leo Motley is one hell of a bad guy. This is the most unputdownable Scudder novel so far. Absolutely brilliant!

Matthew Scudder, a former New York City police officer and now a private investigator agrees to help a friend end the stalking. Elaine, a high class call girl opened her door to the wrong man and now he is insists that he will and can control her every move. He served 12 years of a 1-10 year prison sentence and now he is back. Matthew and Elaine have learned that "life made him careless and stupid but prison made him clever". This was the first Lawrence Block book that I have read. It moved along nicely with the story but there was times that you wanted to just scream at Matthew and Elaine to just use common sense. Overall, I liked it and will certainly look for another.

"A Ticket To The Boneyard" is the eighth novel in Block's Matthew Scudder series. It is a terrific, page-turning thriller of a novel that can be read as part of the series or on its own as a standalone. I could easily see this one being made into a movie, perhaps costarring Michelle Pfeiffer as Elaine. This book contains something for everyone. There is the tenacious ex-police officer Scudder doggedly pursuing leads to a killer. There is the tender love story between Scudder and Elaine as they reunite after years of not seeing each other as he tries to protect her from the most vicious psychopath imaginable, one who Scudder can barely hold his own against.

Without giving away the story, Scudder and Elaine met back when he was a cop and show more she was a high-priced call girl. He took care of her. She took care of him. And, one day when a psychopath terrorized her, he dropped everything else to come to her aid and put the guy away. But, he now he's back and he has no forwarding address. No one knows where he is or where he will pop up and there are no walls and no locks that can seem to bar his way. He's almost hypnotically evil and there has barely ever been a better villain.

This is simply a top-notch novel filled with romance, terror, and dogged determination to survive. There is no possible way to find that this merits anything less than five stars. This is the good stuff. show less

There seemed to be more personal tension in this novel than in other Scudder novels. Probably because the threats are personal and Matt has a vested interest in solving the crime.

It was a page turner. Block doles out the story at a regular - but tension building - pace and I spent most of the book trying to read faster because I wanted to know how it was going to turn out.

I wasn't let down, and I guess it is no secret that Scudder survives (after all, there are 10 more books starring him)... but still... it was very suspenseful. I finished it in a sitting, and was relieved with how it ended.