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paulabrandon's review
4.0
Matthew Scudder is a former cop, now an unauthorised private detective of sorts, and he has been retained by cop Jerry Broadfield to help clear his name. A prostitute that accused Broadfield of extorting her has been found dead in his apartment, and Broadfield insists he has been framed. Broadfield had recently been to see a prosecutor, promising to give up the identities of all the corrupt cops he knows. So of course that would put a target on his back! Scudder is also sure of Broadfield's innocence, even if he doesn't like the guy, and sets out to unravel the conspiracy.
Good old-fashioned, simple noir private eye storytelling. All the characters introduced have a reason to be there. No words are wasted (the book is only 185 pages long), other than a dream sequence. But that may just be because I'm personally not a fan of dream sequences in books. The plot unfolds at a decent clip, and it was easy to follow what was going on. I liked that, this being the 70s, Scudder had to do a little more work to find out what he needed to know, rather than just being able to hop onto the internet and do a Google search! The only part of the story that didn't work for me was Scudder's dalliance with Broadfield's wife. It was a bit too tropey and corny. Otherwise, this was another winner from Block. I've yet to be disappointed by a Scudder book.
Good old-fashioned, simple noir private eye storytelling. All the characters introduced have a reason to be there. No words are wasted (the book is only 185 pages long), other than a dream sequence. But that may just be because I'm personally not a fan of dream sequences in books. The plot unfolds at a decent clip, and it was easy to follow what was going on. I liked that, this being the 70s, Scudder had to do a little more work to find out what he needed to know, rather than just being able to hop onto the internet and do a Google search! The only part of the story that didn't work for me was Scudder's dalliance with Broadfield's wife. It was a bit too tropey and corny. Otherwise, this was another winner from Block. I've yet to be disappointed by a Scudder book.
jbrito's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
zorc_'s review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
ogreart's review against another edition
4.0
Since I can't make an entry for a new edition, I am going to write my few thoughts about the book here. I listened to it off Hoopla, not a CD, but the cover matches and that's good enough for me. Enough bellyaching about Goodreads...
Sklar's narration works well for the tone of the story, which is grim and dark. The slow descent of Scudder has been happening since book one. It continues here. But Scudder's strong sense of what is right and what is wrong is still unwavering.
Sklar's narration works well for the tone of the story, which is grim and dark. The slow descent of Scudder has been happening since book one. It continues here. But Scudder's strong sense of what is right and what is wrong is still unwavering.
dantastic's review
4.0
A crooked cop goes straight and spills his guts to the Special Prosecutor but before anything can materialize, a call girl is found dead in his apartment. Broadfield, the cop, hires Matthew Scudder to clear his name and find out who is framing him. But can Scudder clear a dirty cop when all the other cops are gunning for him?
Lawrence Block keeps surprising me with the Matthew Scudder series. Every time he tricks me into thinking a certain way, only to jerk the rug out from under me when the person I fingered as the culprit turns out dead. Scudder continues to grow as a character, already far beyond his somewhat stereotyped alcoholic detective roots. His relationships with the women in his life are well done and not cliched. His family continues to drift out of his grasp. He realizes he has a drinking problem but doesn't know if he can stop. The mystery itself twists and turns, spiraling like a snail shell and New York is almost a character on its own.
I've said it before but I can't recommend Lawrence Block's Matthew Scudder series enough.
Lawrence Block keeps surprising me with the Matthew Scudder series. Every time he tricks me into thinking a certain way, only to jerk the rug out from under me when the person I fingered as the culprit turns out dead. Scudder continues to grow as a character, already far beyond his somewhat stereotyped alcoholic detective roots. His relationships with the women in his life are well done and not cliched. His family continues to drift out of his grasp. He realizes he has a drinking problem but doesn't know if he can stop. The mystery itself twists and turns, spiraling like a snail shell and New York is almost a character on its own.
I've said it before but I can't recommend Lawrence Block's Matthew Scudder series enough.
mickeymole's review against another edition
2.0
This Scudder was a bit too choppy for me. I found it a little difficult to follow. Could just be me, but it just didn't have the same flow as other Block novels. It won't keep me from reading his other Scudder books.
mschlat's review against another edition
3.0
Not as good as the first installment, but much better than the second. There's a particularly 70's-specific motivation for Scudder's client that I found a bit hard to identify with, and the setting of high class prostitutes involved more than a little kink shaming. However, I really liked Block's characters this time around, the mystery was solid, and there was a romance-adjacent subplot that worked well.
poachedeggs's review against another edition
4.0
It's not that this was that good a mystery. But Matt Scudder has really grown into an awesome character in this third book.