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A review by jakewritesbooks
Out on the Cutting Edge by Lawrence Block
4.0
Although there is a mystery at the heart of the novel, eventually growing to encompass two mysteries, this feels like more of a hangout tale. Apparently, Lawrence Block never meant for his star character Matthew Scudder to go beyond four or five books but after writing a flashback tale in When the Sacred Ginmill Closes, he decided to expand the series to Scudder’s life post-alcohol.
Out on the Cutting Edge, book seven in the series, is the first of those efforts and it feels like Block is trying to get a sense of what he should do with Matt. In the previous six, he had no problems filling the pages with tales of Matt’s alcoholic exploits in between doing what he needed to do to solve cases. Now he’s trying to help Matt move on and figure out how he as an author moves with him.
The good thing is: Block is a talented writer. He is able to pull off this transition. Because while the two mysteries are interesting, they function as a heat check for where Matthew Scudder’s life is in this particular moment. I got the sense that Matt’s struggle is very real. He’s not perfect in how he manages his alcoholism, nor is he looking for pity or flagellation. He’s doing what alcoholics are supposed to do: take it one day at a time. Some days are better than others. But he’s stayed off the booze long enough to not have any bad days related to that.
I don’t know if this is the best book in the series but it’s the one that I enjoyed the most. Without the alcohol to keep the reader at a distance, Block needed to find other ways to build trust and connectivity and he does that well here. I’m encouraged to read the rest.
Out on the Cutting Edge, book seven in the series, is the first of those efforts and it feels like Block is trying to get a sense of what he should do with Matt. In the previous six, he had no problems filling the pages with tales of Matt’s alcoholic exploits in between doing what he needed to do to solve cases. Now he’s trying to help Matt move on and figure out how he as an author moves with him.
The good thing is: Block is a talented writer. He is able to pull off this transition. Because while the two mysteries are interesting, they function as a heat check for where Matthew Scudder’s life is in this particular moment. I got the sense that Matt’s struggle is very real. He’s not perfect in how he manages his alcoholism, nor is he looking for pity or flagellation. He’s doing what alcoholics are supposed to do: take it one day at a time. Some days are better than others. But he’s stayed off the booze long enough to not have any bad days related to that.
I don’t know if this is the best book in the series but it’s the one that I enjoyed the most. Without the alcohol to keep the reader at a distance, Block needed to find other ways to build trust and connectivity and he does that well here. I’m encouraged to read the rest.