Helpful Score: 1
Two people are brutally murdered after they attended the same concert Scudder and Elaine have attended. Their killers are found dead in a supposed murder suicide but Scudder is not satisfied and with his usual doggedness sets out to find the truth. Very good book
Helpful Score: 1
another great scudder
Block's Scudder books are good, though not as good as his Burglar books. I have read them all. I recommend them to friends who have experience with hard-boiled detective books. These are not for detective novices.
I like Matt Scudder and this was one of Block's better ones. Not as gory as some and a mystery that is hard to figure out. I love the NYC setting too.
The novel opens with the ghastly deaths of Byrne and Susan Hollander during a home invasion in New York City. A few days later, police are called to a Brooklyn apartment with a terrible smell. They find the killers (of the Hollanders) that they have been seeking, dead. It seems that one killed his partner, then himself. The police close the case.
However, Matt and Elaine Scutter were at the same music performance and party, although they did not meet the other couple. Matt has a sense that something isn't right and he begins snooping. This is a fast-paced story that takes the reader through the streets of NYC as only someone who really knows the town can share with his readers.
Matt Scudder is a complex character, which makes it easier to continue a series. There's personal info that spills over into the story, such as Matt's first wife dying -- and Matt and his two sons attending the funeral. Matt also faces some conflict with his two sons, just like real life.
I've read recently that book # 16 (see below) is the continuation, and conclusion, of this mystery. Score: VG+
Matthew Scudder - 18 Mysteries
--skipped stories--
11. The Devil Knows You're Dead (1993)
12. A Long Line of Dead Men (1994)
13. Even the Wicked (1996) â G+
14. Everybody Dies (1998)
** 15.Hope to Die (2001)
16. All the Flowers Are Dying (2005)
17. A Drop of the Hard Stuff (2011)
18. The Night and The Music (2013)
However, Matt and Elaine Scutter were at the same music performance and party, although they did not meet the other couple. Matt has a sense that something isn't right and he begins snooping. This is a fast-paced story that takes the reader through the streets of NYC as only someone who really knows the town can share with his readers.
Matt Scudder is a complex character, which makes it easier to continue a series. There's personal info that spills over into the story, such as Matt's first wife dying -- and Matt and his two sons attending the funeral. Matt also faces some conflict with his two sons, just like real life.
I've read recently that book # 16 (see below) is the continuation, and conclusion, of this mystery. Score: VG+
Matthew Scudder - 18 Mysteries
--skipped stories--
11. The Devil Knows You're Dead (1993)
12. A Long Line of Dead Men (1994)
13. Even the Wicked (1996) â G+
14. Everybody Dies (1998)
** 15.Hope to Die (2001)
16. All the Flowers Are Dying (2005)
17. A Drop of the Hard Stuff (2011)
18. The Night and The Music (2013)
This is the fifteenth book in the Matthew Scudder series by Block. After reading this one, I only have a couple left to read in the series and I always look forward to reading more about Scudder, the former police officer turned PI. In this one, Scudder has lost his PI license but that doesn't stop him from taking interest in a very unusual case. A couple named Byrne and Susan Hollander are killed when they return to their upscale brownstone home and surprise a couple of burglars. Susan is brutally raped and Byrne is shot three times. The culprits walk off with two pillow cases full of stolen goods. But then a few days later, the killers turn up dead in a rundown apartment in Brooklyn, one apparently killed by his partner with three shots, similar to how Byrne Hollander was murdered, and then the partner shot himself. So case closed, right? But Scudder is drawn to the case by a niece of the slain Hollanders who feels the job was a setup, possibly by the Hollander's daughter who inherits millions. The burglars evidently had a key to the house and knew the security code to shut off the alarm. So what really happened? Well Scudder thinks there may have been a third man involved, but with what motive?
I thought this was a very compelling story with a very clever premise involving a serial killer. It was an unusual Scudder novel with Scudder acting on his own prerogative rather than being hired to look into the case. He is assisted by TJ, the young black street-wise kid who has assisted Scudder in previous novels. TJ is computer smart and his help is a big asset. This novel was published in 2001, before cell phones and PCs were prevalent and Scudder has yet to jump on board. But TJ may change his mind as he shows Scudder the benefits of both. I enjoyed this one quite a lot but maybe a little less than some of the previous novels. I will be looking forward to finishing up the series â only two books left to go!
I thought this was a very compelling story with a very clever premise involving a serial killer. It was an unusual Scudder novel with Scudder acting on his own prerogative rather than being hired to look into the case. He is assisted by TJ, the young black street-wise kid who has assisted Scudder in previous novels. TJ is computer smart and his help is a big asset. This novel was published in 2001, before cell phones and PCs were prevalent and Scudder has yet to jump on board. But TJ may change his mind as he shows Scudder the benefits of both. I enjoyed this one quite a lot but maybe a little less than some of the previous novels. I will be looking forward to finishing up the series â only two books left to go!
While this is yet another interesting Matt Scudder mystery, you need to be warned it doesn't end here. Although the "Scudder" books are a series, this is the first book which has a sequel. The next book in the series finishes the tale of the serial killer in this one.
Plus, a good portion of the book's text is in italics to provide the killer's thoughts.
Looking ahead it appears the next book in the series is the last one chronologically. Scudder is getting old, and the books following the sequel cover episodes in Scudder's life when he was younger.
Plus, a good portion of the book's text is in italics to provide the killer's thoughts.
Looking ahead it appears the next book in the series is the last one chronologically. Scudder is getting old, and the books following the sequel cover episodes in Scudder's life when he was younger.
matthew scudder, pi, returns. this is an excellent book
Upscale couple Bryne and Susan Hollander are slaughtered in their home during a brutal home invasion, then their killers are slaughtered. Who's really behind it all?
An upscale couple are slaughtered in a brutal home invasion. A few days later the killers themselves have turned up dead behind the locked door of a Brooklyn hellhole, apparently slain by the partner who then took his own life...
The city caught its collective breath when upscale couple Byrne and Susan Hollander were slaughtered in a brutal home invasion. Now, a few days later, the killers themselves have turned up dead behind he locked door of a Brooklyn hellhole-one apparently slain by his partner in crime who then took his own life.
There's something drawing Matthew Scudder to this case that the cops have quickly and eagerly closed: a nagging suspicion that a third man is involved, a cold, diabolical puppet master who manipulates his two accomplices, then cuts their strings when he's done with them. No one but Scudder even suspects he exists. And his worst fear is that the guy is just getting started.
Good read.
There's something drawing Matthew Scudder to this case that the cops have quickly and eagerly closed: a nagging suspicion that a third man is involved, a cold, diabolical puppet master who manipulates his two accomplices, then cuts their strings when he's done with them. No one but Scudder even suspects he exists. And his worst fear is that the guy is just getting started.
Good read.
Entertaining and plausible...can't ask too much more from a detective. I have been enjoying this series a lot
I haven't had a chance to read this book, have so many on my TBR shelf.
