Frank H. (perryfran) reviewed on 5/14/2022 + 1223 more book reviews

When the Sacred Ginmill Closes takes its title from a song called "Last Call" by Dave Van Ronk. Scudder is drinking with one of his buddies who mentions the song to him and then plays it on his turntable. The song is about drinking the final glass before a bar closes. One of the lines in the song, "If I'd been drunk when I was born, I'd be ignorant of sorrow" resonates with Scudder and sets an overall tone for the book.

This is the sixth book in the Matt Scudder series by Block. Scudder is an unlicensed PI who quit the police force after he accidentally shot a young girl. He is also a very heavy drinker and spends most of his off hours at bars. This story actually takes place ten years in the past and is narrated by Scudder after he quits drinking. In it, Scudder becomes involved in three crimes. The first is an armed robbery of an after-hours bar. Then there is a theft for ransom of a second set of books for another bar that could be sent to the IRS with dire consequences. And finally, the wife of one of Scudder's cronies is murdered during what appears to be a burglary. Scudder is asked to investigate all three cases and is able to tie two of them together. But most of the book is told when Scudder is visiting his various haunts and drinking more than he should.

Scudder goes on to reflect on how things have changed in the past ten years and what happened to most of the people he was friends with back then. This was another very engaging tale from Block which I really enjoyed reading. Looking forward to the books I've missed in this series.

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