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Book Review of When the Sacred Ginmill Closes (Matthew Scudder, Bk 6)

When the Sacred Ginmill Closes (Matthew Scudder, Bk 6)
reviewed on + 3 more book reviews


This is perhaps my favorite noir-styled novel in Lawrence Block's series about an alcoholic ex-cop, only fitfully on the wagon. Aside from Elmore Leonard (Pulp Fiction;Get Shorty; 3:10 To Yuma,and many others) Block has no peer in dialogue or plot in contemporary fiction.Period.One day, some enterprising publisher will reissue these novels in a set of handsome cloth editions as has been done for Dashiell Hammett (The Thin Man, The Maltese Falcon) and Raymond Chandler (The Big Sleep; Farewell, My Lovely; The Long Goodbye;was there ever a finer screenplay than Chandler's Double Indemnity?)! This is the best point of entry for the world of Lawrence Block. You'll be glad you took this first step.