The Sins of the Fathers
by Lawrence Block.
This is the 1st book in The Matthew Scudder Series.
The 1976 paperback that introduced Block's melancholy, alcoholic shamus Matt Scudder finally gets a well-deserved hardcover edition--as well as a charming fan letter of an introduction from Stephen King. King pinpoints why the nine-book Scudder series (A Dance at the Slaughterhouse, 1991, etc.) is among mystery's most popular and finest: ``The absence of cats,'' i.e., ``tricks.'' As King says, Scudder is a ``pure'' detective who ``is real because his milieu is real.'' The fascinating ordinariness of Scudder and the harsh realness of his New York City arrive full force here as the p.i. is hired by a distraught father to look into the recent stabbing murder of his estranged daughter.
|
In the Midst of Death
by Lawrence Block.
This is the 2nd book in The Matthew Scudder Series.
Jerry Broadfield thinks he's a good cop. But he's been charged with extortion -- and his former buddies in the NYPD would like to see him laid out on a morgue slab for squealing to a committee on police corruption. And when a dead hooker turns up in his apartment, he's saddled with a murder rap as well. Broadfield screams "frame-up" and nobody believes him -- except ex-policeman-turned-p.i. Matthew Scudder.
|
Time to Murder and Create
by Lawrence Block.
This is the 3rd book in The Matthew Scudder Series.
Small-time stoolie, Jake "The Spinner" Jablon, made a lot of new enemies when he switched careers, from informer to blackmailer. And the more "clients," he figured, the more money -- and more people eager to see him dead. So no one is surprised when the pigeon is found floating in the East River with his skull bashed in. And what's worse, no one cares -- except Matthew Scudder. The ex-cop-turned-private-eye is no conscientious avenging angel. But he's willing to risk his own life and limb to confront Spinner's most murderously aggressive marks.
|
A Stab in the Dark
by Lawrence Block.
This is the 4th book in The Matthew Scudder Series.
Louis Pinell, the recently apprehended "Icepick Prowler," freely admits to having slain seven young women nine years ago -- but be swears it was a copycat who killed Barbara Ettinger Matthew Scudder believes him. But the trail to Ettinger's true murderer is twisted, dark and dangerous...and even colder than the almost decade-old corpse the p.i. is determined to avenge.
|
Eight Million Ways To Die
by Lawrence Block.
This is the 5th book in The Matthew Scudder Series.
This is the book that really set the standard for the Scudder series. It's the fifth Scudder adventure and it opens with Matt just out of the hospital after a major drinking binge. He is hired by a prostitute who wants out of the business, so he tracks down her pimp, Chance. No problem, Chance says. She can get out, but she could have saved herself some money and skipped the middleman.
Everything looks great, but then the prostitute is murdered. Scudder, of course, assumes that Chance is the killer, so he calls in a tip to the police. Next thing you know, Chance is out and he's looking for Matt.
|
More Lawrence Block
Return Home Lewis Publishing Co.