Order A STAB IN THE DARK here
(also reviewed)
Order THE SINS OF THE FATHERS here
Order IN THE MIDST OF DEATH here
Order TIME TO MURDER AND CREATE here
''Like hunting a black cat in a coal mine,' he said.
I had a strange discussion with one of the professional boxers at my gym once. He told me; ''I've learned everything there is to know about boxing. The only thing left for me to do now is to get in the best possible shape I can be.'' I was reminded of this discussion while reading A STAB IN THE DARK, by Lawrence Block and thinking about detective novels in general. It's difficult to vehicle original ideas through that particular subgenre of mystery. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and focus in polishing the deliver. A STAB IN THE DARK takes the most classical investigation storytelling trope and turns it into a pulverising novel through technical mastery alone. I used to think the Matthew Scudder novels were pretty enjoyable, but now I understand the powerful hype behind them.
Count me in as a member of the Church of Scudder Almighty.
So what does makes A STAB IN THE DARK different from the three previous Scudder novels I reviewed : THE SINS OF THE FATHERS, IN THE MIDST OF DEATH and TIME TO MURDER AND CREATE? Scudder is dragged into the past by his investigation, trying to solve the murder of Barbara Ettinger's murder, which happened when he was still on the force. She was identified as the eight and final victim of a serial killer nicknamed ''the ice pick prowler'' but the man vehemently denies killing her. Scudder is hired by the victim's father in order to find the truth about Barbara's death. As usual, when he rummages into people's life in order to find something meant to be kept hidden, Scudder finds a lot of mediocrity, which is something he doesn't do well with.
So, the $100,000,000 question: what makes A STAB IN THE DARK so much better than its predecessors?
There are a couple factors: first, Scudder is getting restless with his alcohol problem. He meets Janice Corwin during his investigation, which he grows really fond of, and who unwittingly forces him to face his behavior. The restlessness growing in him changes the tone of his professional interaction: he doesn't take shit anymore. Even sometimes (to the reader's greatest delight), to the point of irrationality. Scudder gets profoundly depressed with his life and his investigation becomes some sort of a life raft for him, in order to prove to himself that he still has worth. It's one of the things I've grown to love in Matthew Scudder. The man deals with his emotional issues like a champ. It's one of the aspect of the series that goes beyond the boundaries of detective fiction.
Count me in as a member of the Church of Scudder Almighty.
So what does makes A STAB IN THE DARK different from the three previous Scudder novels I reviewed : THE SINS OF THE FATHERS, IN THE MIDST OF DEATH and TIME TO MURDER AND CREATE? Scudder is dragged into the past by his investigation, trying to solve the murder of Barbara Ettinger's murder, which happened when he was still on the force. She was identified as the eight and final victim of a serial killer nicknamed ''the ice pick prowler'' but the man vehemently denies killing her. Scudder is hired by the victim's father in order to find the truth about Barbara's death. As usual, when he rummages into people's life in order to find something meant to be kept hidden, Scudder finds a lot of mediocrity, which is something he doesn't do well with.
So, the $100,000,000 question: what makes A STAB IN THE DARK so much better than its predecessors?
There are a couple factors: first, Scudder is getting restless with his alcohol problem. He meets Janice Corwin during his investigation, which he grows really fond of, and who unwittingly forces him to face his behavior. The restlessness growing in him changes the tone of his professional interaction: he doesn't take shit anymore. Even sometimes (to the reader's greatest delight), to the point of irrationality. Scudder gets profoundly depressed with his life and his investigation becomes some sort of a life raft for him, in order to prove to himself that he still has worth. It's one of the things I've grown to love in Matthew Scudder. The man deals with his emotional issues like a champ. It's one of the aspect of the series that goes beyond the boundaries of detective fiction.
''You don't run up to the victim's husband and ask him was she fucking the mailman. Same with what's-her-name, Ettinger. Maybe she was fucking the mailman and maybe that's why she got killed,but there didn't look to be any reason to check it out at the time and it's gonna be a neat trick to do it now.''
What the Matthew Scudder series was already terrific at was painting a glorious support cast that created a different and lively universe with every volume. Well, A STAB IN THE DARK ups the ante in that regards also. The dialogue is so incredibly vivid that I had some of these moments where the page I was reading disappeared in front of my eyes and the voices of the characters resonated in my head. Since I saw the movie adaptation of A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES, I heard Scudder's voice as Liam Neeson's, but it happened for every character in A STAB IN THE DARK. For example, I kept seeing and hearing Douglas Ettinger, the victim's slimy husband, as Mark Ruffalo. Why? I have no idea to explain this phenomenon except precise descriptions and an absolutely thunderous narrative voice.
The writing community tends to put on a pedestal the successful authors who give them the time of day on social media, even if they aren't all talented. It's not the case with Lawrence Block. He is THE MAN. I already really liked the Matthew Scudder novels, but A STAB IN THE DARK is a huge step up from the previous title. I can now see better how Scudder influenced an entire generation of sleuths, including personal favorite Patrick Kenzie, the infamour Dennis Lehane creation. I feel a delirious sense of euphoria washing over me when I think that there are still like, I don't know, 15 novels left in that series. Expect an increase in the Scudder reviews in 2015.
The writing community tends to put on a pedestal the successful authors who give them the time of day on social media, even if they aren't all talented. It's not the case with Lawrence Block. He is THE MAN. I already really liked the Matthew Scudder novels, but A STAB IN THE DARK is a huge step up from the previous title. I can now see better how Scudder influenced an entire generation of sleuths, including personal favorite Patrick Kenzie, the infamour Dennis Lehane creation. I feel a delirious sense of euphoria washing over me when I think that there are still like, I don't know, 15 novels left in that series. Expect an increase in the Scudder reviews in 2015.
