Even The Wicked [Mass Market Paperback]

This is far from the best of Lawrence Block's landmark Scudder series-too little action or suspense, too much domestic bliss--so I'll just use its publication as an excuse to introduce newcomers to some past glories. The best of them all is still When the Sacred Ginmill Closes, definitely on my short list of the 100 Best Mysteries. But close behind are such other Scudder classics as A Long Line of Dead Men, A Dance at the Slaughterhouse, The Devil Knows You're Dead, Eight Million Ways to Die, In the Midst of Death, A Ticket to the Boneyard, and A Walk Among the Tombstones. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Marriage to his old flame, Elaine, seems to have mellowed Block's veteran PI, Matt Scudder. He still continues to get his man with a combination of doggedness and occasional flashes of inspiration, but his life has become too cozy to make him the absorbing companion he used to be. Quiet domestic evenings spent talking things over with Elaine in Block's patented delightful dialogue alternate with thoughtful discussions, in this case, with the two perpetrators in the book, who give themselves up without a murmur. Voices are never raised; not even a roscoe barks. It's all too civilized, as if Scudder's formerly gritty world were moving closer to that of Block's much slighter series hero, the daffy burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr. There are two plots here, ingeniously intertwined: one involves a serial killer taking out notable bad guys to the delight of the New York press, particularly a pushy columnist who gets to publish the man's gloating notes; the other concerns the mysterious killing, in broad daylight on a park bench, of a friend of a friend of Scudder's who's in the last stages of AIDS and has a complicated insurance arrangement. As usual, Block's ingenuity in finding new motives for crime is endless, his narration polished, his entertainment value high. What is missing here is the violence, or the constant threat of it, that made Scudder's earlier appearances memorable. The ending, involving Scudder's streetwise sidekick TJ, is downright sentimental. Brace up, Block!
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

When Block speaks, people listen; especially mystery buffs. In this latest in his Matthew Scudder series (e.g., A Long Line of Dead Men, Morrow, 1994), a vigilante preys on New York's worst criminals.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Back for the thirteenth time, Manhattan private detective Matt Scudder is working on two seemingly impossible cases. One is the city's newest serial killer, the Will of the People. Will bumps off high-profile hairballs--a child murderer freed on a technicality, a rabid anti-abortion crusader whose efforts have led to the murders of abortion clinic doctors, and a fanatical black racist. Matt's other case is the apparently senseless and motiveless murder of an AIDS sufferer who is shot while sitting on a park bench. Neither is the kind of case a lone PI can solve, but Scudder doggedly pursues his investigations while offering readers more insights into his life and the evermore bizarre life of his city. Ultimately, he solves these cases, but along the way, we're treated to his patient, even-tempered views both of his life as a recovering alcoholic and of the city around him, including the homeless, the employed middle class of Manhattan, and churches that have coin-operated electric candles--25 cents for a few minutes of light to remember a loved one. From the epigraph--Willa Cather's line, "Even the wicked get worse than they deserve" --to the last sentence, Block has graced mystery fans with another wonderfully textured Scudder novel. Thomas Gaughan --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Matthew Scudder knows that justice is an elusive commodity in the big city, where a harmless man can be shot dead in a public place criminals fly free through holes in a tattered legal system. But now a vigilante is roaming among the millions, executing those he fees deserve to die. He calls himself "The Will of the People"--an ingenious serial killer who announces his specific murderous intentions to the media before carrying through on his threats. A child molester, a Mafia don, a violent anti-abortionist -- even the protected and untouchable are being ruthlessly erased by New York's latest celebrity avenger.

Scudder knows that no one is innocent -- but who among us has the right to play God? It is a question that will haunt the licensed p.i. on his journey through the bleak city grays, as he searches for the sanity in urban madness. . .and for a frighteningly efficient killer who can do the impossible.

Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Lawrence Block brings back Matthew Scudder in his most sensational and startling mystery yet.

"Will of the People" is New York's latest serial killer. A one-man vigilante squad, he exacts retribution from the city's most notorious evildoers. His list of victims includes a child molester, a Mafia don, a violent anti-abortionist, and a hat-mongering racist.

Already working on the seemingly random murder of a terminally ill acquaintance, Matt Scudder reluctantly accepts a retainer from Will's newest target, a controversial defense attorney, who soon winds up dead despite intensive security. In Block's inimitable way, clues lead Scudder not only to criminals but to self-discovery as well, making Even the Wicked the detective's most gripping and reflective appearance yet. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

A Mystery Writers of America Grand Master, Lawrence Block is a four-time winner of the Edgar Allan Poe and Shamus Awards, as well as a recipient of prizes in France, Germany, and Japan. The author of more than fifty books and numerous short stories, he is a devout New Yorker who spends much of his time traveling.