Rating: 
Summary: Decent Hardboiled P.I. Fiction
Review: I am a huge fan of hardboiled P.I. fiction, and this is the first Matthew Scudder book that I've had a chance to read. And while I found the book to be a bit on the slow side in terms of action, the plot was so fascinating that I couldn't put it down. The book's real subject matter is death, and as one character says, man is the only animal who knows he's going to die. He's also the only animal that drinks. Somehow, there must be a connection. Those strictly interested in shoot-'em-ups and continuous action should look elsewhere. Those who like their P.I. stories on the philisophical side will love it. As a character, I found Scudder interesting, especially his background and his continuous battle with alcoholism. Like any good P.I., he inhabits the landscape around him (in this case, Manhattan) so well that he becomes part of the scenery. I also didn't mind the fact that he was involved in a stable relationship (often a weakness in other P.I. serieses. A classic P.I. ought to be a loner). His love interest is just quirky enough to add spice to the story and isn't used merely to give him a contrived vulnerability. Overall, the best compliment I can pay is that I don't expect that this will be my last encounter with Scudder.
Rating:
Summary: Decent Hardboiled P.I. Fiction
Review: I am a huge fan of hardboiled P.I. fiction, and this is the first Matthew Scudder book that I've had a chance to read. And while I found the book to be a bit on the slow side in terms of action, the plot was so fascinating that I couldn't put it down. The book's real subject matter is death, and as one character says, man is the only animal who knows he's going to die. He's also the only animal that drinks. Somehow, there must be a connection. Those strictly interested in shoot-'em-ups and continuous action should look elsewhere. Those who like their P.I. stories on the philisophical side will love it. As a character, I found Scudder interesting, especially his background and his continuous battle with alcoholism. Like any good P.I., he inhabits the landscape around him (in this case, Manhattan) so well that he becomes part of the scenery. I also didn't mind the fact that he was involved in a stable relationship (often a weakness in other P.I. serieses. A classic P.I. ought to be a loner). His love interest is just quirky enough to add spice to the story and isn't used merely to give him a contrived vulnerability. Overall, the best compliment I can pay is that I don't expect that this will be my last encounter with Scudder.
Rating: 
Summary: Good beginning, poor ending
Review: I had the opposite reaction of a previous reviewer -- I liked the book until the last 100 pages.
It is then that, out of nowhere, Scudder's friend Mick Ballou brings up the Vietnam War Memorial Wall in a conversation. Mick reports that the names are "in no particular order," which isn't true -- they're listed in order of death. Mick says he booked a room in a "hotel across the street from the White House." The only hotel that fits that description is the Hay-Adams, across Lafayette park. Rooms at the luxurious Hay-Adams start at $300 a night -- a bit unusual for Mick Ballou, who is described as a brutal killer, a career criminal, and someone who drinks whiskey like water.
The sudden mention of the Wall is a plot device, of course, and Scudder later travels to Washington to check whether a certain name is on the wall. Of course, Scudder wouldn't have had to travel -- the Wall names are listed on the internet.
The dénouement is even worse. The group of respectable businessmen decides that the answer to their problems is to hold the killer in solitary confinement for life, in their own private jail cell, located on a small island in Lake Huron. The businessmen use the racist assumption that a "family of Cree Indians" who work as caretakers of the island will loyally and mutely participate in their conspiracy to kidnap and isolate the killer for life -- complete with a welded leg shackle.
The book started off well, but it really needs a different ending.
Rating:
Summary: too much AA
Review: I just read this for the second time, having run out of reading material, and enjoyed it again. Block is an excellent writer, making an interesting read in spite of an unlikely plot. The club of 31 is quite uninteresting, yet Block managed to hold my interest with his great character development and descriptive writing. I have to say, though, I am tired, fed up with the AA stuff. Block's depiction of the AA crowd is accurate, I think, based on my experience with a friend, and his buddies from AA. They spend the rest of their lives telling everyone they can about how bad they were, with obvious nostalgia for the bad old days. It is inescapable, though, that they are losers before and after their joining AA. Maybe that is Block's point, as Scudder is a flat personality, whose outlook is grim, and basically boring outside occasional excitment during his investigations. Is Block an alcoholic?
Rating: 
Summary: Compare to his old works, this one is totally unreadable!!!!
Review: I've always worried about an author once he becomes rich and famous. Because once he is too successful and cashing in too much, his writing inspiration would soon be jarred by his own glory. This book plus his BURGLAR's series(a ridiculous creation like Lawrance Sanders' McNally series) are the proof that the once great writer is going downhill in a 35 degree angle. Very bad writing and plotting with lot of flaws. Simply TERRIBLE
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent Scudder book ...
Review: If you like Scudder, you'll love this one. Lots of twists and turns that you don't expect. I recommend reading all the Scudder books from the beginning chronologically the way they were written by the author. However, this is definitely worth reading even if you're reading out of order or just catching a single Scudder book.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent Scudder book ...
Review: If you like Scudder, you'll love this one. Lots of twists and turns that you don't expect. I recommend reading all the Scudder books from the beginning chronologically the way they were written by the author. However, this is definitely worth reading even if you're reading out of order or just catching a single Scudder book.
Rating: 
Summary: Not the best
Review: It's a good reading, but compared to the expectation concerning the title, it's actionless. The last 50 or 60 pages are very good, but the others are very slow. By the way, I liked it and will probably read other Block's book.
Rating:
Summary: Thanks, Larry
Review: Matt Scudder does it again. Hard to believe but yes, it does get better with each chapter in the Scudder saga. Mr. Block, I just want to say one thing. You are a genius. Thank you
Rating:
Summary: Great book, true Scudder
Review: Matthew Scudder is Lawrence Block's remarkable private investigator. He's a former NYPD detective who left the force after an accident left a child dead in a crossfire. Scudder is a recovering alcoholic, attending meetings of AA. (In earlier books in the Scudder series he's always drinking. In time he realizes he needs help.) By the time we meet up with him in "A Long Line of Deadmen," Scudder has been sober ten years. In this novel we learn of a legendary club that consists of 31 men. They meet once a year until their membership is down to a single member who has the responsibility of recruiting another thirty men to carry on the tradition to wait until all but one of them is alive. The group meets for years and years, considering the new recruits are in the late twenties and thirties. When members of the club start dyeing at an alarming rate Matt Scudder is hired by one of the members to investigate. Characters from past Scudder novels reappear. The ever present Elaine, his call-girl girl friend have developed a more permanent relationship. In "A Walk Among the Tombstones," Block introduces a streetwise American-American teen that has street smarts. His only permanent address is his pager. TJ is back and helps Scudder with the case. TJ reminds me of a black ten year old I knew many years ago in the South Bronx, intelligent and street wise at the same time. I guess only God knows what became of him. I hope Scudder keeps TJ alive and well and in action in future novels. I enjoyed this Scudder novel as I did the others in the series. It's not as fast paced as the other in the series but does make very well reading. I suggest if you enjoy "Long Line..." you might want to read the others in the series in sequence.
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