Rating: 
Summary: Where It All Began
Review: This book serves as a means of introducing Matt Scudder to us. We learn that, while he works as a private detective, he's not licensed and will do investigative work in return for "gifts". We find out why he left the police force and the bulk of his personal life. We also find out that he's rarely without a drink in his hand. Apart from the character introduction, we are treated to a mystery that firstly, is more than it first appears, and secondly, displays Scudder's dogged determination perfectly.To start off the Matt Scudder series, he is asked by a man to investigate why his daughter was murdered. Not how, not who, but why. Her killer was her male room-mate who subsequently hanged himself in his prison cell after he was arrested. The father just wants to know why she died to set his own mind at rest. This is not a terrifically complex thriller that involves a lot of action sequences, rather it's a gritty hardboiled mystery that gradually uncovers facts while we get to know the protagonist. It serves it's purpose well as an introduction to the series and promises to hook you as a Matt Scudder fan.
Rating: 
Summary: Seamless Scudder
Review: This is the first in the Matt Scudder series and, having read most of the other books already, I can tell. It's fresh and original, unlike most of the newer and exhausted Scudder novels. I won't discuss the plot, since you can get the gist from the back of the book and anything else would be a spoiler, but the case is pretty simple. Scudder digs into a closed-case homicide and finds more than meets the eye. I won't say the mystery is especially difficult to figure out ahead of time, but Block's novels usually aren't. The value of the book, like most of the others, is in Scudder's battle with alcoholism, his shallow personal connections, and his dark cynicism. This is one of the best, but there are lots of other Scudder novels that hit the mark, including Ticket to the Boneyard, Out on the Cutting Edge, and A Stab in the Dark to name a few. As the series goes on, however, it gets slower and less interesting. These initial books, however, are great and introduce us to one of the most memorable hard-boiled P.I.'s ever to walk the streets of New York.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring, prepetual words take reader on a superficial ride
Review: While the novel has its moments, it surely was not what gave Lawrence Block his big name. The plot is very "on the surface" and quick, possibly too quick. More could have been done with character development, and a more played out resolution could have been made. The detective Scudder could have had more dimensions to his personality, and more could have been added about the details of his "relationship" with his ex-wife and also more on how his hardened personality came to be. Hopefully, some of his later Scudder novels were written better.
Rating: 
Summary: A good begining for a great series
Review: With the 15th Matthew Scudder book due out December 2001 from Lawrence Block, I thought it would be a good time to re-read all of the initial 14, beginning with this, the first in the line. It's interesting to note that unlike many other extended series, Scudder holds true to the initial details set down by the author. He is not yet an admitted alcoholic, but the signs are beginning to show. He is willing to bend the law to suit his own set of moral values, which he has forever continued to do. There is a personal violence in this initial episode which is more self-controlled later on, but it is a progression that is realistic. There are a few unnecessary pages introducing the Elaine character which has nothing what-so-ever to do with this mystery and seems like simple filler to make the book an appropriate length. But, in future books, Elaine becomes a major participant. Could it be that Block already had her future role mapped out for her when he wrote this first book? The mystery isn't that good, I had it somewhat figured out about two-thirds into the story. But the grisly details are vividly described, the dialogue is hard boiled, and there is a feel for the locale that has become a trademark of the Scudder books. If you are Scudder fan, this is a must read. But, on whole, it is a little weak and maybe why Block himself suggests you read another book in the series first -- possible to better whet your appetite for more.
Rating:
Summary: A good begining for a great series
Review: With the 15th Matthew Scudder book due out December 2001 from Lawrence Block, I thought it would be a good time to re-read all of the initial 14, beginning with this, the first in the line. It's interesting to note that unlike many other extended series, Scudder holds true to the initial details set down by the author. He is not yet an admitted alcoholic, but the signs are beginning to show. He is willing to bend the law to suit his own set of moral values, which he has forever continued to do. There is a personal violence in this initial episode which is more self-controlled later on, but it is a progression that is realistic. There are a few unnecessary pages introducing the Elaine character which has nothing what-so-ever to do with this mystery and seems like simple filler to make the book an appropriate length. But, in future books, Elaine becomes a major participant. Could it be that Block already had her future role mapped out for her when he wrote this first book? The mystery isn't that good, I had it somewhat figured out about two-thirds into the story. But the grisly details are vividly described, the dialogue is hard boiled, and there is a feel for the locale that has become a trademark of the Scudder books. If you are Scudder fan, this is a must read. But, on whole, it is a little weak and maybe why Block himself suggests you read another book in the series first -- possible to better whet your appetite for more.
Rating:
Summary: Decidedly So-so
Review: Zero stars first of all to Athena Gassoumis for the awful author's photograph: "Ok Larry, Now I want you to do a PENETRATING STARE." Oh please. The book is better but certainly not brilliant. Matthew Scudder is an ex cop dabbling in private detective work, a fairly nasty piece of work with an unattractive taste for brutality, bullying and vigilante DIY justice. The case he investigates is intriguing enough to keep a reader turning the pages though the denoument is of a somewhat disappointing banality and wins no prizes for credibility. The story is efficiently told but the only characters in which the author begins to succeed rendering very vivid or interesting are the two deceased.
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