Rating: 
Summary: Not up to standards
Review: I think Lawrence Block is a great writer, but this book failed to hold my interest. Usually I have a difficult time putting Block's books down; this one, on the other hand, I had a difficult time keeping up.
Rating: 
Summary: This is Lawrence Block?
Review: I've read great reviews of this books and this is the first one I picked up. I was greatly disappointed. I was right on every aspect of this "mystery" dozens of pages before the "answer" was revealed. I look for a lot more from a good book. Perhaps I'll read another Block one day but I feel I've been burned and there are so many other good authors to try. I think it will be quite awhile before I'm back.
Rating: 
Summary: disappointing effort by a master
Review: Matthew Scudder is back and the excitement is gone in this effort, the weakest of the wonderful series by Lawrence Block detailing the evolution of the life of a maturing ex-alcoholic New York City private investigator. Scudder here is involved in discovering the identity of two murderers, one a serial killer. Unfortunately, as Scudder has aged, married, and quit drinking, at least in this story, he's become much more boring. The plot is character-driven and simply not very interesting. I personally am hoping for Scudder to return to the bottle and for Block to return to the morally weaker and infinitely more enjoyable Scudder of yesterday
Rating:
Summary: Block's Buckshot Scatters Plots and Reader
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 sober alcoholic "Even the Wicked " is not as well as written as the 12 previous Matt Scudder novels. In the past I found in difficult to put a Scudder novel down. This one was difficult to pick up. It failed to keep my interest. I have read them all with the exception of "Everybody Dies," Block's latest in the series and "In the Midst of Death," one of his earlier ones. In "Even the Wicked" we find a vigilante is writing letters to the New York papers. Each time he targets some person by name he makes good on his promise. He calls himself "the will of the people: and is nicked named "will" by the media. Eventually the mystery is solved. Elaine, how Scudder's wife, returns in this novel and so does TJ the street smart teen that has been assisting Scudder in the past few novels. Although I didn't enjoy this novel I'm looking forward to the two in the series I haven't read.
Rating:
Summary: Far from being his best Scudder novel
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 sober alcoholic "Even the Wicked " is not as well as written as the 12 previous Matt Scudder novels. In the past I found in difficult to put a Scudder novel down. This one was difficult to pick up. It failed to keep my interest. I have read them all with the exception of "Everybody Dies," Block's latest in the series and "In the Midst of Death," one of his earlier ones. In "Even the Wicked" we find a vigilante is writing letters to the New York papers. Each time he targets some person by name he makes good on his promise. He calls himself "the will of the people: and is nicked named "will" by the media. Eventually the mystery is solved. Elaine, how Scudder's wife, returns in this novel and so does TJ the street smart teen that has been assisting Scudder in the past few novels. Although I didn't enjoy this novel I'm looking forward to the two in the series I haven't read.
Rating:
Summary: confused story line obscures the author's strengths
Review: Non-Matt Scudder fans will wonder why all the enthusiasm for previous volumes with the same hero if this is the first book that they read. Block fails to embody his all too human hero with the life necessary to carry two plots. A re-reading makes the reader think that the book would have been better as a short story. Fans may enjoy revisiting the familiar cast of characters but readers looking for a great novel about New York and Scudder, the troubled detective, should perhaps find a copy of "The Devil Knows You're Dead 0r any others in the Scudder canon
Rating:
Summary: Two mysteries for the price of one :))
Review: Scudder continues to deliver the goods, but at times seems to be only a shadow of the man he used to be. Still, this is a good read and actually concentrates on two (non-related! ) mysteries. The final page is heart-breaking, sincere and even this coldhearted reviewer felt a leeeetle bit of sting in his eyes! This contrasts nicely with earlier Scudder novels, which usually ended on a blunt, bleak note and goes to demonstrates the meaningfullness of the hard-boiled PI's new life. Good stuff!
Rating:
Summary: The weakest Scudder book in the series.
Review: Scudder is incomparable. However, this is not a great book. You'll have figured out the killers well before the ending. Do yourself a favor and skip this book and re-read any of the other excellent Scudder books
Rating:
Summary: This book made me deeply sighed again....
Review: Since the A LONG LINE OF ...,the wonderful creation line was suddenly broken, this one further proved that Block has changed like Lawrance Sanders started teasing readers with his ridiculous and light-wt McNally series, he's just falling in love with his teasing Burglar series. Like Robert Parker's Spenser series, Block should have long quitted after he wrote THE DEVIL KNOWS..., A WALK AMONG..., A TICKET TO..., and A DANCE...plus the earlier ones, these were the best creations by Block, we, the readers, should send flowers to Block to thank him for a wonderful and satisfying reading experience but should also remind him not to ruin our good taste any more, he's already used up his M.S.G.
Rating:
Summary: Scudder without purpose
Review: The Matthew Scudder series is one of my favorite private eye fiction series (I've read all 14 novels). Unfortunately, "Even the Wicked" is easilly the least enjoyable of the bunch. Author Lawrence Block deserves credit for allowing Scudder's character to grow and mature over the years; going from down-and-out alcoholic to struggling AA member to reasonably stable married man while still maintaining an edge. At least, he had until "Wicked." The three interwoven storylines are pure New York City (more so, in fact, than any past entry in the series). But they have absolutely no edge to them. At no time does Scudder seem remotely in physical danger. Instead, he turns into super-sleath, solving high profile cases that are baffling entire police departments. Also, his relationship with Elaine, who he is now married to, has grown stale.Maybe Block sensed these problems and that is why he attempted to give the next (and currently most recent) entry in the series, "Everybody Dies," much more of an edge. If you are not familiar with how great Scudder can be, I implore to to start elsewhere in the series. The best two are arguably, "Eight Million Ways to Die," and "When the Sacred Ginmill Closes."
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