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Rating: 
Summary: i disagree.......
Review: ...with you people. i may not have read any other matthew scudder mysteries, but this is one of my favorite books. i think ill read it again some time soon. get this book. dont listen to the other people. they dont know squat. i wouldnt reccomend this book to kids under 15. this has a lot of profanity in it. even tho im 13, i dont think other poeple my age should read it. oh.... wait...... no i dont. who cares. this is good literature. screw it all, im going to read this again.
Rating: 
Summary: One of my favorite Scudders
Review: Block's Scudder series is serious business, though his characterizations are phenomenal in all his series. The other two: Burglar/Rhodenbarr and Tanner are much lighter, fun, less serious reading. This particular Scudder continues his personal growth from middle-aged, embittered, alcoholic into maturity. This becomes apparent to readers who have read many of the others in this series before reading this one. Some of action is downplayed in reference to character development, which might put off some readers. A good mystery writer spins a fine tale, but a great mystery writer evolves into a great writer who chooses to write mysteries--evolving the genre into literature. It seems to me that this is Block's objective, conscious or unconscious as the case may be. Certainly his poignant descriptions of Scudder's bout with alcoholism is a work or art. Many sides (some light some dark) are variously depicted in this incredible series. Scudder is all too human. Block also includes many memorable lines (which I add to my quote collection) such as: "'If it turns out there's life on Saturn;' Elaine said, `and we go there, we'll find out they've got three sets of eyes, and five sexes, and something against the Jews'" on page 31; "There is, I have been taught, all the difference in the world between the desire and the act. The one is written on water, the other carved in stone." on page 131; and "The room was thick with two conversations, the one we were having and the one we were choosing not to have." on page 283. I didn't read the series in order, it would be interesting to do so.
Rating: 
Summary: Scudder without purpose
Review: I have but one more Scudder book to read to be all caught up. Have LOVED them all, even though I am not a "crime/mystery" novel afficiando -- ALL EXCEPT this one. Took it on a LONG plane ride, expecting the usual Block thriller. BORING and definitely forced - must have been a little writer's block and deadline due.
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: 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: 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: 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."
Rating:
Summary: Scudder Gets Way Too Satisfied
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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