Rate this book

L'Ottavo Passo (2011)

by Lawrence Block(Favorite Author)

3.77 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

8838925526 (ISBN13: 9788838925528)

languge

English

genre

Mystery & Thriller

publisher

Sellerio

series

Matthew Scudder

review 1: After seeing A WALK AMONG TOMBSTONES at the theater, I was looking for a novel that would make me feel as sad and as bleak as the movie did, without the unfortunate elements that I had to forgive in the theater. This was the closest option and I grabbed it. It doesn't have the same punch as the film, but it is very nicely done, as private investigator books go. As in most of these books, it's primarily dialog but it's very good dialog. The plot is pretty straightforward: Matt Scudder, former corrupt NYPD detective and struggling alcoholic, tells a story from decades before when he was an unlicensed private investigator. He does favors for friends, and they give him gifts in return, all very under the table. In this case, a guy that Matt knew as a kid grows up to be a caree... morer criminal. After a stint in prison, he and Matt both end up in AA, trying to stay sober and put their lives back together. Part of the AA recovery process involves contacting people you've hurt in the past and making amends and while in the midst of this step, the poor guy gets murdered. Matt gets "hired" to look into the list of people the victim wronged to see if any of them might be the killer. It's a sad book, but it's not as bleak as the film, and that's what I was looking for. That's not fair, I know, but I'm still laying out 4 stars for a solid crime story where the most pressing question is whether the protagonist will make it to his one-year sobriety anniversary.Anyway, if you like private eye mysteries set in NYC of the recent past, this is the book for you.
review 2: I think this is the last Matthew Scudder book, but you never know. It would be sad if it was. I did very much enjoy this series. The stories were always solid and made sense. The resolutions always satisfying. And Block always did a nice job of recapping past books in the current one without too much boring repetition. In this book, Block takes us back to a time in Matthew’s life when he was just sober for one year. When a fellow AA member is killed while making amends, Matthew is hired to eliminate the innocent on the list, only to find himself learning out who the killer is.Goodnight Scudder. less

Download links for: L'Ottavo Passo

Advertising