The Devil Knows You're Dead

A journey between murder and melancholy

Matthew Scudder’ s books are not the typical detective story where a detective -the good guy- solves a mystery of a murder and gets the bad guy behind the bars and where suspense, violence and intensity are the basic ingredients of the plot. There is a bit (at times a lot) of all this in Scudder’s stories, but there is much more. Scudder is continuously in a soul-searching mode, engaged in a journey towards redemption from his demons (alcohol, bad memories, life failures). He does all this without rhetoric or drama; he is a man with a natural sense of self-reflection combined with a self-deprecating sense of humour. He is also smart, though when needed and a great at reading people behaviours.
In this particular book Scudder is asked to help solve the mystery of the death of a prosperous lawyer; a presumed killer is caught by the police, but …. Other more personal events cross Matt’s journey toward the truth and allow different levels of reflection, which the standards detective books do not usually do.
New York provides a fantastic background to the story and Joe Barret is as good as it gets.

6 people found this helpful

Drags a little

Joe Barret is a great reader for this genre.

The story drags a bit here and there compared to other Scudder novels like When the Sacred Ginmill Closes but finishes very strong. It seems like Block is most compelling when Scudder is miserable.

2 people found this helpful

Scared Of What I'd Missed

This author is not for me. There’s humor but it comes way later in the mystery to overcome all the dark AA meetings, which are helpful to people, but seemed focused on a bit too much. I didn’t start at book 1, but this books’ story didn’t compel me to go back and begin the series. One reviewer said this was the best of the series so l purchased due to the reader Joe Barrett. He narrates the Brian Haig’s Sean Drummond series, excellent!!!
I do use the 1.25x speed to match the author’s intent.
For me, author’s type of humor eg grandmother had a black belt in House cleaning needed to open the book, instead of being so close to the discovery of the mystery killer. The beginning seemed a bit slow but you certainly got a birds eye view of Manhattan.
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1 person found this helpful

Character development w/o much story

Far from my favorite Scudder book, but decent nonetheless. Even without a compelling main storyline Block is able to provide some solid character development for those who've read all (or most) of the earlier Scudder books. This one lacks any thrills or real action, and the main mystery is pretty much of a dud, yet I enjoyed Joe Barrett's narration and certain other elements.

1 person found this helpful

smart, funny, inclusive crime

really well written, enjoyable plotlines with great characters. really well narrated. Lawrence Block has become a favourite auther and Joe Barrett is hands down the best narrator.

1 person found this helpful

as usual Lawrence Block provides a unusual story

I love Matt Scutter stories, excellent dialogue and great returning characters. Good read, great series