- Mass Market Paperback: 373 pages
- Publisher: Avon Books (31 Dec 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0380725347
- ISBN-13: 978-0380725342
- Product Dimensions: 17.5 x 10.6 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,213,637 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Even The Wicked (A Matt Scudder Mystery)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
New York's a tough town. Hard to impress. Shrugs off hype, casts a cold eye on glitz. But once in a blue moon a killer with street smarts and a sense of theater will reach out and take the city by the throat. Maybe he'll write letters to a popular tabloid columnist, proclaiming himself the answer to a failed criminal justice system. Maybe he'll point a finger at the kind of villain the law can't touch. A child killer who got off on a technicality, say. A top mobster with decades of blood on his hands. A rabble-rouser who incites others to murder. Maybe he'll sign himself "Will, " as in "The Will of the People." Then suppose he takes aim at a respectable lawyer, a defense attorney with a roster of unpopular clients. Suppose the lawyer's a friend of Matt Scudder. Scudder is New York to the bone. He's as tough as the big town itself, as hard to impress. And now he's up against the self-styled Will of the People in a city with eight million ways to die, a city where not just the good guys but even the wicked get worse than they deserve.
About the Author
Lawrence Block was awarded the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger in 2004. He is also a Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America. He is the author of many novels and short stories and has won numerous awards for his mystery writing. He lives and works in New York City.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
On a Tuesday night in August I was sitting in the living room with TJ, watching two guys hit each other on one of the Spanish language cable channels, and enjoying the fresh air more than the fight. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
On a Tuesday night in August I was sitting in the living room with TJ, watching two guys hit each other on one of the Spanish language cable channels, and enjoying the fresh air more than the fight. Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Page Turner,
This review is from: Even The Wicked (A Matt Scudder Mystery) (Paperback)
I'm in the process of discovering Scudder - After Bernie Rhodenbarr I was sure I would be disappointed but on this my third Scudder book I feel the character is starting to capture my imagination. Block is in my mind one of the best crime writers in the history of the genre. His characterisation, plot development and twisted resolutions added to his amazing ability to create dialog betwen his characters really make this a great read. Set in gritty New York its obvious Block knows the town well. The continuity in the characters means that even bit players in the stories have history and character of their own and each new book adds to the one before. If you enjoy Crime Fiction and great writing I can't reccomend this book strongly enough. One maxim of detective work to keep in mind when reading this is: eliminate all other options and whatever is left, however improbable is the answer (or something along those lines).
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of Lawrence Block's best novels,
This review is from: Even The Wicked (A Matt Scudder Mystery) (Paperback)
"Even The Wicked" is another in the Matt Scudder series of novels. It is also one of the best ones. Scudder is a man changing during this novel. His relationship with Elaine is becoming more and more serious all the time, and he is contemplating gaining a private detective licence to gain better business. He is then drawn in to protect a DA who the mysterious "Will Of The People" has targeted as his next victim. But that is only the start of the troubles for Scudder. There are two plots to this novel, with their mixing occuring halfway through the novel. Block weaves this plots together effortlessly and this makes for an exceptionally well plotted novel. One of Block's great skills is his ability to carefully hide the villian of the novel and suprise the reader with his or her identity, and this is no exception with the true identity of the "Will Of The People" being something of a shock when it is revealed. Scudder is still as stubourn as ever, and his prolonged investigation into the whole affair results in a very good novel. Scudder is a very believable character with a considerable backstory that has been logically developed over the previous twelve novels in the series. Although he has his condition as an alcoholic under control, there is still a trace of danger lurking in his character. The main idea of the plot, that a mysterious individual takes the Will of the People and punishes those who have done wrong in the past and cannot legally be punished is a very intriguing one. It splits the public in the novel into those who believe that the Will was right to punish those for what they have done wrong and those who believe that even if they cannot be legally punished it is still wrong morally to take the law and enforce it in their own hands. This leads the reader to ponder the morality of the Will in a way that the characters in the novel do as well, and i'm sure that opinion will be divided in a simillar way. Block's writing is exceptional, as always, and it takes a strong will to put this book down, unless the reader has finished it. This book is a good entry into the series, and probably one of the best ones. Highly recommended.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
2.7 out of 5 stars (27 customer reviews) 8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Least violent, most cheerful of the Scudder series...,
By William E. Adams - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Even the Wicked (Matthew Scudder Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)
Larry Block has published so many novels over the past 35 years or so that you cannot expect all of them to be masterpieces. He does have a few in that category. While this effort is not one of those, it is enjoyable enough. His aging, alcoholic-in-recovery private snoop Matt Scudder is 55, married and stable in this outing. A mysterious killer knocks off a few nasty guys in NYC, and Scudder ends up solving the case. Unfortunately the reader gets to the right conclusion at the same time as the private eye, which robs the saga of its punch. However, the show is not over, because a copycat takes the stage and creates a second case for our hero to resolve, at the same time that he is puzzling out still another, unrelated killing. While Scudder is never in any personal danger in this book, a situation most earlier reviewers lament, I still liked it. He's a complicated but nice guy, with a nice wife and a semi-adopted son who adds sizzle to his life. If you like your mysteries to avoid gristly murder details and personal danger for the lead character, this book will please you. Be warned: other entries in the Scudder series are much more graphic and have more tension, so if that's what you prefer, start with "A Walk Among the Tombstones" or one of the other, earlier novels.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Kinder, gentler, yes, but still essential Scudder.,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Even the Wicked (Hardcover)
The post-recovery Scudder books (those subsequent to Eight Million Ways to Die) offer three key elements: (1) a gritty, grisly, New York detective mystery; (2) remarkable insights into addiction, the "addictive personality," addictive thinking and reasoning, addictive feelings; (3) often humorous but deeply incisive commentary on the 12-step recovery process, "the program." As a clinical psychologist, it is the latter two elements that interest me most and keep me waiting eagerly for the next installment; indeed, I have learned more about addiction and AA philosophy from Scudder than from all of my formal professional education, training, and experience.
In Even the Wicked, Matt has transitioned into a new phase of life. We could see this coming. He is happily (and faithfully!) married, properly licensed, lives in a nice building, eats well, and is still in solid recovery. Of course, he is still an alcoholic. What may disappoint some is that this story is less grisly, much less violent, and less sordid than previous adventures. If memory serves, Matt doesn't even break any major laws in his typical pursuit of the greater good. (Actually, a couple of minor transgressions do occur, but nothing like the shocking vigilantism of previous stories). Is this a bland shadow of the original Matt Scudder, whom I regard as one of the most fascinating characters in literature? No, it is still Matt, just further down the path. We can see that his addiction produced a 25 or 30-year delay in normal adult development. In his 50s, Matt is only now able to sustain a mature, reciprocal, intimate relationship, a challenge normally faced in one's early to mid 20s. After years, really decades, of extraordinary self-absorption, Matt is finally beginning to be comfortable with the idea of making a broader contribution to society. (Historically, Matt's committment to society has been narrow and simple -- the world becomes an even worse place when a murderer goes unpunished.) While Even the Wicked lacks some of the sex and violence of earlier books, and I, for one, really enjoy sex and violence, on a deeper level it is a great book. It is a psychologically honest portrayal of adult growth and development in the context of long-term successful recovery. Like its predecessors, the book provides a steady stream of insights into addiction. I particularly enjoy the AA humor, entertaining as ever. And, it is a very good story, with numerous twists and turns, some recurring characters without over-doing it, and a particularly satisfying (heart-warming?) conclusion. 4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
This is a fine book-- you guys are missing the point.,
By ian.abrams@pagebbs.com - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Even the Wicked (Hardcover)
I strongly disagree with the negative reviews above. I thought "Even the Wicked" is one of the best Scudders, and Block is taking the character into a new phase of his life. Courageously, Block has let Scudder age; now we see him, in his late 50's, having come to terms with many of the midlife issues he faced in "A Long Line of Dead Men." He's a more balanced, more thoughtful man than he was in the earlier books. Beyond that, Block has come up with a truly interesting, original motive for one of the two central murders. I'm looking forward to the next Scudder; as far as I'm concerned, the line points up.
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