Read as part of CBR16Bingo: Earth Day. But I’m replacing the Earth Day square with a “re-read” square. Earth Day is just not a subject that interests me and I have no books at home or on my TBR that would fit a flexible definition of this square. But that’s not a knock on the person who created the Bingo sheet because they created a lot of otherwise awesome squares!
Going through my Matthew Scudder re-reads, I realized this would be a tough one. But I’ve upped the star rating for so many of the others that I figured this might be due for it too.
I did like it a lot; far more than I did the first time. And it still hits a hard 3-star rating.
What I remember differently is what did work was actually quite effective: 85% of the book was Matt going around doing detective work, fighting his demons with alcohol, trying to stay afoot on rocky ground. Much like Eight Million Ways to Die, I got less invested in the case and more invested in Matt’s shadowboxing. Block writes these scenes with such humanity and introspection. Still loved it.
I also tried really hard to sit with Elaine’s character because I couldn’t stand her my first time around. I’m happy Matt found a love interest, I just wish it wasn’t her. Here’s where they first start getting serious and she’s…fine. I just know what’s coming. We’ll see if it’s better this time around.
The hard 3-star ceiling is because of the other 15% of the book: the serial killer is too diabolical, the showdown too predictable. Block had already gone to this well in the series (and sadly, he will again) and I know he can do better. So even though this is better than I remember, I gotta cap it at 3.
