Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Hope to Die by Lawrence Block ISBN: 0-06-103097-X Publisher: HarperTorch Pub. Date: 05 November, 2002 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.97 (38 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Strong but not amazing
Comment: Much better than the last one (EVERYBODY DIES), and more enjoyable to read than many of the recent Scudders, but HOPE TO DIE is hampered by a somewhat comic-bookish villain (his motivation will leave you rolling your eyes), a low-key climax (the damsel in distress is relieved of her distress well in advance of the climax, via the deus-ex-machina of putting her under Mick Ballou's care), and a letdown of a finale where everything takes place off stage. On the plus side, the sequence early on when Scudder begins unraveling the mystery is very clever, there are some passages of really good writing, the sequences with Scudder's sons and ex-wife are terrific, and (as always) the book just races along and keeps you reading.
Definitely a better-than-average mystery novel, but only a solid B+ -- not the A+ work we saw in great Scudder novels like EIGHT MILLION WAYS TO DIE, WHEN THE SACRED GINMILL CLOSES, and A STAB IN THE DARK. It's more like the "popcorn thriller" Scudder we got in A TICKET TO THE BONEYARD, but that book edges the new one out by a hair because it was more frightening and visceral (although the villain was just as two-dimensional).
Rating: 3
Summary: A Faint Hope
Comment: Lawrence Block has long been my very favorite mystery writer, above James Lee Burke, James Crumley, Dennis Lehane and others on my list of faves. Block isn't the prose stylist that the aforementioned writers are, but he's far and away the most natural storyteller, with an uncanny gift for creating fascinating characters and sounds-like-real-people dialogue. Of all his creations (Burglar/Detective Bernie Rhodenbarr, ersatz spy Tanner, low-key hit man Keller), Block has always done his best work with his series of mysteries featuring the recovering alcoholic ex-cop Matthew Scudder. All of which is to say that when a new Scudder mystery came out, I pounced on it like a lion taking down a gazelle. Sadly, by the time I finished "Hope to Die," I came away from the experience feeling a little disappointed. Scudder's search for a budding serial killer who murders a wealthy couple comes off feeling a little thin in the plot department. Scudder's first-person narrative is interspersed with chapters told from the killer's point of view and for the most part these chapters don't add much to the story. Take them out entirely and you can still easily follow what's happening, making these chapters appear superfluous. Of course, taking them out would have also made the book pretty darn short, too. On the plus side, it's always nice to drop in on Scudder's life and see what's going on with him. There's a great subplot involving the death of Scudder's ex-wife, finally allowing the reader a chance to meet his oft-mentioned but never seen estranged sons. The reader also gets a chance to catch up with Scudder's terrific cast of secondary characters--his wife Elaine, his streetwise helper TJ, Irish gangster Mick Ballou--characters who are always a lot of fun to read about. But overall, "Hope to Die" just doesn't stack up to the best in the Scudder series (Everybody Dies, When the Sacred Ginmill Closes, The Devil Knows You're Dead, Eight Million Ways to Die). Mind you, I didn't dislike the book. It just left me wanting more. I look forward to the next book in the series, and considering how the reader is left hanging at the end, the sequel seems inevitable.
Rating: 5
Summary: Birth of a serial killer
Comment: When a young woman finds her parents brutally murdered, the NYPD track the killers to an apartment near Coney Island.Their two bodies are found a week after the first murder, an apparent murder-suicide.Matt Scudder, a retired cop and de-licensed P.I, is somehow dissatisfied by the murder scenes, feeling that they look too "pat".With the approval of the daughter of the murdered first couple, and the assistance of his street smart assistant TJ, Matt follows a computer generated trail to get close to the murderer. Mr.Block leads the reader on a cleverly laid red herring trail first of all and then finally to the realization that this is the work of a psycopath who is getting his kicks from the sheer thrill of killing someone. Lawrence Block is a very stylish writer with such an easy flow of words that his book kept me up reading, far too late into the night.
 |
Title: Everybody Dies by Lawrence Block ISBN: 0380725355 Publisher: Avon Pub. Date: 09 November, 1999 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
 |
Title: The Devil Knows You're Dead by Lawrence Block ISBN: 038072023X Publisher: Avon Pub. Date: 01 October, 1994 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
 |
Title: A Walk Among the Tombstones by Lawrence Block ISBN: 0380713756 Publisher: Avon Pub. Date: 01 November, 1993 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
 |
Title: A Stab in the Dark by Lawrence Block ISBN: 0380715740 Publisher: Avon Pub. Date: 30 April, 2002 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
 |
Title: Time to Murder and Create by Lawrence Block ISBN: 0380763656 Publisher: Avon Pub. Date: 01 November, 1991 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
