I'm convinced Block hit his stride with Matt Scudder in this
one. Originally published second, it was the third book
written. Had I read TIME TO MURDER AND CREATE third instead
of this one, I'd have probably been disappointed with it.
This book has a deeper feel to it. A lot of Scudder's more
irrational and illogical moments have a rhyme and reason to
them, even if Scudder's not aware of it.
Scudder is hired to get a high-priced call girl, Portia Carr,
to drop extortion charges against a flashy cop named Jerome
Broadfield. Jerome's an unlikeable character from the start,
just as corrupt as the very fellow cops he claims he's trying
to clean out of the NYPD. Scudder doesn't buy the noble act.
In fact, he hates the guy instantly. There's something more
than a sudden change of heart to Broadfield's actions. You
can usually tell when he's lying be whether or not his lips
are moving. Scudder takes the money anyway and decides to
make a token effort. Why? He hates the guy.
The morning after Scudder visits Carr, he's summoned to jail,
where Broadfield is being held for her murder. Someone phoned
in a an anonymous tip, police found Carr's body in
Broadfield's apartment, and Broadfield happens to walk in as
they're investigating. Since Broadfield's been working with
the DA on the corruption probe, the police are all too happy
to arrest him.
Scudder agrees to take more of Broadfield's money to help
clear him. He goes out to Long Island to get that money from
Mrs. Broadfield.
And sleeps with her. Later on, he breaks into Broadfield's
Manhattan apartment, puts on Broadfield's pajamas, drinks his
beer, and sleeps in his bed.
All the while, Scudder is getting stonewalled by the police
and by a stuffy personal assistant to the DA. It turns out
that Carr's murder and Broadfield's frame has more to do with
who's in Carr's little black book than Broadfield's
corruption charges.
We get our first good look at Elaine. She was in the first
novel, SINS OF THE FATHER, but she appears only in one scene
where Scudder pays her $60 for an aborted lay. Here, she's
fleshed out, and we know there's more the her and Matt than
simply a regular visit from a client to a whore. We see more
about her life, how she's saving her money and buying up
property for the day when prostitution will no longer be a
viable business for her.
Like I said, it's a shame that they published TIME TO MURDER
AND CREATE after this one. That book felt detached enough
from the rest of the series to be placed anywhere, but
Block's style and Scudder's chraracter are still sketchier
than they are in ITMOD. It's just a better novel, and feels
more evolved than the first two. It's not EIGHT MILLION WAYS
TO DIE, but the seeds are sown for it.
Jim Winter
http://www.jamesrwinter.com
http://jamesrwinter.blogspot.com
winter-newsletter-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
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