East Coast Don reviewed “Eight Million Ways to Die,” the first of the Lawrence Block books reviewed in this blog. That was one was written in 1982, the fifth in the 18-book series, and originally, Block was going to end the series with that one. After a little research, I chose “When the Sacred Gin Mill Closes,” the 1986 book that revived the series and the hero. In this story, Scudder gets involved in some crime solving, but I was nearly halfway through when I realized I was just not interested in finding out how Scudder solved the mysteries and how the author resolved the various dissonances that he created with his characters. Simply put, it was not gripping enough to keep me interested.
I can understand completely. The guy really has a ton of demons in his corner and on one level, isn't all that likable. I'll test the waters again, but with what I've got coming in from the library (Child, Clancy, Thor, Hunter x 2, Crais), it won't be too soon. I do have one of his hit man titles coming-an entirely different character.
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