From Publishers Weekly This is as near perfect as a private-eye thriller can get. Block is the utter professional, a master who holds the reader in the palm of his hand for as long as the pages need to be turned. His hero is former cop Matthew Scudder, now coasting as a part-time investigator and faithfully attending AA meetings on the side. A former flame, a savvy call girl, tells him that a psycho who came into her life many years ago (and whom Scudder helped send to jail) is out and seeking revenge on both of them. A friend, a call girl gone straight, is killed along with her whole family in Ohio, and Scudder gets on the case, fighting for his own life and, as the killer's murderous capabilities become apparent, for the lives of everyone he knows. The New York settings are superbly authentic, the dialogue is hip, sometimes touching but never mawkish, and the resolution--after Scudder's old cop buddies decline involvement in what looks too much like a personal vendetta--is hair-raising. Almost anyone writing suspense fiction could learn a great deal from Block; and those in search of sophisticated thrills need look no further. BOMC alternate. Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. Review "A Smooth, Chilling Suspense Novel That Stretches Nerves Wire-Tight" --
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Marcus Scudder Aurelius
In Lawrence Block's "A Ticket to the Boneyard", our man Matthew Scudder is tackling many things: a sociopathic bloodthirsty killer, his responsibilities toward three of his women, a restraining order, his alcoholism... But the one thing that he really has a hard time tackling is the philosophy of Roman emperor and sage, Marcus Aurelius. Specifically, the idea of seeing things as they are, without prejudice, without influence, without context (almost) is the hardest thing for Scudder to get his mind around. As an alcoholic, he has heard a hundred times that when it comes to alcoholism, "It is what it is." The serenity prayer, recited at the end of every meeting, weighs acceptance as equally as change and wisdom. However, as an ex-cop and unofficial investigator, he has to work with patterns, priors, and precedents constantly. Acceptance, when it comes to this killer, becomes a dangerously passive act. And, yet, the time Scudder did act against this criminal a dozen years previously, it led to death and disaster. No wonder he is in such a quandary. This is not a murder mystery; it is a "we know whodunnit, but how do we catch him?" novel. This gives Block a little flexibility. Instead of trying to piece together clues, Scudder has to seek and destroy. This gives Block plenty of time to have his investigator seek out allies, and Block seems to relish in this. I had the feeling that he enjoyed writing "A Ticket to the Boneyard". There are several long passages of dialogue--much of it personal to Scudder--which Block savors: Scudder with Elaine, Scudder with Danny Boy, Scudder with Durkin, Scudder with Ballou... and even Scudder with himself. This novel had a much deeper feel than some of the others. The high level of psychological credibilty was unexpected--and appreciated by me. All this makes for one of the best Block had put out there in this series. Read more
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