Hope To Die

Hope to Die by Lawrence Block
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Hollanders are brutally killed by a pair of burglars who have a falling out and kill each other. At least, that's how it appears initially. Matthew Scudder takes a closer look and stumbles upon a serial killer. Can he stop the killer before he kills again?

Once again, Block pulled the wool over my eyes. I knew my guess as to who the killer was was wrong when I noticed there were 120 pages left. Block planted a series of red herrings and Scudder and I both fell for them initially. The killer was cold and scarily reallistic. The chapters told from the killer's point of view were pretty chilling.

I've touted Matthew Scudder's supporting cast and character development as favorite attractions of the series. While we get appearances by Danny Boy Bell and Joe Durkin and a cameo by Mick Ballou, that's about as many of the continuing supporting cast appears. Actually, Matt's relationship with his estranged sons changes quite a bit, now that I think about it. TJ trying to get Matt to use a cellphone and a computer are amusing. Plus, how many detectives age as their further adventures are chronicled? Matt was 44 in the first book. Now he's 62.

While Hope to Die isn't my favorite Matthew Scudder books, it's still really good. Not to be missed by Matthew Scudder fans.

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