In the Midst of Death

In the Midst of Death by Lawrence Block
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A crooked cop goes straight and spills his guts to the Special Prosecutor but before anything can materialize, a call girl is found dead in his apartment. Broadfield, the cop, hires Matthew Scudder to clear his name and find out who is framing him. But can Scudder clear a dirty cop when all the other cops are gunning for him?

Lawrence Block keeps surprising me with the Matthew Scudder series. Every time he tricks me into thinking a certain way, only to jerk the rug out from under me when the person I fingered as the culprit turns out dead. Scudder continues to grow as a character, already far beyond his somewhat stereotyped alcoholic detective roots. His relationships with the women in his life are well done and not cliched. His family continues to drift out of his grasp. He realizes he has a drinking problem but doesn't know if he can stop. The mystery itself twists and turns, spiraling like a snail shell and New York is almost a character on its own.

I've said it before but I can't recommend Lawrence Block's Matthew Scudder series enough.

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