The Devil Knows You're Dead

The Devil Knows You're Dead by Lawrence Block
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

An acquaintance of Scudder's is gunned down at a pay phone and it looks like a homeless man is the culprit. The homeless man's brother hires Scudder to clear him. Scudder's investigation takes him through a world populated with transsexuals and blackmail. Also on Scudder's plate are the pancreatic cancer of his ex-girlfriend, his relationship with Elaine, and the affair he's having with the dead man's wife...

The Devil Knows You're Dead wasn't quite up to par with the rest of the Lawrence Black's Matthew Scudder series. It wasn't a bad book but the plot meandered and the resolution of the case felt tacked on. (view spoiler)[It did start Matt's affair with Lisa, though. (hide spoiler)]
Scudder and his supporting cast continued to grow. The character pieces were the saving grace of the book, particularly Jan's predicament and TJ's reaction to the trannies.

To sum it up, TDKYD was worth a read but it wasn't the greatest of the Scudder books by any means.

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