• The Sins of the Fathers

  • By: Lawrence Block
  • Narrated by: Alan Sklar
  • Length: 5 hrs and 2 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (1,050 ratings)

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The Sins of the Fathers  By  cover art

The Sins of the Fathers

By: Lawrence Block
Narrated by: Alan Sklar
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Publisher's summary

The hooker was young, pretty...and dead, butchered in a Greenwich Village apartment. The prime suspect, a minister's son, was also dead, the victim of a jailhouse suicide. The case is closed, as far as the NYPD is concerned. Now the murdered prostitute's father wants it opened again--that's where Matthew Scudder comes in. But this assignment carries the unmistakable stench of sleaze and perversion, luring Scudder into a sordid world of phony religion and murderous lust where children must die for their parents' most unspeakable sins.

©1976 Lawrence Block (P)2011 AudioGo

What listeners say about The Sins of the Fathers

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Good introduction to a popular series

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would recommend this book to my friends who enjoy mystery series. And, after reading it, I'll seek out more volumes in this series for myself.

What does Alan Sklar bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Good differentiation among voices without over-acting; a good portrayal of the meaning of words, phrases, and entire conversations.

Could you see The Sins of the Fathers being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Perhaps a TV movie -- action could fit into a 90 minute window (plus commercials = 2 hours). The plot is straightforward enough to survive its necessary shortening to make the screen play. Good actors would convey the personalities and relationships among main characters effectively and efficiently, without relying on words alone.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good Pulpish reading

About halfway through I know "who did it" but it was enjoyable anyway. Pulp to its utmost (I love pulp) a great hard-boiled detective story. But Matthew Scudder isn't all loveable, just fun to read about.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A listen you won't want to stop until the climax,

Where does The Sins of the Fathers rank among all the audiobooks you???ve listened to so far?

Certainly in the top 15.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Matt, because he somehow manages to stick with the initial goal and stay in character.

What about Alan Sklar???s performance did you like?

Very good but not at the top, but I would listen to something else by him.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

N/A

Any additional comments?

I would not hesitate to recommend this audible to others.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Very good Detective Book

I would recommend this to those enjoy the Detective type of books.
I was engaged but miss the "Blood Lust" for the good Thrillers and Covert Spec Ops.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Scudder's low point

I like Block's Scudder series a lot. This is one of two exceptions. You might want to avoid this book, unless you have a hankering for dime-store Freud and moral condescension. And I usually like Sklar's reading. But here he is a bit over ripe.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

The Virtues of the Author

Of course, a mystery story needs more than a mystery to be a story. The characters have to be complex, the atmosphere three-dimensional. All this Lawrence Block does so well that at times it’s possible to forget about the mystery being investigated.

Take Matthew Scudder: a former cop who pursues vigilante justice, tithes at random churches (preferring Catholic ones, where he also lights votive candles), patronizes a prostitute and ponders classic questions such as, is it right to do the wrong thing for the right reasons? And as far as atmosphere, having myself lived in NYC in the early 80’s, Block’s depiction of the city’s 70’s vibe rings utterly true.

According to Wikipedia, Scudder’s character doesn’t “move forward” until the fifth installment of the series, which is fine by me. I like Scudder just the way he is. I also like—and was somewhat surprised by—Alan Sklar’s performance. This one struck me as far more nuanced, more energetic than previous efforts, contributing much to the overall satisfaction of this listen.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Bio of a Murder Victim

Like Columbo, you know the victim and the killer from the start. A P.I. is hired to find out about the victim by her estranged father. What he finds puts the death in a new light and the supposed killer as innocent.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Worth the listen

Pretty solid story and I liked Scudder, he seems like a good dude. Fun to hear a story like this set in the 70’s (they didn’t have cell phones or google).

Sklar’s narration was upper level, I’d take his participation into account favorably in picking my next book.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

low sound

my only issue was that at times the narrator was so quiet...even turning the sound up seemed too low...but great story, and character

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

holds up very well

despite a 70s setting, the characters are well developed, the story draws you along, no real violence, a sense of things set right. amusing to hear the dimes for calls and other throwbacks!

one quibble: the recording level is wuite low, whether because of narrator choices or input settings, and I couldn’t listen out of the house at all!

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2 people found this helpful