• Time to Murder and Create

  • By: Lawrence Block
  • Narrated by: Alan Sklar
  • Length: 5 hrs and 4 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (516 ratings)

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Time to Murder and Create  By  cover art

Time to Murder and Create

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

Small-time stoolie Jake "The Spinner" Jablon made a lot of new enemies when he switched careers from informer to blackmailer. And the more "clients," he figured, the more money - and the more people eager to see him dead. So he's greedy but scared, and he turns to his old acquaintance Matthew Scudder, who used to pay him for information back in Scudder's days as a cop. Scudder's his insurance policy - if anything happens to "The Spinner," Scudder can check up on the people who wanted him dead. No one is too surprised when the pigeon is found floating in the East River with his skull bashed in. Blackmail's a dangerous business. What's worse, no one cares - except Matthew Scudder. The unofficial private eye is no conscientious avenging angel. But he's willing to risk his own life and limb to confront Spinner's most murderously aggressive marks. A job's a job, after all, and Scudder's been paid to find a killer - by the victim…in advance.

©1976 Lawrence Block. All rights reserved. (P)2011 AudioGo

What listeners say about Time to Murder and Create

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    260
  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
    69
  • 2 Stars
    6
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Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • 4 Stars
    110
  • 3 Stars
    43
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Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    214
  • 4 Stars
    154
  • 3 Stars
    64
  • 2 Stars
    14
  • 1 Stars
    4

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

great detective story

this book has great characters, great dialogue, and good scenes. the main character's inner dialogue is casually profound but matter of fact and honest about his character flaws.

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2 people found this helpful

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

Story sorta blows

Kinda didn’t care after awhile.

Narrator is still top shelf tho.

There are worse ways you can spend your time?

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2 people found this helpful

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

Solid but dark story

Lawrence Block always delivers a great story and this Matthew Scudder novel is no exception. I am going back to the beginning of the series because I love the later stories so much.

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2 people found this helpful

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

Good but slow.

The story was good.

But it had a very slow pace keeps you guessing though.

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1 person found this helpful

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

Two steps forward one step back

Would you listen to Time to Murder and Create again? Why?

I think I would. If I ever give the series a listen again. This was a lot better than book two in the series and about on par with book one. The only issue is that the story can feel a little loose in this one. At worst it can feel meandering. It does a lot to establish Scudder as a character, but I found myself caring less and less about the plot.

Would you be willing to try another book from Lawrence Block? Why or why not?

Yes, I plan on going through the entire Scudder series.

What about Alan Sklar’s performance did you like?

Sklar has a great voice for this kind of novel. He doesn't go straight to cliche like a lot of narrators.

Any additional comments?

I'd like to point out that I've finished the fourth book before I wrote this review and it's a big step up. If you're wondering when the series hits it's stride then book four is your answer.

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1 person found this helpful

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

Another good Matt Scudder novel....

Where does Time to Murder and Create rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In the golden circle of the thrillers ... Matt Scudder's novels are the type of books where the journey is more important than the destination. Is more about characters, atmosphere , good dialogue than plots. All in all very enjoyable

Who was your favorite character and why?

Matt Scudder

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

Good reading , that suits well the main character

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Murder in New York...

Any additional comments?

I'd like to see more more Matt Scudder's audiobooks offered by Audible...

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1 person found this helpful

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

awesome reader. love alan sklar voice, cadence, pace, tone, etc.

fun detective character. not too heavy. not too light. love references from the past (pre digital age) - putting dimes in phone. reading newspapers. authentic NYC mood, setting.

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

Story and narration came up short.

I’ve read this story and 8,000,000 ways…. I didn’t like either one. Comparing them to Bosch they came up short. A washed up cop with a drinking problem. Not my cup of tea. Keep the author as narrator.

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

Pedophiles are just fine with Block

I try not to be presentist when I read a book. But the suspects in this story include a pedophile who sends children to the hospital through his vicious rapes. Block is totally ok with this because, he says, the 10 year-old child was paid and knew what he was getting into. The ex-cop protagonist sees no need to report this character to the police.

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

Definitely not for me

The gum shoe sad sack detective story has been told a thousand times and this one brings nothing new to the genre except an utterly repulsive PI. Initially, I found the book so poorly written that it became genuinely laugh out loud comical, but this PI, this particular Private Dick, Scudder, is a highly opinionated man and the author makes no effort to censor his character’s thoughts. Scudder seems to have stepped out of the 1950s - if he had done, he might be somewhat more understandable. Or perhaps if somehow he reconsidered his “conclusions”, he may have redeemed himself somewhat - but there’s no way to excuse his cavalier, unpalatable and egregious thoughts on the subject of pedophilia in 1999. Many of his other “opinions” cross the line as well, but that this one made it across the editors’ desk is astonishing.
A flat NO and zero stars for the story if I could.
The narration is in keeping with the character and hits the mark. Too bad the author misses it so entirely.

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