The Devil Knows You're Dead: A Matthew Scudder Crime Novel, Book 11

Matthew Scudder’ s books are not the typical detective story where a detective -the good guy- solves a mystery of a murder and gets the bad guy behind the bars and where suspense, violence and intensity are the basic ingredients of the plot. There is a bit (at times a lot) of all this in Scudder’s stories, but there is much more. Scudder is continuously in a soul-searching mode, engaged in a journey towards redemption from his demons (alcohol, bad memories, life failures). He does all this without rhetoric or drama; he is a man with a natural sense of self-reflection combined with a self-deprecating sense of humour. He is also smart, though when needed and a great at reading people behaviours.
In this particular book Scudder is asked to help solve the mystery of the death of a prosperous lawyer; a presumed killer is caught by the police, but …. Other more personal events cross Matt’s journey toward the truth and allow different levels of reflection, which the standards detective books do not usually do.
New York provides a fantastic background to the story and Joe Barret is as good as it gets.

Joe Barret is a great reader for this genre.

The story drags a bit here and there compared to other Scudder novels like When the Sacred Ginmill Closes but finishes very strong. It seems like Block is most compelling when Scudder is miserable.

really well written, enjoyable plotlines with great characters. really well narrated. Lawrence Block has become a favourite auther and Joe Barrett is hands down the best narrator.

I love Matt Scutter stories, excellent dialogue and great returning characters. Good read, great series