When the Sacred Ginmill Closes

A Matt Scudder Mystery

By: Lawrence Block

Narrated by: Mark Hammer

Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

When ex-cop Matt Scudder thought back on the summer of '75, two faces emerged from behind the smoky haze of a half dozen boozy saloons that made up his beat: Skip Devoe and Tommy Tillary - two bar flies he wouldn't have given a second thought to in the bright light of day. Yet they and their troubles were the reason that moved him a little farther out of the bleary-eyed mess that had become his life.

More mayhem? Listen to another Matt Scudder mystery.

©1986 Lawrence Block (P)1991 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"Chilling." ( Washington Post)

glad I stuck with it

I got kind of board with all of the bar talk and drinking. What kept me going was the narrator, Mark Hammer was perfect for the salty drinker bar voice.
I did like ending and was glad I didn't stop listening.

Little action, lots of characters, boozing heavily

I love Block's books and enjoy Matt Scudder mysteries generally. However, this book disappointed because mostly there is a lot of meandering and conversations and talk about drinking with little or no relation to the mysteries. It picks up in the last 1/4 of the book, when developments occur that reveal, at least to Matt's satisfaction, whodunit. His behavior is novel with some nice twists at the end. I didn't find Matt's drinking buddies very intriguing and probably would have been satisfied had this been a short story.

Great story. Terrible reader

It’s a great story and i loved the book when I read it some years back. But god almighty who decided that a man with a severe head cold, allergies and a recently broken nose should be the reader.
“So I went over to armstrongs, psshhh, snort.”
Finally got to be too much. Can’t remember the ending but I think I still have the book around so I’ll read it.
Were they trying for gritty or hard boiled with the reader? More like fingernails on a chalkboard. Just awful! Ruined a really good book.

surprisingly good

after the last one that Lawrence block read himself I was almost ready to bail on the Matthew Scudder series. Mister block is a terrible narrator and I thought the ending was contrived and weak. this one has a wonderful and engrossing ending some of the best Pros I have read.

Lost intrest

Lost interest and unable to finish. This narrator's delivery put me to sleep. Seems to be a rehash of back ground that has already covered in previous books. In a word, boring, at least for me.

The best one of all

I love Alan Sklar but Mark Hammer knocked this out of the park. The story, the narration the whole thing is terrific!

Best Scudder yet

I love this guy, and his degenerate NY cronies are brought to life with a weary honesty by Mark Hammer. I will look for more reads narrated by him.

Great narration, great prose

Block paints a detailed portrait of New York's boozy underbelly while weaving in mystery, dirty deeds and self-doubt. The characters ring true--hopeless men and women who frequent dive bars and attempt to make sense of their lives. The narration is akin to listening to poetry.

Scudders's blues

The story is off to a slow start and seems to ramble with no clear direction. But then little by little it picks up and get you involved as all the Scudder stories do.
The mystery part is good, but the amazing characters' development, the sharp dialogues and the pervasive New York atmosphere are what really fascinate and keep you listening (and willing more).
Lawrence Block's writing is as superb as ever, with every sentence sparkling with quality. Mark Hammer is fully immersed in Scudder character and adds value to the book.

I almost wouldn't bother

for one thing most of the story is already included in a short story which you might have already read. The part about Tommy Tillery. And his wife. so that makes the book fairly uninteresting since I already know how it ends. Worst though is the narrator. Maybe the guy was going for sounding like a drunk cuz he sure does but it goes so slow it's just impossible to listen to for more than half an hour at a time or so. I'm a big fan of the Matt's gutter series but I just couldn't do this one