Synopses & Reviews
Matthew Scudder is finally on the straight and narrow when he runs into High-Low Jack Ellery, a childhood friend from the Bronx. In Scudder, Jack sees the moral man he might have become. In Jack, Scudder sees the hard-won sobriety he hopes to achieve.
Then Ellery, following to the letter the dictates of Alcoholics Anonymous' infamous twelve steps, is shot down while attempting to atone for past sins, and Scudder is drawn into a murder investigation that threatens to upset his path toward recovery — and get him killed in the process.
Exploring themes of loss, nostalgia, and redemption, for Lawrence Block, A Drop of the Hard Stuff circles back to how it all began, reestablishing why the Matthew Scudder series is widely regarded as one of the pinnacles of American detective fiction.
Review
"Right up there with Mr. Block's best....A Drop of the Hard Stuff keeps us guessing." Tom Nolan, Wall Street Journal
Review
"Totally gripping....A great American crime novel." Ed Park, Time
Review
"Block has so perfected a pared-down, hard-boiled style that this story — about good intentions that backfire, fatally — seems to tell itself." Maureen Corrigan, Washington Post
Review
"Mesmerizing....A lament for all the old familiar things that are now almost lost, almost forgotten." Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review
Review
"There's nothing like a few rounds with old friends like Matt to take the edge off." KirkusReviews.com
Review
"The deftly handled nostalgic tone this time around adds to the appeal. Fans will certainly appreciate this entry, which recaptures the feel of the best Scudder mysteries of the 1980's and fills in part of the series chronology. That said, it will also likely work as an introduction to the detective for new readers." Library Journal
Review
"Scudder fans, and there are many, will enjoy both the mystery and the history, glimpsing characters who did (and didn't) make it into the later story line. And the prose, as always, is like the club soda Scudder sips in the opening pages: cool, fizzy, and completely refreshing." Booklist (starred review)
Review
"Block is the modern hardboiled master." George Pelecanos
Synopsis
Facing his demons in his first year of sobriety, Matthew Scudder finds himself on the trail of a killer. When Scudder's childhood friend Jack Ellery is murdered, presumably while attempting to atone for past sins, Scudder reluctantly begins his own investigation, with just one lead: Ellery's Alcoholics Anonymous list of people he wronged. One of them may be a killer, but that's not necessarily Scudder's greatest danger. Immersing himself in Ellery's world may lead him right back to the bar stool.
In a novel widely celebrated by critics and readers, Lawrence Block circle back to how it all began, reestablishing the Matthew Scudder series as one of the pinnacles of American detective fiction.
"Right up there with Mr. Block's best . . . A Drop of Hard Stuff keeps us guessing." -- Tom Nolan, Wall Street Journal
About the Author
Lawrence Block is a Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America, has won multiple Edgar and Shamus awards and countless international prizes. The author of more than 50 books, he lives in New York City.