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Matthew Scudder is arguably the most popular of Lawrence Block's numerous creations. Scudder has aged roughly in real time, so there are countless readers who have grown up, and grown old, with him. An ex-cop, ex-private investigator (at least officially) and a recovering alcoholic, Scudder is still not afraid to get his hands dirty on occasion within the few square blocks of Manhattan that he continues to call his own.
ALL THE FLOWERS ARE DYING is a new and welcome Scudder tale, a good deal of which alternates back and forth between Scudder and his adversary. Scudder has agreed to investigate the online lover of an acquaintance. Meanwhile, a man is put to death in a Virginia penitentiary while another man, who ingeniously and calculatedly framed him for a series of murders, watches the execution in quiet fascination before returning to New York City. It seems that the fiend has unfinished business with Scudder and with Scudder's love, Elaine. The alternating narrative is at first a distraction but it's a necessary one; there is, to turn a phrase, a madness to Block's method, one that is made slowly and terrifyingly clear.
Block drops little clues along the way, not giving away enough to reveal anything significant but more than enough to keep the reader interested. He also peppers the novel with factoids about New York City, some of which lifelong residents may be unaware. Others --- the address numbering system on the avenues, for example --- will hold occasional visitors to the city in good stead. The principal focus of this work, however, is Scudder, a complex and interesting character who is endearing both as a result of and in spite of his strengths and weaknesses.
Those who have never read one of Block's Scudder novels can pick up ALL THE FLOWERS ARE DYING without trepidation. Though the story has its roots in the past, the narrative reveals just enough to keep the reader informed while whetting potential interest in what has gone before. Longtime readers will certainly find it a welcome addition to the Scudder mythos. Recommended.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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