A Stab in the Dark

By: Lawrence Block

Narrated by: William Roberts

Nine long years have passed since the killer last struck - nine years since eight helpless young women were brutally slaughtered by an icepick-wielding maniac. The trail grew cold and the book was unofficially closed on a serial killer who stopped killing. But now "The Icepick Prowler" has confessed - but only to seven of the killings. Not only does he deny the eighth, he has an airtight alibi. Barbara Ettinger's family had almost come to accept that the young woman was the victim of a random killing. Now they must grapple with the shocking revelation that not only was her death disguised to look like the serial killer's work, but her murderer may have been someone she knew and trusted. Matthew Scudder has been hired to finally bring her slayer to justice, setting the relentless detective on the trail of a death almost a decade old, searching for a vicious murderer who's either long gone, long dead... or patiently waiting to kill again.

©1981 Lawrence Block. All rights reserved. (P)2011 AudioGo

great detective story

the performance of this book was disappointing. the narrator had a high tinny voice that fluctuated without purpose . 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.

Great plot and gritty characters. I really liked the reader, he played so many voices he was like a one man theatre company.

Lawrence Block knows how to weave a really interesting plot, just enough twists and turns without being too complicated. His characters really come alive and seem to be part of the gritty city. Alan Sklar is a perfect choice for reading this. He has a "40's vintage" timbre to his voice that reminds me of the original hard boiled Noir detective movie voice overs.

A good reading !

This is one of the early Matt Scudder's stories. You can tell that Lawrence Block is still working on Matt's character , but the story runs smooth with a terrific description of the New York "ambiance" . Definitively a good reading !

Icepick Murders

What makes this series so good are tiny clues sprinkled throughout the story. Some have to do with New York locations and others with things unsaid but implied. Scudder is ask to solve one of the icepick murders that didn't fit the pattern that happened nine years ago. A lot of interesting characters, all with something to hide.

Letdown

Compared to the first three Scudder books this one is a letdown. Plus the narrator is a step back from Alan Sklar who did the first three.

Another good Scudder story

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

THe plot moved along well... and yes, there were times when we "sat in the garage to hear more". There was definitely one time that totally surprised us while listening... ( no spoiler here)...

Which scene was your favorite?

( spoiler) While I liked the whole plot, I thought the scened where Scudder is meeting with the woman who is also an alcohoic, and his dealings with his issue were very well done.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

We listened on a car trip, and never got bored with it. Good plot, love the way William Roberts narrates.

Any additional comments?

I like the way, once the ending is revealed, one does not feel cheated. The clues were there for us to pick up as well.

How Scudder made the change in his life

Having listened to the stories about the drinker Scudder and some of the stories after he implemented his life style upgrade, I was curious about what lead to the start of the change. This satisfied my curiosity plus had a very interesting investigation. My preference has been the stories of the non-drinking Scudder

a very good Scudder mystery

It is well written and keeps you guessing until the very end. Lawrence Block always delivers.

I like this series

But not this narrator. His voice was high and nasally. Not right for this character.
It was very hard for me to listen to this one. Thankfully it wasn’t as long as the others.
I wish they’d have stuck with Sklar as narrator. He had a good deep gravelly voice that you’d associate with a hardened detective.
On to the next one. I hope the narration is better!

Unfolding

One thing that I think Lawrence Block does very well is that his plot seems to "unfold". His stories don't very often surprise with things that you are shocked with - rather they evolve with a logic that makes sense when you reflect back on them. Scudder never seems lost or in over his head - rather he is analytical and dogged. Also prefer the length of these to the 15 hour plus convoluted epics