A Stab in the Dark

I'm blowing through the Matthew Scudder series in audiobook form during long hours at the office, and they're really great for work listening. Interesting enough so I don't fall asleep, but not so complex that I'm easily distracted and can't get any work done while I listen. You know those lists of books that are ‘easy reads' that are supposed to be great for vacations or when your brain is tired or you just want to read something mindless? You know how they're usually full of fluffy chick-lit and YA novels?* This crime series should be on those lists.

A quick note that there are some minor problematic things in these early books (which were written in the 70s) that I hope disappeared with the later books. Given the time when it was written, fairly understandable, but I feel it's important to mention. In spite of these issues I feel that even in the 70's Block did a decent job of depicting independent women and minorities even if his language in those depictions was a bit clunky at times. The narrator that I had for the audiobooks laid the effeminate voice on pretty thick for the gay male characters, but I'll blame the audio narrator for that and not the author.

I did finish book three, ‘Time to Murder and to Create', before I read this one, but did not review it, I enjoyed it but I would warn people who are easily triggered away from it. All of the books in this series feature violence and death but book three has a character who is a child predator.

I'm looking forward to listening to the next one on a 12 hour weekend shift!

*not that there's anything wrong with chick-lit or YA novels!