Stoolie and blackmailer Spinner Jablon winds up dead and due to a mysterious envelope entrusted to him by Spinner, Matthew Scudder is trying to find out who killed him. Only Spinner was blackmailing three people: a former porn actress, a rich man who covered up his daughter's hit and run accident, and a pedophile who may just be the next governor of New York. Can Scudder find out who killed Jablon before he becomes a victim himself?Wow. I knew I had something with Lawrence Block after I read the Grifter's Game a few years ago but I had no idea he was capable of something like this. Block really dished out the red herrings in this one. I picked out the killer out of the list of three suspects at the very beginning but Block kept tricking me into changing my mind. Crafty bastard. Scudder continues to develop as a character; he's opposed to murder but not opposed to picking a dead man's pockets. The victims were all well drawn, not cardboard cutouts. Scudder's friendship with Trina grew and his relationship with his estranged wife and kids continued on its course.
If you like noir, look no further. The Matthew Scudder series has what you need.