Customer Reviews

All the Flowers Are Dying (Matthew Scudder Mysteries)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Lawrence Block is probably the premiere mystery writer working today. He knows how to create full and rich characters, well paced plots, make his words sing with a rhythym all their own. Block also takes chances, ages his players in real time and provides the reader with plenty of color.

However "All The Flowers" just didn't click for me the way most of the other Scudder books did. There was far too much of the killer's thoughts, his stream of consciousness slowing the read down. It detracted from the sense that this was Matthew Scudder's world. Also, the changing back and forth from the first to third person also seemed to interfere with my enjoyment of the book.

The writing was consciously imbued with an analysis of and comments on mortality, obviously something Block was aiming at...everyone's a bit older and reacts to situations with the reality that people and things change with the passage of time. While this did not bother me, it did stand out more when contrasted against the elements I found lacking and hence slowed things down.

I'm glad Block has continued to let Scudder evolve. But the bottom line is that "Flowers" was like going to a favorite restaurant. The joint was still packed, the menu and staff pretty much the same. But the service was a bit slower, the trappings somewhat faded and the meal just wasn't as satisfying as it used to be.

I liked "All the Flowers are Dying" well enough to finish it, but I can't say I would highly recommend the book. The Scudder series has suffered from fatigue, although the last book was a big improvement over its immediate predecessors. This one will appeal to people like me who are hooked on the series, but I doubt that it would make a good introduction to Scudder for someone new. New York has changed, Scudder and the major characters have all aged, and Scudder's alcoholism has faded into the background. There's a loss of tension and angst in his life and in his relationships with others. Scudder's favorite cop has retired and there appears to be a replacement in a "college boy" who provides rather predictable turns to the plot. Serial killing seems out of place in the semi-ordered world of Matt Scudder and really belongs in the world of John Sanford's Lucas Davenport, who does this much better. The killer and his full story arc became obvious to me much too early in the book and there's a teaser subplot that's not resolved very satisfactorily. The serial killer is a bit of a cartoon and the victims (or presumed victim, in one case) don't come fully to life. Elaine, who has always been an interesting part of this series, is stuck with a thankless, underwritten part as a rather inert victim. In general, Block's stock company of characters seem tired, rather than "evolved" and it wouldn't hurt Block to move on to something else. Sadly, the last book in the "Burglar" series also was a disappointment. My advice to anyone who hasn't read Block is to start at the beginning--the books up until the mid-90s (when Block was cranking them out too quickly) are all worthwhile. For fans, this one is a way to get caught up with Scudder, but don't be surprised if it leaves you feeling like it's time for him to retire.

First let me say that I love the Scudder series. With that out of the way, Block's been off his game on his last few books beginning with Hope To Die, the previous Scudder book. The alternating between Scudder's first person narrative and the third person seems a ploy to reinvigorate a series that was doing just fine. But, it's not just that; the pace and narrative is lacking. Descriptions of day to day goings on seem to just fill space rather than move the story along. Mick, TJ, and Danny Boy Bell seem to make only regulation appearances that add little to the story.

Too bad. Martin Cruz Smith once wrote a review of one of Block's earlier Scudder books, When the Sacred Ginmill Closes, saying "Much more than a mystery...A book about men, about booze, about New York, by one of the surest, most distinctive voices in American fiction." Here here.

If you're new to the Scudder series, pick up Ginmill or Out on the Cutting Edge, two great examples from this otherwise excellent series. If you're an old fan, read 'em again, they don't disappoint.

Lawrence Block is an elegant writer. His Matthew Scudder is one of the very best serial detective characters ever created in the world of mystery fiction. Starting with the very first Scudder, The Sins of the Fathers, his novels have been rich with three-dimensional characters; his dialogue real and gritty. One reviewer said that Block "writes about the sleazier aspects of life with style, compassion, and wit." Another stated "his crime novels come so close to literature that there's no degree of difference". But sadly, the last two Scudder novels haven't come close to Blocks first 8 Scudder novels., which, admittedly is a great achievment. But when you have become used to true quality, it is a great disappointment to see a novel like this. "Flowers" uses the tired, over-done cliche of the serial killer, instead of going the much harder but so much deeper and worthwhile route of creating several, multi-dimensional characters with real, believable motives to kill. One's time would be much better spent in reading Block's earlier Scudder novels, the very best of which were "In the Midst of Death" "8 Million Ways to Die", "Out on the Cutting Edge" and "When the Sacred Ginmill Closes". I have seen too many mystery writers who, sooner or later, began to crank out formulaic, write-'em- by-the-number, cheap novelettes. Margaret Gipe

I agree with the other reviewers that Block has lost his edge in the Scudder series. The brilliant "8 Million Ways to Die" and "When The Sacred Ginmill Closes" were the peak of the series, and it's really gone downhill since.

Even so, this is a readable, entertaining book and probably not the worst in the Scudder series. The central problem seems to be that Scudder as an old man is pretty boring. Block's solution to this is writing roughly 30% of it from the perspective of the killer (Mr. Italics.) We end up trading good hard-boiled detective work for Mr. Italics' perspective of graphic sex and violence. Not an ideal trade for me.

Block veterans will recognize several recycled themes from "Small Town" and earlier Scudder books like "A Ticket to The Boneyard." The usual cast of characters in Scudder novels are all present -- gotta have a police sketch and at least one conversation with Mick.

One piece of advice -- don't make this your first impression of Matthew Scudder and/or Lawrence Block. Pick up an earlier Scudder like the two mentioned in the first paragraph, or read any of the Burglar books. Then you'll see why Block fans are disappointed with "All The Flowers Are Dying."

As opposed to film noir, this is definitely a book noir. A psychopathic killer with whom former police man, Matt Scudder, had previously tangled, is back on the scene and more dangerous than ever. An innocent man is executed for the sadistic torture, rape and murder of three young boys, unable to convince anyone of his innocence. The murderer who is a master of disguise, visited the man in his prison cell, just a few days before the execution, merely to gloat over how clever he had been in setting up this totally innocent man, just for the thrill of being able to do so. When the murderer decides to kill Matt and his wife, they are put in a siege position, in constant alarm and forever on super alert. The scenes in which the murderer describes what he IS doing, or plans to do, are horrific in the extreme...graphic beyond need and left me feeling quite sick. If this is the path that Mr.Block intends to follow, I won't be subjecting myself to any more of his books.

Not bad, just not all that good or up to early and mid series Scudder. Block seems to rely more on graphic sex and gore (as in Small Town) than on the strong characterization that made Scudder an outstanding series character; deeply flawed but rigidly ethical (to his own deeply held code of ethics). In the last few books he has become too clean. Block has walked away from what made Scudder outstanding. I've been a major Scudder fan, but not this one. Plus, half the book is printed in italics, which is a nusance to read. This appears to be the last of the Scudder series and, though I'll miss Matt, his exit, at this late date, is appropriate.
Good friends pass on. Rest In Peace, Matt!

Richard A. Herman

I have the highest respect for Block. He is a master. Maybe I am just getting old and cranky, but really!! The mind of a sadistic serial killer can never be a comfortable place to be, but this trip was over the top. We get it--without the endless sickening details. I finished it because it is Block-even if I think it is his worst in more ways than one.

I have read every one of Lawrence Block's Matthew Scudder stories and have thoroughly enjoyed them. As other reviewers have mentioned, Scudder evolves and matures in each adventure.

In this one, he deals with a serial killer who alternates between killing boys and setting up a completely innocent person to take the fall-and die-for his crimes and attacking and killing women. Scudder, working on a case for a woman who wants to find out the background of her elusive boyfriend is unaware for a large part of the book that the killer is really after him and Elaine. The plot careens to an explosive and violent end.

This Scudder adventure was sadly lacking. For one thing, I am very tired of the serial killer who is so brilliant that he defies most attempts to trace or even to know there is a serial killer. In reality I would hazard to guess that most of these people are not of that type; they manage to evade capture for many reasons and rarely because they are brilliant. This premise has, I think, been done to death. Also, the interspersion of the killer's thoughts was unsettling to the flow of the story. And lastly, the violence was off-putting.

That said Block, even in a less than satisfying book, is a master and though disappointed quite early in the book, I couldn't put it down. His is a masterful writer and I do hope his next Scudder adventure is a better read.

SPOILERS!

***

The aged and mostly retired Scudder is working on a minor case - to find out the background on an AA acquantance's mysterious new boyfriend - when death strikes close to Elaine. The demented serial killer with the razor-sharp intellect from Hope To Die is back, and out for revenge. Block's writing, if not at its full power, is still taut and fraught with suspense, and keeps the pages turning. Seeing the aged-in-real-time Scudder and all his cronies feels like a family reunion; that's a great deal of this series' charm. In this, the possibly final entry of the Scudder saga, Block unfortunately falls back on a few thriller short cuts - to start with, the cliche of the brilliant and pretty much motiveless serial killer. Since no one is truly that brilliant, so many steps ahead of the law, the hard-bitten, "real" edge of the series is dulled. And the ending requires us to believe that Scudder would leave Elaine unprotected for a brief time, and that the killer would, completely out of character, devolve into a mindless bloodlust without first preparing for Scudder obviously imminent return. Those lapses are the flaws on an otherwise polished gem; Block's got the writing chops to satisfy a nit-picking reader.