Customer Reviews

All the Flowers are Dying CD (Matthew Scudder Mysteries)

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In this, the 16th Matthew Scudder thriller, we meet a changed protagonist. Many of us are old enough to remember when we were first introduced to him some 25 years ago. If I remember correctly, Lawrence Block described him at that time as a former cop turned private eye (sans license) who drank a lot and worried the same. A quarter of a century can bring about many changes, and those years have made their mark on Matthew Scudder.

Happily for listeners "All The Flowers Are Dying" is read by the author himself. A four-time winner of the Edgar Allan Poe and Shamus Awards plus numerous other honors, Block has penned more than 50 books. Think you'll agree that his reading is also deserving of recognition. After all, who knows Matthew Scudder better than the man who created him? Block delivers nuances and chills with the aplomb of a trained actor.

As our story opens there's a man awaiting execution in a Virginia prison. He received the death penalty on the basis of massive evidence, yet he maintains that he did not commit three gruesome murders. A psychologist has been interviewing the man, and completes his assignment by watching as the death sentence is carried out.

What seems to be a parallel plot develops as Scudder takes on an investigation. It's just the kind of job he likes now - no danger just some probing and then a paycheck. No such luck. The corpses start piling up and it seems that the next to die may very well be Scudder and his wife. Is there a relationship between the convicted killer and these murders? Could the psychologist be involved?

Listen as this master of suspense weaves one more of his spine tingling tales.

- Gail Cooke

The story is great but the author ought to get someone else to do the reading.