Buying Options
Print List Price: | $8.99 |
Kindle Price: |
$6.99
Save $2.00 (22%) |
Sold by: |
HarperCollins Publishers
Price set by seller. |
You've subscribed to Matthew Scudder!
We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions
Your Memberships & Subscriptions
There was an error.
We were unable to process your subscription due to an error. Please refresh and try again.

Add to book club
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club?
Learn more
Join or create book clubs
Choose books together
Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.

![When the Sacred Ginmill Closes (Matthew Scudder Mysteries Book 6) by [Lawrence Block]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51olBgkWE7L._SY346_.jpg)
Follow the Author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.
OK
When the Sacred Ginmill Closes (Matthew Scudder Mysteries Book 6) Kindle Edition
by
Lawrence Block
(Author)
Format: Kindle Edition
Lawrence Block
(Author)
Find all the books, read about the author, and more.
See search results for this author
Are you an author?
Learn about Author Central
|
See all formats and editions
Hide other formats and editions
Price
|
New from | Used from |
Audible Audiobook, Unabridged
"Please retry"
|
Free with your Audible trial |
Mass Market Paperback
"Please retry"
|
$6.47 | $3.00 |
Preloaded Digital Audio Player, Unabridged
"Please retry"
|
—
|
— | — |
-
Kindle
$6.99 Read with Our Free App -
Audiobook
$0.00 -
Hardcover
$8.99 -
Paperback
$10.88 -
Mass Market Paperback
$8.99 -
Preloaded Digital Audio Player
—
An Amazon Book with Buzz: "The Four Winds" by Kristin Hannah
"A timely novel highlighting the worth and delicate nature of Nature itself." -Delia Owens Learn more
Books In This Series (17 Books)
Complete Series
Page 1 of 1Start OverPage 1 of 1
Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Download to your computer
|
Kindle Cloud Reader
|
Customers who bought this item also bought
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
- Out on the Cutting Edge (Matthew Scudder Mysteries Book 7)Kindle Edition
- Eight Million Ways to Die (Matthew Scudder Mysteries Book 5)Kindle Edition
- A Ticket to the Boneyard (Matthew Scudder Mysteries Book 8)Kindle Edition
- A Dance at the Slaughterhouse: A Matthew Scudder Crime Novel (Matthew Scudder Mysteries Book 9)Kindle Edition
- A Stab in the Dark (Matthew Scudder Mysteries Book 4)Kindle Edition
- The Devil Knows You're Dead: A MATTHEW SCUDDER CRIME NOVEL (Matthew Scudder Mysteries Book 11)Kindle Edition
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
- Out on the Cutting Edge (Matthew Scudder Mysteries Book 7)Kindle Edition
- Eight Million Ways to Die (Matthew Scudder Mysteries Book 5)Kindle Edition
- The Sins of the Fathers (Matthew Scudder Mysteries Book 1)Kindle Edition
- A Dance at the Slaughterhouse: A Matthew Scudder Crime Novel (Matthew Scudder Mysteries Book 9)Kindle Edition
- A Stab in the Dark (Matthew Scudder Mysteries Book 4)Kindle Edition
- In the Midst of Death (Matthew Scudder Mysteries Book 3)Kindle Edition
Amazon Business : For business-only pricing, quantity discounts and FREE Shipping. Register a free business account
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
The prolific, Edgar Awardwinning Block has written many mysteries, most in assorted series with colorful protagonists. Featured here is Matt Scudder in his follow-up appearance to Eight Million Ways to Die. Scudder is a former New York cop, now an unlicensed private detective who does favors for friends. Divorced from his wife, who lives with their sons on Long Island, Scudder rooms in a West Side hotel. His real home, however, is any one of three or four local bars, and his family are their owners, staff and habitues. In the summer of 1975, Matt is busy with assorted favors. Tommie Tillary, an investment salesman in flashy clothes, whose wife has been murdered in Bay Ridge, needs to be cleared of suspicion. The real booksas opposed to those shown to the IRSstolen from Skip Devoe's bar must be ransomed, and the masked gunmen who robbed the Morrisey brothers' after-hours place have to be identified. Drinking steadily all summer, Scudder accomplishes all of the above, his intuition, doggedness and respect for a higher law sputtering through the alcoholic haze. Block is an accomplished storyteller, and Matt Scudder is a fine example of hero as human being. Mystery Guild selection.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the hardcover edition.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the hardcover edition.
Review
"Chilling"--" Washington Post""Ambitious and intense...A compelling and memorable novel."--" San Francisco Chronicle"
--This text refers to the hardcover edition.
About the Author
Lawrence Block is a four-time winner of the Edgar Award and was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America. He has also won four Shamus Awards, and was the first recipient of the Nero Wolfe Award. He is the author of over 40 books, many of which feature the characters Bernie Rhodenbarr, Matthew Scudder, Chip Harrison, and Evan Tanner. He lives in New York City with his wife Lynne.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product details
- ASIN : B000FC14HQ
- Publisher : HarperCollins e-books (October 6, 2009)
- Publication date : October 6, 2009
- Language: : English
- File size : 439 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 384 pages
- Lending : Not Enabled
-
Best Sellers Rank:
#238,419 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #1,612 in Hard-Boiled Mysteries (Kindle Store)
- #2,037 in Hard-Boiled Mystery
- #3,253 in Private Investigator Mysteries (Kindle Store)
- Customer Reviews:
Customer reviews
4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
153 global ratings
How are ratings calculated?
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2020
Report abuse
Verified Purchase
If you are reading the Matt Scudder stories in order this one will seem out of place. However by the end you will see that it is a look back to the days when Scudder was drinking heavily. There are three threads in this story of which two are connected to each other. The third thread is a separate story, but characters of all three play a role in the whole story. Scudder has to help a fellow drinker prove his innocence in the murder of his wife. The other two deal with a robbery of an after hours bad and theft of a set of ledgers from another bar. As Scudder works these cases we see the man as he slowly see his life change before his own eyes. I had to ask myself as I read this story are there truly heroes and villains or are we just victims of ourselves. By the end of this story I still wonder. This story is really not just a good whodunit, but it is one that can make you think about life. So dear reader take a walk into a man's last life and to d the demons he bears and enjoy.
Helpful
Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2014
Verified Purchase
I first read the Lawrence Block novel A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES prior to seeing the movie. Movies made from well written novels tend to be letdowns. While the movie did have its bright spots, it has to be extremely difficult to condense such an intriguing story into a 114 minute motion picture.
This particular episode in the Matthew Scudder series takes place in New York City in 1975. Matt Scudder is a former Special Forces hero, an ex NYC cop, and a current and committed drinker who does favors for friends in exchange for money. Even though he and his friends spend most days and nights drinking heavily, none of them considers themselves to be alcoholics. All of them profess to be able to stop drinking at the drop of a hat, but somehow that never seems to happen. They just sort of stumble around together in sort of a "groundhog day", chasing their next drink and not much else.
Unfortunately (and surprisingly) a few of his friends get themselves into difficult situations, and Matt finds himself collecting three different paychecks while looking for answers. He is the type of (unlicensed) private eye who walks in circles and gathers countless bits of information until he hits that "Eureka" moment where everything falls together. Sometimes the smallest piece of information.....
Matt has his hands full with these cases and not everyone is who they seem to be. The problem is figuring out who is responsible for each crime and then extracting retribution without involving the local coppers. Not surprisingly, the Irish have their own way of balancing the scales. Innovative, tricky and effective.
This particular episode in the Matthew Scudder series takes place in New York City in 1975. Matt Scudder is a former Special Forces hero, an ex NYC cop, and a current and committed drinker who does favors for friends in exchange for money. Even though he and his friends spend most days and nights drinking heavily, none of them considers themselves to be alcoholics. All of them profess to be able to stop drinking at the drop of a hat, but somehow that never seems to happen. They just sort of stumble around together in sort of a "groundhog day", chasing their next drink and not much else.
Unfortunately (and surprisingly) a few of his friends get themselves into difficult situations, and Matt finds himself collecting three different paychecks while looking for answers. He is the type of (unlicensed) private eye who walks in circles and gathers countless bits of information until he hits that "Eureka" moment where everything falls together. Sometimes the smallest piece of information.....
Matt has his hands full with these cases and not everyone is who they seem to be. The problem is figuring out who is responsible for each crime and then extracting retribution without involving the local coppers. Not surprisingly, the Irish have their own way of balancing the scales. Innovative, tricky and effective.
4 people found this helpful
Report abuse
Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2013
Verified Purchase
This book opens with a bang. Literally. Matthew Scudder is sitting with some buddies in early July when a large explosion shatters the conversational tranquility that is enveloping the place and before peace is returned in full, the bar is held up and a small fortune is taken. Eventually (three chapters in) Matt agrees to take the job of finding out whodunit, and the whydunit, but before he makes much progress, the wife of a friend of a friend is killed and once more the task of finding the killer falls in the lap of our hero.
Some books contain a chapter or a phrase that is so extraordinary and so beautiful that it lifts the work above the realm of the ordinary and into the space or territory of the mythical. When the Sacred Gin Mill Closes is like this. Chapter twelve opens in a drab, samey manner (just like its preceding sibling chapters) with our man Scud drinking his way through the three simultaneous mysteries he is attempting to solve. After ensuring one of his clients gets home safely after a hard and depressing night on the booze, he leaves his own apartment at some insane hour and finds himself drinking bourbon at Armstrong's. Conversation with the owner takes precedence over drinking and before Scudder knows it, he is (we are) experiencing and learning about the heart-breakingly beautiful paralytic dancers from Dave Van Ronk's mournful jazz masterpiece, "When the sacred Gin Mill closes". I won't infringe copyright by quoting the text here but rest assured this section of the book is worth the cost of admission alone.
Back in the real world, days after the first listen, Scudder is helping his buddies solve a minor problem of extortion, and the song is still playing on his mind. Just like mine. And yours, too, when you read it. But this book is about more than Dave Van Ronk and his music. It is about friendship, and booze, and keeping your promises. And it is also about Ireland, and family, and home, and tradition.
But most importantly, it is about truth, and how beauty can be found in the most unlikely and unexpected of places. So hang in there. Just like Matt does.
Some books contain a chapter or a phrase that is so extraordinary and so beautiful that it lifts the work above the realm of the ordinary and into the space or territory of the mythical. When the Sacred Gin Mill Closes is like this. Chapter twelve opens in a drab, samey manner (just like its preceding sibling chapters) with our man Scud drinking his way through the three simultaneous mysteries he is attempting to solve. After ensuring one of his clients gets home safely after a hard and depressing night on the booze, he leaves his own apartment at some insane hour and finds himself drinking bourbon at Armstrong's. Conversation with the owner takes precedence over drinking and before Scudder knows it, he is (we are) experiencing and learning about the heart-breakingly beautiful paralytic dancers from Dave Van Ronk's mournful jazz masterpiece, "When the sacred Gin Mill closes". I won't infringe copyright by quoting the text here but rest assured this section of the book is worth the cost of admission alone.
Back in the real world, days after the first listen, Scudder is helping his buddies solve a minor problem of extortion, and the song is still playing on his mind. Just like mine. And yours, too, when you read it. But this book is about more than Dave Van Ronk and his music. It is about friendship, and booze, and keeping your promises. And it is also about Ireland, and family, and home, and tradition.
But most importantly, it is about truth, and how beauty can be found in the most unlikely and unexpected of places. So hang in there. Just like Matt does.
One person found this helpful
Report abuse
Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2018
Verified Purchase
Another winner, three crimes and a pair of betrayals. This is the fifth novel in the series but takes place sometime between the third and fourth, Matt is drinking but not out of control, a great entry in a great series. The mystery is intricate and the characters are well drawn and fully fleshed. A long step above the average mystery and though it is set in the seventies Block writes so cleanly that only the characters own nostalgia for the time period date it.
Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2020
Verified Purchase
Best mystery I’ve read in awhile. The main character, Matthew Scudder, is flawed, but author Lawrence Block reveals Scudder’s morality in surprising ways. There is some violence, but it fit the plot. There is a reason for every word. I recommend this, and other Lawrence Block books, to fans of mystery/suspense novels.
Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2020
Verified Purchase
Recently found this author and am enjoying him quite a bit. I made an error and ordered this book - twice. Am I mistaken that at one time Amazon would "catch" such things and inform you that you've duplicated an order. Thankfully, I didn't pay a lot and I decided to donate the extra copy.
Top reviews from other countries

p
4.0 out of 5 stars
Day to day life in a non-Patti Labelle-World
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 30, 2018Verified Purchase
I'll have to be careful that the review doesn't say more about me than the author or book or Whatever!!
First off, I'm a Patti Labelle fan with "Stir It Up", so nothing phases me. (I'll fall out with Lawre..nah...rry Block, so long as I don't with Madame Labelle.)
So, gettin' it from the wrong end of the sequence- to tax my brains- well I not goin' to do: but it was a good novel: but a bit Ingmar Bergman, for a long while. And serious drinkin'. And maybe It was all a forerunner to Typical Lonely Guy- The humour at the end was great.
First off, I'm a Patti Labelle fan with "Stir It Up", so nothing phases me. (I'll fall out with Lawre..nah...rry Block, so long as I don't with Madame Labelle.)
So, gettin' it from the wrong end of the sequence- to tax my brains- well I not goin' to do: but it was a good novel: but a bit Ingmar Bergman, for a long while. And serious drinkin'. And maybe It was all a forerunner to Typical Lonely Guy- The humour at the end was great.

Matt
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great story
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 16, 2016Verified Purchase
I very much enjoyed this Book. It takes a different format to the series up to now as it is told mainly as a flashback to to before Scudders Sobriety.
I got a sense of bleakness and waste from this book that I found quite deep and actually emotionally effecting.
Overall I think it is better to have read the other books before this one, but I do heartily recommend it!
I got a sense of bleakness and waste from this book that I found quite deep and actually emotionally effecting.
Overall I think it is better to have read the other books before this one, but I do heartily recommend it!
One person found this helpful
Report abuse

I. R. Cowell
4.0 out of 5 stars
Four Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 18, 2018Verified Purchase
Good read

Mr. Raymond Elliott
5.0 out of 5 stars
but a nice clean copy
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 28, 2016Verified Purchase
Ex library book, but a nice clean copy. Very pleased
One person found this helpful
Report abuse

Paul Jeffels
4.0 out of 5 stars
A detective novel set in the 70's
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 3, 2013Verified Purchase
This novel is part of a series featuring the author's recurring character 'Matt Scudder'. It vividly portrays the 70's, and the culture of a group of alcoholics.
One person found this helpful
Report abuse
More items to explore
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
- The Templar Detective and the Parisian Adulteress (The Templar Detective Thrillers Book 2)Kindle Edition
- The Battered Badge (The Nero Wolfe Mysteries Book 13)Kindle Edition
- The Templar Detective (The Templar Detective Thrillers Book 1)Kindle Edition
- Princess Elizabeth's Spy: A Maggie Hope MysteryPaperback
- Dark Clouds Over Nuala (The Inspector de Silva Mysteries Book 2)Kindle Edition
- Murder at Queen's Landing: A Captivating Historical Regency Mystery (A Wrexford & Sloane Mystery)Hardcover
What other items do customers buy after viewing this item?
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
- Out on the Cutting Edge (Matthew Scudder Mysteries Book 7)Kindle Edition
- Eight Million Ways to Die (Matthew Scudder Mysteries Book 5)Kindle Edition
- The Sins of the Fathers (Matthew Scudder Mysteries Book 1)Kindle Edition
- A Dance at the Slaughterhouse: A Matthew Scudder Crime Novel (Matthew Scudder Mysteries Book 9)Kindle Edition
There's a problem loading this menu right now.
Get free delivery with Amazon Prime
Prime members enjoy FREE Delivery and exclusive access to music, movies, TV shows, original audio series, and Kindle books.