In this fine, involving crime novel, Lawrence Block's unofficial private investigator Matthew Scudder takes on a missing persons case, falls in love, and on his own starts investigating a sad tragedy involving one of his friends at Alcoholics Anonymous.
All three plot lines are compelling, with the love story being particularly effective because it's interesting and sweet on its own, but also gives the reader pleasant time outs from the dark, gritty investigative details we're used to seeing in this series. Shudder has had relationships before, but Mr. Block extra feeling and depth into this one.
Also adding richness to the book is Scudder's continued efforts to remain sober, which he sees as both a challenge and something to be fascinated by. He's always thinking about his drinking days- what he drank, where he drank, why he drank, etc.- and often seems amazed that something that was so central to his existence before is now something that he pretty much is fine with doing without now. He does remain vigilant, though, and frequent participation at AA meetings are regular parts of these books.
I'm about halfway through the Matthew Scudder series now, and still very much look forward to starting each one. The entire series is available in print, on Kindle, and on unabridged audio.
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