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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
A lot
A murder; the investigation involves blackmail and the criminal world
Language
Some
Some strong language
Sexual Content
Some
Some sexual content; Scudder's world involves sex workers and illicit relationships
Substance Use
A lot
Heavy drinking; Scudder drinks throughout; the New York milieu involves significant alcohol
Emotional Intensity
Some
The ethics of a man who operates outside institutions and has to create his own sense of obligation; the specific grief of someone who might have been a friend
What this book is about
Jacob 'Spinner' Jablon is a small-time blackmailer who hires Matthew Scudder for a strange kind of insurance: if Spinner dies under suspicious circumstances, Scudder is to open an envelope naming his victims and pursue justice. When Spinner is murdered, Scudder has to investigate three separate people who all had reason to want Spinner dead. Lawrence Block's second Scudder novel establishes the series' approach — the unlicensed detective working on conscience and cash donations — and the puzzle of which of three guilty parties did the killing is constructed with Block's characteristic economy.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
second Matthew Scudder novel by Lawrence Block
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