Matthew Scudder Mysteries

10 primary works • 20 total works

A Stab in the Dark

by Lawrence Block

Published 1 August 1982

Nine long years have passed since the killer last struck. Nine years since eighthelpless young women were hideously slaughteredby an ice-pick wielding maniac. Now hard-drinking ex-cop and unlicensed investigator Matt Scudder has been hiredto bring the murderer to justice at last. Relentlessly Scudder follows an aging trail of blood towards a psychopath either long gone, long dead or very patiently awaiting the chance to kill again.

Out on the Cutting Edge

by Lawrence Block

Published 1 October 1989

'Lawrence Block is a master of crime fiction; the Matthew Scudder novels are among the finest detective novels penned in this century.' Jonathan Kellerman 'If you haven't been introduced to Scudder yet, start here.' Chicago Tribune Lawrence Block's career in crime fiction has been full of triumphs. But of all his accomplishments, none is more admired by critics and readers than his novelsfeaturing detective Matthew Scudder. OUT ON THE CUTTING EDGE takes Matthew Scudder to Hell's Kitchen and back with terrifying results.

A Ticket to the Boneyard

by Lawrence Block

Published 1 September 1990

The streets of New York are never safe, but the release of James Leo Motley, a psychopath who went down swearing revenge on PI Matt Scudder, means death is outthere. No one is safe, friends, lovers, or just those unfortunate enough to share the Scudder name. Soon the streets are littered with the dying and Matt begins to question he new found sobriety.

A Dance at the Slaughterhouse

by Lawrence Block

Published 1 September 1991

The 9th breakneck thriller in the Matt Scudder series, from a master of the genre.

To Matt Scudder, no one can rise above the law.

But when the ex-cop is privately hired to investigate the murder of a beautiful pregnant woman, he finds himself pushed to the limits of his beliefs. With every step he takes, Scudder discovers darker and more depraved secrets. Human trafficking, snuff films, murderous fetishes: the light of humanity seems all but extinguished.

In the seedy underworld of New York City, nothing is sacred and anything can be bought.

A Walk Among the Tombstones

by Lawrence Block

Published 1 October 1992

Big time dope dealer Kenan Khoury is a wealthy man.Then one fine Spring morning his wife Francine is kidnapped and a ransom is demanded.Kenan pays and his wife is duly returned to him-in small pieces in the boot of an abandoned car.Leaving PI Matt Scudder to speculate on the motives of a very unusual kidnapper.Soon Scudder is on the trail of a pair of ruthlessly sadistic psycopaths whose cruel games hve only just begun...

Devil Knows You'RE Dead

by Lawrence Block

Published 1 November 1993

Private detective Matthew Scudder ventures into the dark and dangerous alleys of Hell's Kitchen to track the killer of a yuppie lawyer.

The Devil Knows You're Dead

by Lawrence Block

Published 20 May 2014

A Long Line of Dead Men

by Lawrence Block

Published 1 October 1994

From NEW YORK TIMES bestseller Lawrence Block.

In Manhattan thirty-one men have been meeting annually for years. Their private club meets only to record the passage of time and give toast to the joys of life. But suddenly they are dying at an alarming rate and one of their number begins to suspect that something more than bad luck is at work.

For private eye Matt Scudder, the case is one of the most baffling he's faced. Can the deaths really be a bizarre series of suicides and violent accidents? Or is there is a pattern behind the random play of tragedy? Is there a murderer at work and can he be stopped before the victims run out?

The Night and the Music

by Lawrence Block

Published 28 September 2011

A Time to Scatter Stones

by Lawrence Block

Published 31 January 2019

In the Midst of Death

by Lawrence Block

Published 9 August 1979

This time hard-drinking ex-cop Matt Scudder is roped in to an NYPD internal investigation that has ended up with one detective in the slammer on a murdre rap. Jerry is as clean as the world would like him to be although Matt isn't too sure, after all, he was only keen to dish the dirt on his former colleagues as a way of saving his own skin when caught on the take.

Even the Wicked

by Lawrence Block

Published 16 September 1996

An anonymous letter writer, the self-styled "Will of the People" targets prominent criminals and evil-doers that the law cannot reach and kills them. All of his victims are dubbed "society offenders", but then he targets a DA, who calls in Scudder.

Eight Million Ways to Die

by Lawrence Block

Published 1 August 1982

Staying alive is never easy; not for the prostitute who is slashed to robbons, nor for the pimp named Chance who is betting his life that the broken down Scudder can find her killer.

The Sins of the Fathers

by Lawrence Block

Published 24 May 1979

A pretty young girl is butchered in her Greenwich Village apartment. The prime suspect, a minister's son, is found dead in his jail cell and as far as the NYPD is concerned the case is closed. Matt Scudder, an ex-cop who now does "favours for friends', is persuaded to lookinto the case by the dead girl's father. Suddenly he's up to his neck in sleaze and corruption, phoney religious cults and murderous lust. In New York's underbelly the children have no choice but to pay the price for their parent's most unspeakable sins.

Everybody Dies

by Lawrence Block

Published 16 September 1998

The new novel from mystery writers of America Grandmaster Lawrence Block in his multi-award winning series of Matt Scudder rivate detective mysteries. Matt Scudder is well and truly off the booze, but he still spends time with some of his old drinking pas including Mick Ballou - an Irish American who operates moren often than not on the wrong side of the law. Mick is worried - a garage full of bourbon has ebeen ripped off and 2 of his henchman killed in cold blood.Somebody is muscling inon Micks patch and he wants Scudder to look into it. Matt reluctantly agrees to take a look but won't promise a result. On the wayhome he is attacked but does more damage than he has inflicted. That same somebody wants him off Mick's case. The following weekend Matt's mentor from AlAnon is shot dead at point blank range when Scudder is in the men's room of the restaurant where the 2 had met for dinner - Matt knows it should have been him. Nowe the case is personal and no matter that he's warned off by his ex-colleagues in the NYPD and his wife Elaine, this is 1 he is going to see out to the end.

A Drop of the Hard Stuff

by Lawrence Block

Published 1 January 2011

After a childhood friend is shot down while attempting to atone for past sins, Scudder is drawn into a murder investigation that threatens to upset his path toward recovery--and get him killed in the process.

Time to Murder and Create

by Lawrence Block

Published 13 December 1979

The Spinner is dead, bashed on the head and left to rot in a river. One of his three blackmail victims must have been the killer - Scudder is determined to nail them. Henry Prager has paid enough for the sins of his daughter, and begs Scudder not to destroy his shaky business or the fragile girl's reformed life. Beverly Etheridge cheerfully admitted all the sex acts Scudder had seen in the photos and she promises to show him a few more. Theodore Huysendahl offers Scudder enough money to choke even a blackmailer's greed, a proposition no sane man would turn down. Scudder's code of honour demands that one of them will pay...

Hope to Die

by Lawrence Block

Published 1 January 1975

Lawrence Block, Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America, is on dazzling form in his most compelling Matt Scudder novel to date. Byrne and Susan Hollander stroll home from a concert on a fine summer's evening in New York. Some hours later, their daughter Kristin arrives home to discover her parents brutally killed and the house ransacked. She also finds herself a very young millionaire. A few days later the police trace the two killers to an apartment in Coney Island and both are dead. One killed the other before turning the gun on himself. At least that's the way it looks. So that's that. Another case solved. But for Matt Scudder it's only the beginning. The more he looks into it, the more things look wrong to him. There's a murderer out there, and he's just getting started. Pitted in a deadly game of cat and mouse, Scudder is up against the most resourceful and diabolical killer of his career. Hope To Die is vintage, brilliant Block, and then some. His cool, dark wit masks a blistering pace, not to mention the perception and poignancy of his award-winning character, Matt Scudder.

All the Flowers Are Dying

by Lawrence Block

Published 15 February 2005

Matt Scudder - former cop and alcoholic - has had enough. He plans to wind up his investigations and concentrate on his AA meetings and his lovely wife, Elaine. But he agrees to take one last case. Louise, a single woman, has finally met a man she likes - but she fears he's keeping something from her. She hires Matt to check him out. Meanwhile, Elaine's best friend, Monica, also has a secret lover. But Monica is more street-wise than Louise; to her it's just a game, one she's sure she can win. But before Matt can track down the identity of Louise's lover, Monica is found murdered in her apartment. She was tortured to death by a man who left just one piece of forensic evidence behind - an antique letter opener that he'd bought at Elaine's shop. Suddenly Monica's death doesn't feel so random any more. Matt is convinced that the killer is stalking Elaine and he is determined to protect her. It soon emerges that Monica's murderer is a highly practised serial killer. He is also an old foe of Matt Scudder's. Years earlier this man terrorised and murdered his way through New York. Matt was the only man to stand in his way.Deep down, Matt always knew he would return, keen to exact revenge.
Matt must get to the killer before the killer gets to him. The story builds to an explosive and dramatic finish that sees Matt and Elaine pitched against a madman who is determined to destroy them both.

The Sins of the Fathers

by Lawrence Block

Published September 2000