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The Matt Scudder series moves into the 21st century with this 2001 novel. He’s gradually become more respectable as the series has progressed but even so the opening of this novel took me aback, as Scudder and Elaine attend a dinner for patrons of a “Mostly Mozart�� festival at the Lincoln Center, for which honour they have paid $2500. It’s a far cry from 70s Scudder, for whom attending a prize fight would have been the height of culture. He hasn’t entirely left his old self behind though. He still likes to watch the boxing, still hangs around with Mick Ballou, and after the events of the last book he is back to being an unlicensed PI. Scudder’s latest case begins when a couple who attended the same patron’s dinner are brutally murdered on their return home.

This is an unusual Scudder novel in a couple of aspects. One is that part of the story is told from the perspective of the killer, the other is something I can’t mention without including spoilers. I did think that, in this book, the descriptions of the murders included a degree of detail that I’m not convinced was necessary. I imagine it was included to direct the reader’s emotions, and I realise there’s a degree of foolishness in choosing to read a crime novel and then complaining that it includes descriptions of crimes.

Setting those reservations aside, I personally found this a tense and compelling read. The second half simply demanded my attention. Another solid entry in the series.