A drop of the hard stuff : a Matthew Scudder novel

 by Lawrence Block. When a character ages from book to book, a series has a built-in life span. At some point, the hero can only walk the mean streets with the help of a cane. Given Block's allegiance to verisimilitude and that he returns to a series only when he has something fresh for the characters to say and do, readers might have wondered whether they'd ever see Matt Scudder again, after the powerful ending of All the Flowers Are Dying (2005). Scudder is indeed back, but with a story from the past, told to Mick Ballou over a late-night drink of club soda. The premise is typical of Block's genius. It's so perfect that you can't believe you haven't seen it before. As Scudder nears his first anniversary of sobriety, he's hired to investigate the murder of another alcoholic who may have been killed because he was following the Twelve Steps to the letter, for when you make amends to a partner in crime, he's going to wonder who else you've been talking to. Scudder fans, and there are many, will enjoy both the mystery and the history, glimpsing characters who did (and didn't) make it into the later story line. And the prose, as always, is like the club soda Scudder sips in the opening pages: cool, fizzy, and completely refreshing. --Booklist (Check Catalog)