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A Stab in the Dark cover art

A Stab in the Dark

By: Lawrence Block
Narrated by: William Roberts
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Summary

Nine long years have passed since the killer last struck - nine years since eight helpless young women were brutally slaughtered by an icepick-wielding maniac. The trail grew cold and the book was unofficially closed on a serial killer who stopped killing. But now "The Icepick Prowler" has confessed - but only to seven of the killings. Not only does he deny the eighth, he has an airtight alibi. Barbara Ettinger's family had almost come to accept that the young woman was the victim of a random killing. Now they must grapple with the shocking revelation that not only was her death disguised to look like the serial killer's work, but her murderer may have been someone she knew and trusted. Matthew Scudder has been hired to finally bring her slayer to justice, setting the relentless detective on the trail of a death almost a decade old, searching for a vicious murderer who's either long gone, long dead... or patiently waiting to kill again.

©1981 Lawrence Block. All rights reserved. (P)2011 AudioGo

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"Deep with the first dead lies London's daughter."

Nine years after a murder spree in which several women were stabbed and partially mutilated, the Ice Pick Prowler was caught, and confessed to all but one of the murders. The distraught father of the odd one out was revered to Scudder, ex cop, hard drinker and not an official Private Investigator, to look into her death 'as a favour' for money. With little to go on besides instinct and present memories - 'a dead dog, a dead marriage, a dead woman on the kitchen floor', Matt drinks his way through his enquiries, 'picking up the past and disturbing the present'.
The story is, as usual, told in the first person giving the reader some insight into Matt's thinking. Narrator William Roberts makes a fine Matthew Scudder, becoming the investigator determined, laid back with his troubled persona. A good performance.
There were a couple of minor editing points, like the continued inclusion of the instructions, 'This is the end of Risk 4. Disc 5" but nothing sufficiently intrusive to interrupt enjoyment.

Lawrence Block is an excellent writer of noir, with fully developing character of more than just the main protagonist and sparse description which can call up the scene in minimal words. I downloaded this, book 4 in the Matt Scudder series as a complimentary copy from the Audible Plus programme. Thank you, Audible. The stories can be read in any order.

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new narrator but still enjoyable

was a bit disappointed initially to have a new narrator but soon I forgot and felt it was the same voice telling the story ..

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Alcoholic Days

Well narrated, sad ex cop, investigation. Procedural, following leads, via many bar stools in his path. Noir tale, of black deeds where "ice picks made their eyes burn".

The writing style, and historical genre is what attracted me, and the fact I've had several in this series made me stay till the end.
If you like noir you'll enjoy this.

GOOD

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