All the Flowers Are Dying (Matthew Scudder Mysteries Book 16)

This book - the sixteenth in the extraordinary saga of New York Private Eye Matthew Scudder - is the excellent follow up to HOPE TO DIE. I must admit, having just completed book fifteen, that the meaning of the title never really became clear to me. But apart from that gripe, it was a totally riveting read. As the events contained within the opening chapters to ALL THE FLOWERS ARE DYING pass by your eyes in quick succession, the more you read of this book the more uncomfortable you become and even though you may find yourself wondering at the ingenuity of such a serious sociopath it is not long before you find yourself wishing that he was locked safely and securely behind bars in the nation's maximum security prisons. Instead of which, he is gleefully manipulating the universe he finds himself in.At book's commencement, Scudder is asked by one of Elaine's friends to investigate a character she has hooked up with, someone of which she met blindly via an internet dating service. Along with the supremely confident assistance of up and coming PI-apprentice TJ, the matter seems to be a relatively sane walk in the park for our obliging heroes. But can we successfully join the dots and assume that the man in question is in fact the dastardly mass murderer from HOPE TO DIE? Of course, the book is way more complicated than such a simple deduction and it would be offensive to Mr Block to suggest such a simple plot. One needs to read this excellent book to find out who does what to whom but you can rest assured that there will be plenty of action, suspense, subtle violence and classic New York atmosphere all packed in between the front and back covers.Mr Block's writing style has not aged or dropped off in entertainment value one iota across the full length of the Scudder Saga and this is something for which his world wide followers are forever grateful. In fact, our man Scud has moved with the times and finally come to grips with some of the technology which has so overwhelmingly shaped his world. The characters populating the story are the much loved favourites but for a bit of extra colour lets hope Mick Ballou's appearances in the story are more than cameos.This one is sure to entertain his long standing followship. A solid entry in the series.---------------And so to the ending. It is violent, suspenseful, but extremely satisfying. It was not entirely unexpected in one sense, but it was inevitable and really, the only way the book could have finished the duology of AB. As i feared, Mick Ballou's role in the story was only a small one, but as a reader I was glad he was there to help out when things got tough at the end. So too, was the Scud, and TJ and Elaine and one other character I wont mention. But was the book worth five stars? Absolutely. There was never a dull moment. Some readers may have been put off by the detail and gruesome murders, but to me that just made the story more realistic and the bad guy even more hateable than he would have been otherwise. One wonders at the vulnerability of the prison officers, and whether prison staff and visitor selection procedures are really that fallible, but who am i to judge, and this is a work of fiction, after all. This book may not have hit the heights of some of the others in the series (I'm looking at you, Sacred Gin Mill!) but it was a heck of a pulse pounding ride, and what more do you want out of a book? The downside is that there is only one more Scudder novel left in the series. But at least i can read the entire collection of shorts as found in THE NIGHT AND THE MUSIC, and then start on the novels in order again.BFN Greggorio!

I guess you could call this book the sequel to number 15 in this series. Now I know that when most people hear the word, sequel, they think it is not going to be as good as the first one. However this time all I will say is get ready for a thrill ride. The elusive killer that used the initials AB is back and he is planning revenge against Matt Scudder and his family. The story starts with a man on death row in Virginia and I know you are thinking that Matt Scudder is based in New York City so what is going on. Well I will say that this plays a part in setting the stage for the rest of the story. Mr. Block did a very fine job in creating AB. AB is a few bricks why of a load, but he is a cold bloodied killer. AB is a very scary character that makes the reader hope that he dies a gruesome death. I don't want to spoil this story for you, I will say it is a dangerous game of cat and mouse being played out in the pages of this book So grab a copy and put on your detecting hat and help Matt Scudder solve another cases on the mean streets of New York.

Matt Scudder is now sixty-five, but you wouldn't know it by how he handles himself in ALL THE FLOWERS ARE DYING. The senior citizen private eye is part of the allure of this excellent series. We have seen Scudder age throughout the years and move from a drunk to reformed alcoholic to happily married and semi-retired. This sequel points back at the last in the Scudder series, HOPE TO DIE. The villain, who Scudder thought was dead, returns to enact vengeance. I had a bit of a problem with that since I couldn't remember much about the book, but eventually Block fills in the gaps. Some readers will also have trouble with the sex scenes. They are graphic to say the least, and the villain is a part-time pederast. But these scenes are not purposefully prurient; they serve a purpose in the overall structure of the book. They also make the reader want to see this guy get what's coming to him. The villain, Arne Bodeson (among other names) is a worthy adversary for Scudder. At one point he frames another man for the murder of three boys and weasels his way into the prison, pretending to be a therapist. He's even invited to the man's execution. Block uses parallel structure, alternating between Scudder and the villain, creating riveting suspense. At the beginning, Elaine asks Scudder to investigate a man her friend Louise met on the Internet. She thinks he might be "the one" but she doesn't entirely trust him. This man is very mysterious and Scudder and T.J. have trouble tracking him down. Meanwhile, Elaine's best friend, Monica, is brutally murdered. The reader can't help but think this is the same man Louise is interested in and this creates additional suspense. I had a bit of a problem with the ending. After all the excellent setup work, the two leads suddenly get awfully stupid. The almost pathologically careful villain gets careless and Scudder, who's supposed to be protecting his wife, does something a rookie patrolman wouldn't do. Despite this rather serious gaffe, I sure hope the next one doesn't take four years to complete. There's something about the way Scudder wanders from AA meeting to Mick Ballou's bar and back to Elaine's antique shop, that makes the reader want to reread the entire series.

Little did Scudder know that when a diabolical killer died in a house fire years ago, that there would be consequences for him and Elaine. In the present, a man convicted in the grim murder of three boys in VA is due to be executed. But a supposed college professor visits the man in prison, claiming to know that he is innocent. A few weeks later the visitor publishes the location of one of the victims. How could he know that?Meanwhile, both Scudder and Elaine have a gut instinct that they are being stalked and in danger. But it is hard to track down a phantom. They increase their security and hope that they can respond to any threats that may come their way.Again, it is fun to watch Scudder navigate the streets of NYC, dealing with the many subtleties of life in that city.

I liked the book but hated the print. It's so small you need a magnifying glass to read it.I would not recommend this seller, the print is just very bad for your eyes.

A bit slow not his best

New to this author. Certainly a page turner. I was breathless at the end. However, it is fairly gruesome - depends what you like! I may try the one prior to this now.

As described bit slow arriving

Block and Scudder both at the top of their game!