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Time to Murder and Create (1976)

by Lawrence Block

Series: Matthew Scudder (2)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
6342236,565 (3.7)15
Fiction. Mystery. Small-time stoolie Jake "The Spinner" Jablon made a lot of new enemies when he switched careers from informer to blackmailer. And the more clients, he figured, the more money—and the more people eager to see him dead. So he's greedy but scared, and he turns to his old acquaintance Matthew Scudder, who used to pay him for information back in Scudder's days as a cop. Scudder's his insurance policy—if anything happens to The Spinner, Scudder can check up on the people who wanted him dead. No one is too surprised when the pigeon is found floating in the East River with his skull bashed in. Blackmail's a dangerous business. What's worse, no one cares—except Matthew Scudder. The unofficial private eye is no conscientious avenging angel. But he's willing to risk his own life and limb to confront Spinner's most murderously aggressive marks. A job's a job, after all, and Scudder's been paid to find a killer—by the victim—in advance.… (more)
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English (19)  Spanish (2)  All languages (21)
Showing 1-5 of 19 (next | show all)
The second of the Matt Scudder books, and where he gets involved in blackmail.

Another tight well written story, that fills in some of the back story that I'd never found out.

Matt is still a drinker, is out of the police and working out of the bar. "The Spinner" pays Matt to investigate should he ever die, and after 10 weeks of regular contact, it all goes quiet. Matt takes over the three people The Spinner was blackmailing, and tries to work out who had enough motive and will to have him killed.

( )
  nordie | Oct 14, 2023 |
I generally like Block novels, but this one was just stupid. ( )
  MickeyMole | Oct 2, 2023 |
2.8 ( )
  Mcdede | Jul 19, 2023 |
Another Ok read in the series, but nothing special. Well written, but not terribly interesting…. Hopefully the series improves soon, or I will drop it. ( )
  rjdycus | Dec 19, 2022 |
Two things I'm thinking. One is that Matt Scudder is a son-of-a-bitch.

Don't take my word for it, he gets called that (and other things) enough times. He's not a knight in shining armor, though he is a hero. Tarnished, dirty, mean and nasty, and honest enough to own up to all the above.

A friend who is also a blackmailer of criminals and a not-so-decent human being is murdered by one of his victims. But he knew it was coming and, in preparation, he gifted Matt with all the blackmail evidence for his three victims, and a large chunk of money. And he knew Matt was the kind of guy who can turn a blind eye to almost any crime... except murder. Especially when the murder victim was a friend (however slim) and asked him to solve it.

The other thing I'm thinking is that these novels read like you're experiencing Scudder's life and these murders and attempts on his life (count them off, as they occur) are just events that happen, along the way.

But mostly, I'm just thinking that Matt Scudder is a son-of-a-bitch and it's cool that I enjoy his company... (though I probably wouldn't want to have a drink with him). ( )
  James_Patrick_Joyce | Oct 24, 2020 |
Showing 1-5 of 19 (next | show all)
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For seven consecutive Fridays I got telephone calls from him.
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Fiction. Mystery. Small-time stoolie Jake "The Spinner" Jablon made a lot of new enemies when he switched careers from informer to blackmailer. And the more clients, he figured, the more money—and the more people eager to see him dead. So he's greedy but scared, and he turns to his old acquaintance Matthew Scudder, who used to pay him for information back in Scudder's days as a cop. Scudder's his insurance policy—if anything happens to The Spinner, Scudder can check up on the people who wanted him dead. No one is too surprised when the pigeon is found floating in the East River with his skull bashed in. Blackmail's a dangerous business. What's worse, no one cares—except Matthew Scudder. The unofficial private eye is no conscientious avenging angel. But he's willing to risk his own life and limb to confront Spinner's most murderously aggressive marks. A job's a job, after all, and Scudder's been paid to find a killer—by the victim—in advance.

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