08/09/19: Lawrence Block – A Stab in the Dark (1981)

Matt Scudder is a troubled ex-cop with a drink problem. He’s hired to find out more about a murder that took place nine years ago, previously thought to have been the work of the “ice-pick killer” but now suspected to be from a different killer entirely, despite similarities in the crime.

The novel is well-plotted, but the character development gripped me far more that the investigation trail and the whodunnit aspects. Scudder’s losing battle with drink makes for fascinating reading, as does his new relationship with fellow boozer Jan.

This is the fourth novel in the Scudder series. (I also have the fifth and sixth included in the same anthology, which I bought in a St. Andrews charity shop in August.)

29/05/18: Anita Brookner – The Debut (1981)

Not many novels mention Totteridge, so I was pleased to read this: “Mrs. Cutler had spent the previous weekend with her sister-in-law, whom she loathed, in Totteridge (‘Beautiful place she's got there. Just like the country’).”

The Debut is a witty and insightful look at families and how dysfunctional they are. Ruth, an earnest young academic researching the works of Balzac, ends up putting her ambitions on hold as a result of her eccentric and demanding parents. There’s real poignancy, with plenty of laugh-and-cry-at-the-same-time moments. The character of Ruth’s mother, a minor actress, is especially well drawn.

Ultimately it’s a sad book about the ways our hopes and dreams are so often limited by the actions of others and circumstances beyond our control.