A Stab in the Dark

By: Lawrence Block

Narrated by: William Roberts

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

great detective story

the performance of this book was disappointing. the narrator had a high tinny voice that fluctuated without purpose . this book has great characters, great dialogue, and good scenes. the main character's inner dialogue is casually profound but matter of fact and honest about his character flaws.

Great plot and gritty characters. I really liked the reader, he played so many voices he was like a one man theatre company.

Lawrence Block knows how to weave a really interesting plot, just enough twists and turns without being too complicated. His characters really come alive and seem to be part of the gritty city. Alan Sklar is a perfect choice for reading this. He has a "40's vintage" timbre to his voice that reminds me of the original hard boiled Noir detective movie voice overs.

A good reading !

This is one of the early Matt Scudder's stories. You can tell that Lawrence Block is still working on Matt's character , but the story runs smooth with a terrific description of the New York "ambiance" . Definitively a good reading !

Icepick Murders

What makes this series so good are tiny clues sprinkled throughout the story. Some have to do with New York locations and others with things unsaid but implied. Scudder is ask to solve one of the icepick murders that didn't fit the pattern that happened nine years ago. A lot of interesting characters, all with something to hide.

Letdown

Compared to the first three Scudder books this one is a letdown. Plus the narrator is a step back from Alan Sklar who did the first three.