8.4 /10 1 Votes
Country United States Series Matthew Scudder Publication date 1986 Originally published 1986 Preceded by Eight Million Ways to Die Page count 239 | 4.2/5 Goodreads Language English Publisher Arbor House Media type Print Followed by Out on the Cutting Edge Genre Mystery | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Similar Works by Lawrence Block, Matthew Scudder books, Mystery books | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
When the Sacred Ginmill Closes is a Matthew Scudder novel, written by Lawrence Block. Based on the short story "By the Dawn's Early Light", and published four years after Eight Million Ways to Die, this novel resurrected Block's interest in the character and led to his writing 10 more titles in the series. The book's title derives from the Dave Van Ronk song "Last Call".
Contents
Plot
This Matthew Scudder noir crime novel starts out much like the previous books in the series. Matt is still drinking heavily and solving crimes as an "unofficial" private detective in gritty New York. There are three separate mysteries that are intertwined, involving multiple dead bodies, stolen money and other complications. But the real story is Matt's drinking and how it affects his work. The closing line is a classic, and separates the earlier books from the later ones in this series.