Rating: 
Summary: Just fair for Block
Review: I've read all the Matt Scudders and this one was just fair. I thought the usual detail Scudder gives us of the minutia of his exploits was flat. I also thought some of the dialog was redundant and contrived. Remember, this is from a fan who will probably buy the next one anyway.
Rating: 
Summary: Continuation of a great series !
Review: More of the same, and then some! This is another gem in the Scudder series,which becomes the Matt and Mick show. Both characters get fleshed out a little more,and the action stays constant,start to finish. Block complains that his books translated poorly to film,but when I read.I see Peter Boyle as Mick Ballou. Thanks for another winner,Mr Block More Please !!
Rating: 
Summary: A worthy addition to a great series
Review: I've always been puzzled by the fact that Block's Matt Scudder series isn't higher up on the bestseller lists, like Spenser and Milhone. It is simply the best detective series going. The plots are cleverly constructed, the cast of continuing characters is varied and likeable, and the writing is especially sharp. Scudder himself is both tough and introspective, and has continued to develop through the series, as characters do in the finest novels."Everybody Dies" is not the best in the series (I'd give that distinction to "8 Million Ways to Die" or "A Long Line of Dead Men"), but it is a worthy addition. The pacing is a little off in the opening half, but once it kicks into gear, the book is masterful stuff. The climactic scene is thrillingly effective.
Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: Matt Scudder returns here to a welcome return in a great Lawrence Block page-turner, the best since Craig Furnas's THE SHAPE, and it's one hell of a ride turning these pages until you get to the (regrettably!) last one.
Rating:
Summary: Block is still at his peak
Review: The last two Scudders, A LONG LINE OF DEAD MEN and EVEN THE WICKED were phenomenal-- moody, atmospheric, beautifully plotted. The plot is a trifle thinner in this one, but the mood and the suspense are first-rate. Block is a treasure: is there another writer working as prolific as he is whose work is of such consistently high quality?
Rating:
Summary: Scudder's back, and almost as good
Review: Lawrence Block has brought us another Matthew Scudder novel (his 14th) and almost recaptures the feel of his earlier best. His last effort (EVEN THE WICKED), featured Scudder slipping into a mundane existence without booze, with marriage, and without significant moral quandaries. Block has now presented us perhaps the darkest Scudder, one who lives with no comment on good and evil, and perhaps EVERYONE DIES should be titled NOTHING MATTERS. Scudder in caught in a web of murder and revenge as he helps his criminal friend Mick Ballou defend himself from unknown assailants who mean to destroy Ballou and all his friends. Scudder in this novel clearly finds moral quandaries but seems to have settled into an existential space where anything can be justified by individuals with an ability to defend their decision-making processes. This realization of Scudder as a near-amoral (Ballou's enemies are clearly more amoral) is admittedly the very likely conclusion of the events that have driven the earlier novels, but Scudder once was a noble character, and that seems to be lost here. And perhaps that is exactly where Block intends this character to go, and so who can criticize these developments? I personally wish that everyone plus one (Elaine, his wife, who seems largely accountable for Scudder's amoral leap) had died, so that Scudder in the next offering might struggle once again with larger issues of solitude, alcoholism, and a previously noted sense of right and wrong.
Rating:
Summary: Usual Block brilliance
Review: Gracefully adapting to a more mellow lifestyle, Matthew Scudder is happily married to Elaine Mardell and finally licensed as a private investigator. Long time friendships remain important and Matthew soon finds himself helping mobster Mick Ballou bury two of his thugs, who were recently murdered. If that was all he had to do, Matthew could continue his new respectable life. However, the killers of Ballou's henchmen have the big gun targeted for removal. Since Matthew has assisted Mick, he too has become a potential victim. With no places to turn for help, Mick and Matthew join forces in a last stand against a personal vendetta that makes the OK Corral seem like child's play as very few will leave the battle alive. In the fourteenth Scudder novel, Lawrence Block provides a fresh perspective as Matthew has fully cleaned up his act. However, personal integrity in terms of friendship compels Matthew to risk all the respectability he has recently gained. This and the underlying theme that death is the final absolute turns EVERBODY DIES into one of the series best entries. The characters are wonderful and witty, adding a needed comic relief to the consistent feel of impending tragedy. A must read for fans of the series and anyone who enjoys a bloody New York non-stop action tale. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Laurence block delivers,but becoming too "detective noir".
Review: Mathew Scudders personal life becomes even more complicated in his latest adventure of cop turned private detective. In his previous novels I have enjoyed his characters and his blatant disregaurd for others approval. This novel is much darker than the others and has dialect similar to detective stories in which the main character has a pet name for his car. I personally liked the other Mathew Scudder better!
Rating:
Summary: An irresistable read, but not quite up to the best
Review: Block hasn't lost his touch, and neither has Scudder, and if it takes you more than one sitting to read the 300 pages of EVERYBODY DIES, I'd be shocked. It's exceptionally readable and, in spots, beautifully written. But that's just spots, and long-time fans of the series will find the book as a whole less satisfying than EIGHT MILLION WAYS TO DIE and A STAB IN THE DARK (easily the two best) or WHEN THE SACRED GINMILL CLOSES, A TICKET TO THE BONEYARD, THE SINS OF THE FATHERS, and A DANCE AT THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE (the four next best). There's a lot of recapping going on -- in the first few chapters, Block retells four or five stories from the earlier novels, which turns out to be necessary for the plot, but which is a bit tiresome for those of us who've already read those stories before. The bits of business with Elaine are perfectly believable, but ripe with the sort of squashy domesticity that has sapped some of the noir juice out of the most recent installments in the Scudder story. Jive-talking TJ has always been something of an embarrassment, and he remains one here, although his schtick is (thankfully) somewhat toned down. And there's a "spring cleaning" feeling to the whole affair, as legions of the series' supporting characters are offed. Not that Block (or Scudder) doesn't treat the deaths with sufficient gravity -- it's just that you get the feeling of an author saying, "Let's wipe the slate clean and start Scudder off on a new path, with less baggage." (Which may be a good thing for the next Scudder novel -- less recapping to be done, perhaps -- but it casts a shadow over this one.) The book isn't bad, not by a long shot, but it doesn't sparkle (on the whole) with the sheer brilliance of the best Scudders.
Rating:
Summary: A bout with morality
Review: Block's Scudder series is serious business, though his characterizations are phenomenal in all his series. The other two: Burglar/Rhodenbarr and Tanner are much lighter. This particular Scudder continues his psychological explorations of middle-aged, formerly embittered, alcoholic, unofficial detective Matt Scudder. This one has quite a bit of action, as opposed to the last work, "Even the Wicked." A good mystery writer spins a fine tale, but a great mystery writer evolves into a great writer who chooses to write mysteries--evolving the genre into literature. It seems to me that this is Block's objective, conscious or unconscious as the case may be. Certainly his descriptions of Scudder's bout with relative morality is fine work. Many sides of his "hero" (some light, some dark) are variously depicted in this incredible series. Scudder is all too human. Block also coins memorable turns of phrase (some funny), that I add to my quote collection, such as: "I could probably be a vegetarian like Elaine, but only if bacon was declared a vegetable" on page 215. I didn't read the series in order, I think it would be better to do so, since they build on each other, and the characters' growth trend and relationships develop through the series which is chronological.
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