Lawrence Block
4/5 stars
A young prostitute is murdered in her apartment and her roommate is arrested; before any investigation can take place, he hangs himself in his cell. The girl's father asks Matthew Scudder, former NYPD, to find out about her life for him. This leads Scudder to more questions and answers than expected.
This 1976 novel is the first in the long-running Scudder series. It doesn't seem like a mystery at first, as Scudder is not searching for a perpetrator, but for details of a life. It is an engaging novel, that draws in the reader as Scudder finds pieces of the crime in various places. Scudder is a likable protagonist, and the noir style works well with his character. I found myself pondering on it when I wasn't reading it, and thoroughly enjoyed it.
