A time to scatter the stones: Lawrence Block

Age is just a number that everyone has attached to themselves and it is the journeys you take that define you and not how old you are that replicates the person that you are at any time. Matthew Scudder is now in the prime of his life in his 70’s and has not lost his spunk, his ingenuity and his male urges and drives as we learn more about him and his partner and wife Elaine. Elaine, we learn met him when he was a detective and she walked the streets as a prostitute. He is a recovering alcoholic and attends AA meetings and she joined a talking therapy group called the Tarts. Young girls that were promiscuous my mom would tell me were often referred to as Tarts. Imagine joining a group whose past profession was prostitution and now they had given up being on the job or as some call it the game and meet in a Croatian church weekly in Manhattan. Some women thrive in the attention of men no matter how they meet them or for how long. Ellen is not very bright, naïve and seems caught up in the profession and as you get to know how even though it becomes apparent that she is trying to quit the profession she seems drawn into it more than she cares to admit. But, when one client becomes obsessed with her and seems to want total control and be the only man in her life, even willing to fork up 200 dollars a pop or sometimes more, things take on a dark and sinister turn as Ellen turns to Elaine for help to rid herself of this stalk and manipulator. But she is not very streetwise and each time he comes to her for what he wants instead of not answering the door she submits to his wills and wants even though what he wants is not what she feels comfortable with or likes. He really does not care. Paul is the name he uses but that’s just what he claims and using a burner or and not even knowing much about him leaves her vulnerable to his advances and more. Moving out of her apartment and into a hotel is only a temporary fix and hoping that Matthew can find him and stop him before things get out of hand is the plan or her hope. Can he use his police skills and former skills as a Private Detective to hunt him down and stop him? The police would discount her fears because of her profession and even analyzing whether a male or female officer would suffice, and listen was discounted by Matthew. Taking into account her lack of intelligence and savvy, Elaine just dates these men and gives them as she described some of her encounters, the Girlfriend Experience that they paid for as if she is filling a bill or an order and using sex as the items that would be in the bag or envelope if it was a package.

Can Matthew figure out the plan as author Lawrence Block flashes back to his days as the Detective introducing us to people that he worked with and used as sources and then reminded of a sketch artist that might help. However, getting the artist to create a likeness and then bringing around to the neighborhood where she lived yields a positive development but while working with Raymond whey does, she come on to him and use specific moves to make him like her? The superintendent of her building recognizes him and states that this man claimed she was missing and that she had a mental condition and her family was hoping to find her. Of course, that was a lie and now he seems concerned that he might have given up information about her that might hinder her safety. As you get to know Scudder and he narrates the story he formulates a plan but first the author flashes back to several cases he solved and worked as a detective so that we get to know the many ways and places he frequented in order to take down criminals or where he went to buy props of police uniforms or more to use on the job. So, when he needs a police baton it takes some creative thinking to get just what he needs to take down this man Paul whose name is not that at all. Sending him a message and enlisting the help of the super to create a short conversation and plot to snare this guy, we learn that Scudder is quite resourceful and clever as we envision the scene and hope that he foils him on the spot. With slapstick humor, creative justice and definitely an offbeat plot filled with surprises and some twists at the end you won’t expect as Ellen relates several stories of her experiences with different clients that lead readers to believe that somehow this sworn off Tart or prostitute has no intention of leaving the profession any time soon or will she? Scudder thinks out of the box and although age does come into play within this novella you get the impression that it is just a number and most often not really a hindrance to either one of them him or Elaine. But, Elaine seems to miss the action of her retail art business and she loves to have something that motivates her even more than just her meetings so you get the impression that even though this is supposed to be the final curtain for Scudder and that he learns that technology and police procedures different than in the past and burner phones are the way to go not to be tracked or found, the crime is not a murder but one of passion you might say and a man who is obsessed with his own power, control and domination over someone he feels powerless and powerful over but wait until you see the encounter with Scudder. He still has the intelligence and ingenuity of a private detective and although retired seems motivated to do more than spend his days eating, taking naps or staying in bed.

Some endings are new beginnings in many ways as Scudder and Elaine might enter new dimensions in their lives or was it all a fantasy that they recall at the end. A Time to Scatter Stones reminds us that age does not hinder someone when they want to do something in life nor does it mean that you cannot fulfill yourself because you are older, Age to me is a number that we all have and use when we want to get a driver’s license or see buy something that requires ID. So, what exactly did this guy Paul want when he went into her apartment? What was the significance of the alligator purse she left behind?
“Age is a privilege that is denied to many,” so those of you that seem older, and of course wiser think of it as a privilege your were afforded and not denied and since this is my first Matthew Scudder book I hope that author Lawrence Block brings him back in another murder/mystery even in his 70’s. Told at times in the first person narrative so you get to know his thoughts, his sense of humor and his banter with Elaine and then how he thinks, this is one character I would like to see come back one more time.

Fran Lewis: Just reviews