Matt Scudder is a divorced former detective and recovering alcoholic trying to make a living as an unlicensed private investigator in New York City. He's hired to find out why members of a secret club are dying at an accelerated rate. This could be a typical mystery, but it's not. The writing is intelligent and crisp, the plot is inventive, and the characters are richly drawn.

Like most literature disguised as genre fiction it touches on the important subjects from time to time, like this conversation between Scudder and his mistress, after she asks him if he prays:
"Once in a while. Not very often, though."
"How do you do it?"
"Mostly I ask for strength."
"Strength?"
"To do something," I said, "or to get through something. That kind of strength."
"And do you get it?"
"Yes," I said. "I generally do."

Like real people, most of the characters are damaged in one way or another, and most of them find a way to cope. Some, like Scudder, find a way to cope with the methods they've used to cope. Along the way, Scudder finds out he's a better investigator than he thinks. ( )

Weird idea for a story. Weird idea for a villain. But I guess when you live in New York, just about anything will happen if you give it enough time. Scudder is far enough advanced in AA that he, sort of, sponsors another alcoholic through the program, which makes for some interesting discussion. The group of men meeting once a year is an intriguing idea that I'd be curious to know if it has any basis in reality, although the idea that the last survivor convenes a new group seems pretty precarious and not something that would last through more than one or two cycles.

When it turns out that the group doesn't want to take the story to the police, an alternative must be found, and I thought that part was neatly put together. There was a certain amount of ambiguity in it, with some moral issues that leave you thinking. I've really enjoyed every Matthew Scudder mystery I've read. ( )

The story doesn't quite live up to its premise—or its title, for that matter. But that shouldn't scare anyone away: this is one of the better late Scudders, with some memorable new characters introduced and enough angsty contemplation to satisfy old fans, ( )