Hope to Die Book

[ Two or three other things really bothered me about this book: First of all, the killer's general plan seemed awfully far-fetched. His aim is to ultimately own the house of the couple he murdered, but his method of accomplishing this is scarcely believable. Secondly, the killer escapes in the end. The police and Scudder believe that he has been burned beyond recognition in a fire. They realize there's the possibility that he has faked his death and escaped but they are generally agreed that the guy is dead.

He isn't. The book closes with the killer riding off into the sunset, apparently setting up a sequel. This leads to the last thing that bothered me about the book in that the killer gets the last word. Block writes a very nice chapter, narrated by Scudder, that would have been a good finish. But instead of ending there, he tacks on one last chapter from the killer's POV as he drives away, planning his next adventure.

I never thought I'd live to see the day when Matthew Scudder could not even get the last word in a Matthew Scudder novel... (hide spoiler)]