I’ve read this book three or four times now, and I still like it, and I
still have no idea what the title means. Matthew Scudder is still a
morally ambiguous character, but he’s still compelling, and the tale is
not only a darn good one, well told, but in fact it’s considerably better
than its predecessor, The Sins of the Fathers. Block keeps us
guessing, and while it’s still gritty the sex and violence aren’t the
point.

The premise is nifty. An acquaintance of Scudder’s named Spinner gives
him an envelope to hold. So long as Scudder hears from Spinner once a
week, he’s to
leave the envelope alone. If Spinner gets murdered, Scudder is to open the
envelope and do what he thinks best. So happens, Spinner is
murdered (no surprise), and when Scudder opens the envelope he discovers
that the guy has been blackmailing three different people. It’s almost
certain that one of them had him killed. Which one? Spinner wants the
guilty one taken care of, but the other two should go free.

I like it. It works.