Another good entry in the Matthew Scudder series. This one is a lot less hard-core than the previous book A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES, but it is a satisfying read nonetheless. In this one, Scudder tries to clear a Vietnam vet from a murder charge he may not have committed. The vet is a street person with severe mental issues who is charged with shooting an acquaintance of Scudder's who was making a call on a public phone in a somewhat questionable area of town. At first, Scudder feels the vet is guilty but as he digs into the case, he finds the victim definitely has something to hide -- his wife finds a stongbox full of cash in their closet plus it is unknown how the vic was able to pay for a high-priced condo. Along the way, Scudder meets with a dying ex-girl friend who wants him to provide a gun so she can commit suicide if things get too bad, and he has an affair with the wife of the murder victim! At the end, he is still with his ex-hooker girlfriend, Elaine, but his actions in this book make you wonder how long it will last. I guess I need to continue with the series to find out. Overall, I would recommend this one but it does not have the action and it does not include the wacked out psycho-killers of some of the previous books such as TOMBSTONES.

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