eight million ways to die 八百萬種死法
way 道路
the way to the post office
方法，方式
several ways of solving this problem
the American way of life
way
in a way
The work is well done in a way.
He is in the way.
on one's way to
I am on my way to the shopping centre.
內容概要
Nobody knows better than Matthew Scudder
how far down a person can sink in this city.
A young prostitute named Kim knew it also
-- and she wanted out.
Maybe Kim didn't deserve the life fate had dealt her.
She surely didn't deserve her death.
The alcoholic ex-cop turned p.i.
was supposed to protect her,
but someone slashed her to ribbons
on a crumbling New York City waterfront pier.
講解
語言點
deserve 應受，值得
deserve to be punished
I think you're playing with fire. You deserve it!
Don't be depressed. You deserve someone better.
Now finding Kim's killer will be Scudder's penance.
But there are lethal secrets hiding in the slain hooker's past
that are far dirtier than her trade.
And there are many ways of dying
in this cruel and dangerous town
-- some quick and brutal ... and some agonizingly slow.
講解
語言點
far
The food is far better than I expect.
much / a little / a lot / even
It was a much easier job than that one.
far
It was far the best film that I have seen for a long time.
A Thoroughly Enjoyable Crime Novel(George Webster)
Lawrence Block is a writer's writer.
His style, words, and plots are top notch.
What do you get in this story?
You get a grim and gritty New York
- home to Matt Scudder, ex-cop and private investigator.
You get Scudder's desperate efforts
to overcome his addiction to alcohol.
And you get the story of Kim, a prostitute,
who pays Scudder to tell Chance, her pimp,
that she wants to leave the business.
講解
語言點
ex 之前的，前任的
ex-president 前總統
ex-wife 前妻
She is my ex.
would-be
would-be mother-in-law
Next, she is slashed to death.
The obvious suspect is Chance,
but Scudder becomes convinced that Chance didn't kill her,
and Chance pays Scudder to find the murderer.
As Scudder investigates, and more murders occur,
it becomes clear that Kim had unknowingly
become involved with a group of violent criminals.
講解
語言點
convinced 確信的，深信的
convince 使...人相信，信服
convince sb. of sth.
He convinced me of his innocence.
involve 包括
Housekeeping involves cooking, washing and cleaning.
become involved with 卷入，陷入
be involved in
The ex-president is involved in a scandal.
A nice feature of the story is that Block
gives you all of the clues to pretty-much solve the mystery.
Otherwise, you must wait until the final pages.
It is a great story.
Little wonder that Block has won so many awards
for his mystery writing.
講解
語言點
little wonder that 難怪... ...并不奇怪
no, small wonder that...
No wonder you were late!
Small wonder that he was so tired.
it's a wonder that...
mystery writing
mystery 謎，謎語
mystery writing
mystery novel / whodunit
love story
classical novel
detective story
light novel
historical novel
Eight million reasons to read! (Gary Jonas)
This is the book
that really set the standard for the Scudder series.
It's the fifth Scudder adventure
and it opens with Matt just out of the hospital
after a major drinking binge.
He is hired by a prostitute who wants out of the business,
so he tracks down her pimp, Chance.
No problem, Chance says.
She can get out,
but she could have saved herself some money
and skipped the middleman.
講解
Everything looks great,
but then the prostitute is murdered.
Scudder, of course, assumes that Chance is the killer,
so he calls in a tip to the police.
Next thing you know,
Chance is out and he's looking for Matt.
This book is the first
to really show Matt's struggle with alcohol.
He starts attending AA meetings,
but still doesn't see himself as an alcoholic.
講解
Normally, by the fifth book,
a series begins to run out of steam.
With Matt Scudder, though,
the series is just beginning to find its legs.
The mystery is fair play,
but if you figure out how it all ties together before Matt,
you're a more astute reader than I am.
All of the characters are well-drawn and fully realized.
Block is a true master and this is a masterpiece!
講解
語言點
find one's legs
find one's ice legs
I finally found my ice legs after days of practice.
sea legs
find one's sea legs
leg
pull one's leg
figure out 理解
I can't figure him out.
I can't figure out that...
I can't figure out how to tell the news to them.
figure out
How do you figure this out?
新星出版社
版次：2006年9月第1版
頁數：383