This book was entertaining, and here and there it was a real page-turner.

Unfortunately, Scudder works out his theories by having circular conversations with various people. I found those sections a little tedious. I will probably try another Scudder book, but at this point I much prefer Bernie the burglar. ( )

Scudder, Elaine, TJ, and "Even the Wicked" gets the usually "One of the Best" as I put it back on the shelf. But each new Scudder becomes "One of the Best" without ever diminishing the value of all that a came before. This is one of my personal favorites because of the growing relationship between Scudder and TJ. Good plot that moves right along without getting lost; characters who change and grow or dissolve before your eyes as they do in real life; and a nice tour of one of my favorite places--New York. Who could ask for anything more? The next one, please, while I go back perhaps and read one of the ones that came before. ( )

“Even The Wicked,” first published in 1997, is the thirteenth novel in the Scudder series and it has a bit of a different feel to it than some of the other Scudder books. This one is more polished and doesn’t feel

quite as gritty. Scudder, here, is not drinking his life away at bars and ginmills. And, he isn’t as focused on the AA meetings as he is in some of the earlier books. He has even left his hotel room and lives a life with some domestic bliss. In some ways, you wonder if this started as a non-Scudder novel and then found its way into the world of Scudder. Nevertheless, it is a terrific, compelling story and well worth reading.

A killer is out there and he is announcing his kills before they happen in the newspaper by a letter to a columnist. His targets are people who have gotten away with the unthinkable. A child killer who walked out of court instead of spending his life behind bars. An untouchable mafia don. A racist in a walled compound. No one can figure out how the killer does it, but he claims he is merely carrying out the will of the people. Scudder is called in to help protect the next victim. It feels much more like a locked-room who-done-it and how-did-he-do-it story than other Scudder stories and perhaps was more carefully orchestrated to appeal to a wider audience. ( )

I loved the main plotline in this story. The Will of the People was a fascinating character. When this storyline was finished I felt that everything made sense and I enjoyed the resolution. The other storylines flowing through the book were a little disappointing. The circumstances surrounding Byron Leopold's murder were fascinating, but the resolution of the case was ridiculous. The first case and the circumstances behind the second case made me round my 3.5 star rating to a 4 star. Plus, I just love this series anyway.
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