Matt Scudder is an ex-cop, ex-alcoholic who does favours for friends - he is not a private detective, you need a licence for that kind of thing. But doing favours for the kinds of friends Matt has - a smattering of high- and low-class call girls, bent coppers, and gay bar owners - means digging into the murky underworld of New York City is inevitable. The fourth, fifth and sixth Scudder stories are gritty, urban nightmares featuring a man with a sound heart and a weary smile, trying his best to keep off the booze and right injustice when he when he finds it.