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249th out of 490 books
—
185 voters
Nocturne (87th Precinct #48)
by
Ed McBain
"Just in case anybody thought the 47 earlier novels in the 87th precinct were a fluke, McBain's gone and revitalized the routine with "Nocturne"". -- The New York Times Book ReviewIn Isola, the hours between midnight and dawn are usually a quiet time. But for 87th Precinct detectives Carella and Hawes, the murder of an old woman makes the wee hours anything but peaceful --...more
Mass Market Paperback, 352 pages
Published
April 1st 1998
by Warner Books
(first published January 1st 1997)
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A fantastic book! A true police procedural, in that it focuses on the procedure of solving a crime.
There is no hero with a drinking problem, or a past best forgotten, or atoning for past sins.
This is not a buddy-cop drama.
There is no overdrawn chase scene.
There is no unlikely love interest.
The dialogue is dialogue and not verbal winks and nods leaving the reader having to guess what the characters intended to say.
"Nocturne" avoids all these pitfalls so common to hard-boiled detective novels...more
There is no hero with a drinking problem, or a past best forgotten, or atoning for past sins.
This is not a buddy-cop drama.
There is no overdrawn chase scene.
There is no unlikely love interest.
The dialogue is dialogue and not verbal winks and nods leaving the reader having to guess what the characters intended to say.
"Nocturne" avoids all these pitfalls so common to hard-boiled detective novels...more
Coming on the heels of "Mischief" and "Romance," this was the 48th entry in McBain's 87th Precinct series and so far is one of my favorites. The action centers on the shooting murder of a woman in her mid-80s who had once been a celebrated concert pianist. This marvelous procedural then expands outward to encompass characters and subplots of the sort that any McBain fan would have come to expect. The final twist might be a bit contrived, but I was willing to accept it as part of the ride. Partic...more
I think this was the case of an average book in a below-average series. The story was meant to be shocking but it was more just violent and mean-spirited with lots of people who I did not care about running around like crazy until the case was solved. There were actually two cases but they were related only by the cops who were investigating them. In the end you felt sorry for the killer in one and the others were too drunk to know what they were doing until it was too late. All-in-all a grim a...more
I wanted to like this more than I did. Its redeeming feature was the snarky editorializing done by almost all the characters. However, the story did not hang together well enough, and I am always disappointed when I guess who done it before the end...that's a sign of a not-too-smart mystery. And there was a whole 'nother murder in the middle of the first story, which never did connect up....and the suspense involved in a good whodunit just never materialized. If this was really a novel about the...more
I like the 87th Precinct series of books by the late Ed McBain. Now that he is gone, I have decided to try to find copies of all his books at sales.
This was as entertaining as any of the other books. I like the character Detective Carella, with his deaf and beautiful wife, and wish there had been more about him in this particular book. The victims and suspects were interesting, and there wasn't a lot of effort involved in solving the two cases.
This was as entertaining as any of the other books. I like the character Detective Carella, with his deaf and beautiful wife, and wish there had been more about him in this particular book. The victims and suspects were interesting, and there wasn't a lot of effort involved in solving the two cases.
It was alright. First thing I've read by McBain in this series. Pretty simple, straight forward, crime solving novel. The characters all perform their roles and no one has any backstory or baggage attached. The cops are straight out of a Law & Order episode.
The audio version I listened to is notable for its rather bizarre soundtrack. It's rather like a small child ran amok in HMV, grabbing CDs at random, although I will admit there is no Prince or Def Leppard.
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I guess I'm done with the 87th precinct: the characters, the procedure, the "fictitious" city, even the style has an atmosphere of "been there, what else is new". He does so much better in his Matt Hope series.
And the mystery in this one is a bit transparent, you just know who and why too soon.
The series gave birth to Hill Street Blues, and Law and Order, it used to give me so much pleasure, well, what do you know…
And the mystery in this one is a bit transparent, you just know who and why too soon.
The series gave birth to Hill Street Blues, and Law and Order, it used to give me so much pleasure, well, what do you know…
"Just in case anybody thought the 47 earlier novels in the 87th precinct were a fluke, McBain's gone and revitalized the routine with "Nocturne"". -- The New York Times Book ReviewIn Isola, the hours between midnight and dawn are usually a quiet time. But for 87th Precinct detectives Carella and Hawes, the murder of an old woman makes the wee hours anything but peaceful -- especially when they learn she was one of the greatest concert pianists of the century long vanished. Meanwhile 88th Precinc...more
I would have given this book 5 stars but I did not like the ending. The rest the book was fantantisic. A very good old time detective book.
A Good Police Procedural. will probably read more
Receptive use of words, boring, don't bother with this one.
Fiction
"Nocturne" tells the stories of two murder investigations during the "morning" shift (midnight-8am). Fat Ollie Weeks's case, the dead protitute, we know what happened, but watch as he puts it all together. We don't know what happened in the murder of an elderly former concert pianist; it unfolds to us as Detectives Carella and Hawes work the case. Very interesting in the contrast of the cases; I really enjoyed it.
This one was great!
In the normally peaceful early morning hours, an old woman is murdered. Carella and Hawes learn that she was a famous concert pianist before she disappeared years ago. Fat Olie deals with three young men and a drug dealer while investigating the slaughter of a hooker.
Fun, mindless read, good for while you wait under duress and don't want to think too hard.
Apr 23, 2013
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Ed McBain is a pseudonym of Evan Hunter, who was born and raised as Salvatore Lombino in New York City, living in East Harlem until the age of 12, at which point his family moved to the Bronx. He attended Olinville Junior High School, then Evander Childs High School, before winning an Art Students League scholarship. Later, he was admitted as an art student at Cooper Union.
Hunter served in the Nav...more
More about Ed McBain...
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