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87th Precinct #54
Hark!
I'm a Fathead, Men!
I Am the Deaf Man!
Unscrambling the cryptic messages -- anagrams, Detective Carella called them -- delivered to the 87th Precinct confirmed that the master criminal who has eluded them time and again is not only alive and well, but may or may not be behind a deadly revenge shooting. For that matter, the Deaf Man may or may not be deaf. But he's getting through loud and clear with clues drawn from Shakespeare's works -- taunting hints and maddening riddles pointing to his next plan of attack. It doesn't take a literary scholar to know there's no room for misinterpretation. For when the Deaf Man talks, everybody listens...or somebody gets hurt.
I Am the Deaf Man!
Unscrambling the cryptic messages -- anagrams, Detective Carella called them -- delivered to the 87th Precinct confirmed that the master criminal who has eluded them time and again is not only alive and well, but may or may not be behind a deadly revenge shooting. For that matter, the Deaf Man may or may not be deaf. But he's getting through loud and clear with clues drawn from Shakespeare's works -- taunting hints and maddening riddles pointing to his next plan of attack. It doesn't take a literary scholar to know there's no room for misinterpretation. For when the Deaf Man talks, everybody listens...or somebody gets hurt.
397 pages, Paperback
First published July 27, 2004
101 people are currently reading
446 people want to read
About the author
Ed McBain
710 books668 followers"Ed McBain" is one of the pen names of American author and screenwriter Salvatore Albert Lombino (1926-2005), who legally adopted the name
Evan Hunter
in 1952.
While successful and well known as Evan Hunter, he was even better known as Ed McBain, a name he used for most of his crime fiction, beginning in 1956.
He also used the pen names John Abbott, Curt Cannon, Hunt Collins, Ezra Hannon, Dean Hudson, Evan Hunter, and Richard Marsten.
While successful and well known as Evan Hunter, he was even better known as Ed McBain, a name he used for most of his crime fiction, beginning in 1956.
He also used the pen names John Abbott, Curt Cannon, Hunt Collins, Ezra Hannon, Dean Hudson, Evan Hunter, and Richard Marsten.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 103 reviews
June 6, 2016
The penultimate book in this long-running series is something of a disappointment. A clever career criminal named the Deaf Man, who has been bedeviling the detectives of the 87th Precinct for a very long time, returns to taunt them again.
After killing a woman who had previously betrayed him, the Deaf Man begins sending a large number of cryptic messages to Detective Steve Carella who has been his principal nemesis through the years. The messages are mostly quotations from the plays of William Shakespeare and some of them are coded in a variety of ways. The detectives correctly interpret the first of the messages as a confession of the murder that the Deaf Man has committed, but the rest of them are beyond confusing.
Carella and the other detectives assume that the Deaf Man is taunting them with the plans of an upcoming crime, and in the past, he's planned and executed some huge plots. But will the detectives be able to decipher the clues in time to disrupt their adversary's plans?
It's an interesting plot, at least initially. But it runs on and on and on as the deaf Man sends message after message after message, and by the time the reader is halfway through the book (well, this reader at least), you're screaming for McBain to get the hell on with things. Then, by the time the great caper is revealed it's more than a little anticlimactic and you're thinking, "Wow, I came all the way through this book just for this?"
The more interesting parts of the book involve stories of the personal lives of the characters that have been running on for the last few books in the series. Fat Ollie Weeks is still looking for his stolen novel; Steve Carella is still depressed about the upcoming double wedding of his mother and his sister, especially now that he's paying for it, and a couple of the other detectives are experiencing problems in their relationships. These diversions are fun and often very amusing, but the rest of the book really doesn't measure up to the high standards that McBain had established earlier. It's as though he came up with a clever idea and then got too carried away with it. This isn't a bad book, but it's certainly not one of his best.
After killing a woman who had previously betrayed him, the Deaf Man begins sending a large number of cryptic messages to Detective Steve Carella who has been his principal nemesis through the years. The messages are mostly quotations from the plays of William Shakespeare and some of them are coded in a variety of ways. The detectives correctly interpret the first of the messages as a confession of the murder that the Deaf Man has committed, but the rest of them are beyond confusing.
Carella and the other detectives assume that the Deaf Man is taunting them with the plans of an upcoming crime, and in the past, he's planned and executed some huge plots. But will the detectives be able to decipher the clues in time to disrupt their adversary's plans?
It's an interesting plot, at least initially. But it runs on and on and on as the deaf Man sends message after message after message, and by the time the reader is halfway through the book (well, this reader at least), you're screaming for McBain to get the hell on with things. Then, by the time the great caper is revealed it's more than a little anticlimactic and you're thinking, "Wow, I came all the way through this book just for this?"
The more interesting parts of the book involve stories of the personal lives of the characters that have been running on for the last few books in the series. Fat Ollie Weeks is still looking for his stolen novel; Steve Carella is still depressed about the upcoming double wedding of his mother and his sister, especially now that he's paying for it, and a couple of the other detectives are experiencing problems in their relationships. These diversions are fun and often very amusing, but the rest of the book really doesn't measure up to the high standards that McBain had established earlier. It's as though he came up with a clever idea and then got too carried away with it. This isn't a bad book, but it's certainly not one of his best.
June 21, 2017
I recently reviewed Cop Hater the first of the 87th Precinct novels. Hark! is the author’s penultimate effort. I was interested in how it would compare to his early work.
Why is this something that would appeal to me? Let me quote from a review of Cop Hater by my GR friend Bobby Underwood. “Gritty, lean, and at times surprisingly romantic, the first entry in the 87th Precinct series remains one of the best…It seems old-hat today, tagging along with Carella, Kling, Meyer Meyer, Hawes and the rest of the 87th Precinct cops as they tried to solve multiple crimes so they could make it home to their sweethearts or go find one, but when Cop Hater was written, it stood alone as something unique. Despite it being imitated over the decades in various ways by a lot of authors, some of them very good in their own right, it still does. Reading it now, it needs to be judged within that context, and when it is, it shines.”
There is a lot in Hark! of what I liked in Cop Hater: the multiple storylines; the dynamics of the 87th personalities; the mixture of the urgent and mundane. Yet, this effort comes up a bit short. Except for a few references to contemporary celebrities and events, it still has a 1950s vibe even though it was written in the 21st century.
The central plot involves a familiar criminal, The Deaf Man, and he is again intent on making life miserable for the precinct’s detectives while showing what a brilliant mind he possesses. McBain has put a lot of work into this aspect of the plot, but it didn’t connect with me the way some of his other books did. Some of the other subplots worked well. Ollie Weeks shows up for a nice turn. Cotton Hawes has a lot to think about as he dodges a sniper’s bullets. But, Carella’s thoughts about the impending second marriages of his mother and sister are awkward at best and poorly developed at worst.
Am I a grumpy old man? Or just an old dog, now less amused by another old dog’s usual bag of tricks?
Why is this something that would appeal to me? Let me quote from a review of Cop Hater by my GR friend Bobby Underwood. “Gritty, lean, and at times surprisingly romantic, the first entry in the 87th Precinct series remains one of the best…It seems old-hat today, tagging along with Carella, Kling, Meyer Meyer, Hawes and the rest of the 87th Precinct cops as they tried to solve multiple crimes so they could make it home to their sweethearts or go find one, but when Cop Hater was written, it stood alone as something unique. Despite it being imitated over the decades in various ways by a lot of authors, some of them very good in their own right, it still does. Reading it now, it needs to be judged within that context, and when it is, it shines.”
There is a lot in Hark! of what I liked in Cop Hater: the multiple storylines; the dynamics of the 87th personalities; the mixture of the urgent and mundane. Yet, this effort comes up a bit short. Except for a few references to contemporary celebrities and events, it still has a 1950s vibe even though it was written in the 21st century.
The central plot involves a familiar criminal, The Deaf Man, and he is again intent on making life miserable for the precinct’s detectives while showing what a brilliant mind he possesses. McBain has put a lot of work into this aspect of the plot, but it didn’t connect with me the way some of his other books did. Some of the other subplots worked well. Ollie Weeks shows up for a nice turn. Cotton Hawes has a lot to think about as he dodges a sniper’s bullets. But, Carella’s thoughts about the impending second marriages of his mother and sister are awkward at best and poorly developed at worst.
Am I a grumpy old man? Or just an old dog, now less amused by another old dog’s usual bag of tricks?
May 11, 2013
Reading this is a nostalgic return to a time when picking up one of McBain’s detective stories about the 87th Precinct squad was a sure escape for a few hours to a diverting crime drama with soap opera overtones. Not far from the pleasant immersion of watching a show from the old TV series “Hill Street Blues”. The books were even more of an escape as they were not set in a real city, but instead in the fictional Isola, which only resembled New York City.
Here a ruthless nemesis from the past known as The Deaf Man is tormenting the squad with a murder or two and a flurry of cryptic notes with anagrams, palindromes, and Shakespearean quotes with hints about an impending crime. Such a plot element is a bit tedious and lame, but serves as a scheme to evoke a flurry of divergent responses of the squad. As usual, no one member of the squad ever solves a crime by themselves. It’s always a group-think, accomplished through a crackling ongoing dialog and by percolating into the struggles of their colorful personal lives. Some, like Steve Carella, have some smarts and cultural sensitivities. Others are profoundly stupid, racist, or sexist. But it’s like a family you are stuck with, to which all members have a loyalty to and are motivated to serve.
This is number 54 of the 55 in this series spread between 1956 and 2005, the year McBain died. The only accommodation to cultural evolution is the use of cell phones and the Internet, cruder language, and more acceptance in interracial relationships. For those who are curious enough to sample the series, I would recommend one from the middle of the run, such as “Heat” (1981) or “Ice” (1983).
Here a ruthless nemesis from the past known as The Deaf Man is tormenting the squad with a murder or two and a flurry of cryptic notes with anagrams, palindromes, and Shakespearean quotes with hints about an impending crime. Such a plot element is a bit tedious and lame, but serves as a scheme to evoke a flurry of divergent responses of the squad. As usual, no one member of the squad ever solves a crime by themselves. It’s always a group-think, accomplished through a crackling ongoing dialog and by percolating into the struggles of their colorful personal lives. Some, like Steve Carella, have some smarts and cultural sensitivities. Others are profoundly stupid, racist, or sexist. But it’s like a family you are stuck with, to which all members have a loyalty to and are motivated to serve.
This is number 54 of the 55 in this series spread between 1956 and 2005, the year McBain died. The only accommodation to cultural evolution is the use of cell phones and the Internet, cruder language, and more acceptance in interracial relationships. For those who are curious enough to sample the series, I would recommend one from the middle of the run, such as “Heat” (1981) or “Ice” (1983).
March 11, 2015
The Deaf Man is back from his near death experience in his last escapade. First, vengeance shall be his on the person who almost killed him, and then he is back to playing games with the 87th Precinct detectives as he is sending them clues to his next theft. I did not like that the other plot lines were not crimes, but personal stories: the marriages of Carella's mother and sister, Bert Kling's pathetic love life and Elaine starting a new relationship. Hard to believe there is only one book left in this series and the name of that book suggests it might be a sequel to this one.
July 22, 2016
If found the premise of The Deaf Man--who torments the 87th with clues to a crime he did commit or was planning to commit, the cat & mouse game so popular in crime fiction--tedious, as I did the countless notes he had delivered to the 87th. I was all ready to give this a mere three stars. And then i got to the end--not the end of the mystery, but to the end of the weddings drama. And in one paragraph it went a four star read. McBain is just so good!
September 11, 2008
Bad. McBain expects his readers to be idiots, and writes most of his characters as morons. It's the first thing I've read by him, and it isn't even cheap comic book quality. It's headed to Goodwill.
February 2, 2011
I couldn't find the first in the 87th Precinct series, Cop Hater, first published in 1956. So I tried Hark! instead, the 56th book in the series published in 2004. I kept checking the copyright date, because despite contemporary references, this book felt like it was still stuck in the 1950s or earlier, like McBain had lost his ear for contemporary speech. One character even refers to herself as a "girl reporter" and the sole female detective in the precinct is treated like an exotic species. Also, omniscient depends on a strong and engaging authorial voice, but what I felt was more authorial intrusion as the author offered up such dum de dum dum phrases--repeatedly--as "Little did they know." Moreover, the plot just struck me as too comic book villain--a "master criminal" who obligingly sends clues to the precinct in anagram form.
Given the zip code, the fictional city of Isola where this book is set should be in Georgia, but the description sounds definitely Northern big city, very reminiscent of New York City, in fact, where McBain was born and raised. So reminiscent, I really don't get the point of creating this alternate city.
I got bogged down halfway through, realized I found this a chore and stopped. So I won't be looking for more books in the series.
Given the zip code, the fictional city of Isola where this book is set should be in Georgia, but the description sounds definitely Northern big city, very reminiscent of New York City, in fact, where McBain was born and raised. So reminiscent, I really don't get the point of creating this alternate city.
I got bogged down halfway through, realized I found this a chore and stopped. So I won't be looking for more books in the series.
May 21, 2019
#54 in the 87th Precinct series, the penultimate book, and #70 McBain book for me, my Most Read Author. Not my favourite, I wish he would kill off the Deaf Man character. This book was longer than normal and had too many sub-plots.
August 23, 2019
Nostalgic, after reading so many McBains. I’ll miss the characters, mostly. I just have a few more to read. I’ll say it again. An author can do things in a long series of books that can’t be done any other way.
August 6, 2019
After reading several reviews of Hark here on Goodreads, I was a little worried that I might not enjoy it as much as I typically expect when reading an 87th Precinct book. One of the impressions I gleaned from the reviews was that there were too many notes to the detectives (Steven Carella, mostly) from their nemesis, known only as "the Deaf Man." These notes, historically, have been the Deaf Man's device to taunt, mislead, and perhaps, give the poor slobs of the eight-seven a chance to stop whatever crime he's plotting. But mostly, it's a fun game for McBain, I'm guessing, to see how creative he can be in devising esoteric linguistic and numeric clues that can ultimately (by the end of the book) lead one to see just what he planned to steal or whom he planned to kill.
It is true that this story contains a surfeit of these "notes," and perhaps they do seem excessive to the plot. But if you're a die-hard fan of the series, it's acceptable. The device used by McBain might wear thin, but taken at face value, it's pretty clever.
Better still, were all the side stories contained, as they often are, within the body of the main crime-to-be. Various detectives in the precinct experiencing their personal lives, some with greater success than others, made for a fun read. Carella is giving away both is mother and sister in a dual wedding which he's insisted on paying for (though it's going to put him in the poorhouse).
Two detectives find love in each other's arms after their respective former lovers threw them aside for each other-- fun huh? And let's be sure to give a hand for the appearance of "fat Ollie" Weeks, a detective from another precinct that plays a role in the books from time to time. More and more, this bigoted, overweight cop, who happens to be a fine detective, has revealed his humanity and a very grudging sliver of introspection. And he's in love with a beat patrolwoman of Hispanic descent. Goes right along with another inter-racial romance that's also heavily featured in the story.
All in all, this is a decent episode from the series. Not McBain's best work, but if you like the series and have read plenty of the installations, then I'd recommend this as well. 3.5 stars, rounded up 'cause I'm biased in favor of the series and author.
It is true that this story contains a surfeit of these "notes," and perhaps they do seem excessive to the plot. But if you're a die-hard fan of the series, it's acceptable. The device used by McBain might wear thin, but taken at face value, it's pretty clever.
Better still, were all the side stories contained, as they often are, within the body of the main crime-to-be. Various detectives in the precinct experiencing their personal lives, some with greater success than others, made for a fun read. Carella is giving away both is mother and sister in a dual wedding which he's insisted on paying for (though it's going to put him in the poorhouse).
Two detectives find love in each other's arms after their respective former lovers threw them aside for each other-- fun huh? And let's be sure to give a hand for the appearance of "fat Ollie" Weeks, a detective from another precinct that plays a role in the books from time to time. More and more, this bigoted, overweight cop, who happens to be a fine detective, has revealed his humanity and a very grudging sliver of introspection. And he's in love with a beat patrolwoman of Hispanic descent. Goes right along with another inter-racial romance that's also heavily featured in the story.
All in all, this is a decent episode from the series. Not McBain's best work, but if you like the series and have read plenty of the installations, then I'd recommend this as well. 3.5 stars, rounded up 'cause I'm biased in favor of the series and author.
July 10, 2020
We return again to the 87th Precinct, and a series within a series. We see the return of a career criminal who uses the sobriquet "The Deaf Man", and appears to really be hard of hearing.
There have been several books revolving around the antics of this persona, including my most recently reviewed book in the series, Mischief. This character has appeared in multiple who has been bedeviling the detectives of the 87th Precinct for a very long time, over 40 (since 1960 real time), and in Hark the deaf man returns to provoke them again, using cryptic messages with quotes from Shakespeare.
He sends the messages to his principal nemesis, the one who almost caught him, Detective Steve Carella of the 87th Precinct. Based on their history with the character, Carella and the crew can safely plan on the crime being based on the notes, but they have to use their collective brains to put the devious twists together and use the published city events in their fictional town of Isola (and is it based on Chicago or New York?)
It was an interesting plot device, but by the end of the book, I was ready to quit reading, as I was so tired of the appearance of the notes and the long discussions among members of the precinct on what the possible meaning could be, along with digging through the previous messages to get a clear picture of what the Deaf Man could be planning. I was close to just skimming through the book to get to the end, because at least to me it was obvious what the target was. The detectives however, as the book said, were acting like a cast of Keystone Kops, unable to put some very obvious clues together.
I did enjoy the inclusion of the dual weddings where Carella was giving away both brides, to men he really didn't like. You get to see more personal discussion at a level that didn't sound like clips from 1940s movies. You also see a bit more of the problems faced by those who are different, whether that be from skin color, origins, or physical limitations. That bringing forward social issues has always been something I have enjoyed about McBain's books - he rips off the bandaid and talks plainly, if in old fashioned language, about problems that could be resolved if people trusted and shared and listened.
There have been several books revolving around the antics of this persona, including my most recently reviewed book in the series, Mischief. This character has appeared in multiple who has been bedeviling the detectives of the 87th Precinct for a very long time, over 40 (since 1960 real time), and in Hark the deaf man returns to provoke them again, using cryptic messages with quotes from Shakespeare.
He sends the messages to his principal nemesis, the one who almost caught him, Detective Steve Carella of the 87th Precinct. Based on their history with the character, Carella and the crew can safely plan on the crime being based on the notes, but they have to use their collective brains to put the devious twists together and use the published city events in their fictional town of Isola (and is it based on Chicago or New York?)
It was an interesting plot device, but by the end of the book, I was ready to quit reading, as I was so tired of the appearance of the notes and the long discussions among members of the precinct on what the possible meaning could be, along with digging through the previous messages to get a clear picture of what the Deaf Man could be planning. I was close to just skimming through the book to get to the end, because at least to me it was obvious what the target was. The detectives however, as the book said, were acting like a cast of Keystone Kops, unable to put some very obvious clues together.
I did enjoy the inclusion of the dual weddings where Carella was giving away both brides, to men he really didn't like. You get to see more personal discussion at a level that didn't sound like clips from 1940s movies. You also see a bit more of the problems faced by those who are different, whether that be from skin color, origins, or physical limitations. That bringing forward social issues has always been something I have enjoyed about McBain's books - he rips off the bandaid and talks plainly, if in old fashioned language, about problems that could be resolved if people trusted and shared and listened.
July 18, 2013
For the 54th book in the Ed McBain 87th Precinct series, the Deaf Man is back! With his anagrams and palindromes, he keeps the precinct on its toes trying to decipher just what crime(s) he's going to inflict on the city next. It's a race against the clock to figure out his target. It was a fun book to read - trying to figure out the clues along with the detectives, even though as the reader, I had a few more clues than they did. So many of the characters we've gotten to know over the course of the series are in this book, including Steve's family, Detective Ollie Weeks from the 8-8 and various significant others. I enjoyed this book quite a lot. I read some negative reviews of this book - this is definitely not the book to start the series with - so many references to past stories and relationships; I don't think I would have liked this book nearly so much if I didn't already "know" these characters so well. Because I do, and the story was good, it was a bit hit with me!
September 3, 2007
HARK! (Police Procedural-Fictional City-Cont) – G
McBain, Ed – 54th in series
Simon & Schuster, 2004- Hardcover
The members of the 87th precinct are receiving notes, lots of notes. Some are quotes from Shakespeare, some are anagrams, some are palindromes, and all are from the Deaf Man once again challenging the 87th to figure out what he's going to do and when.
*** This is not the book with which to start the series, as there are too many references to previous books. It's also not the best of the series as, while the clues were fun, they became tiring and I wanted to story to move along. There is an excellent secondary character to the Deaf Man, which was fun. If you're a fan of the series and have a plane to catch, take this along. Otherwise, I'd go back and start much earlier in the series.
McBain, Ed – 54th in series
Simon & Schuster, 2004- Hardcover
The members of the 87th precinct are receiving notes, lots of notes. Some are quotes from Shakespeare, some are anagrams, some are palindromes, and all are from the Deaf Man once again challenging the 87th to figure out what he's going to do and when.
*** This is not the book with which to start the series, as there are too many references to previous books. It's also not the best of the series as, while the clues were fun, they became tiring and I wanted to story to move along. There is an excellent secondary character to the Deaf Man, which was fun. If you're a fan of the series and have a plane to catch, take this along. Otherwise, I'd go back and start much earlier in the series.
June 25, 2012
Ugh... Maybe I needed to read the other 87th Precinct books in order to truly appreciate this one. I did feel as if I was dropped right in the middle of a story. But even if I were to grant that, this book may be one of the worse that I read this year. There was minimal character development that left me caring very little what happened to anyone in the book and just reading to be done. The Shakespearean references seemed superfluous and I was honestly put off by a book that spent inordinate amounts of time on anagrams and word games. All that without catching either of the criminals at the end. I will not be following up (at least willingly) with any other Ed McBain books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 19, 2014
Don't understand why this is such a popular series. In this book, albeit #54 in the series, the cops are a bunch of incompetent idiots who get sent notes by the bad guy and still don't know what's going on. They finally figure it out, after two murders, and AFTER the crime has taken place, how stupid can a group of cops be? On top of that, the bad guy and his accomplice, a hooker, get away, the hooker with the spoils. I don't get it!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 6, 2025
This is a somewhat interesting cat-and-mouse story pitting the usual cast of characters from the 87th Precinct against their nemesis, the Deaf Man. I don't find Ed McBain's writing to be all that good, but by the same token, I've read worst novels than this. If you're a fan of the series, you'll get around to reading this one sooner or later. If you're not, there's really nothing here to commend to you for becoming a fan.
That is all.
That is all.
August 4, 2012
Abbastanza scorrevole e gradevole. Devo dire però che la suspence non mi ha preso più di tanto. Sono diverse le cose incongruenti, soprattutto quella di un uomo intelligente, colto e sufficientemente furbo da mettere sotto scacco un intero distretto di polizia, che arriva a fidarsi in modo assolutamente imprudente di una giovane prostituta. Mah!
February 5, 2015
I was disappointed in this book. There are too many characters and I did not care about any of them. I haven't read other books by this author, but I don't think that the book required any back story to enjoy. I love Shakespeare but the plot was uninspiring and pretty dull. I contemplated not finishing it because I wasn't even that curious about the ending.
March 30, 2018
Another fun police procedural from McBsin, nicely narrated. The usual never aging cast of characters appears, including the unkillable Deaf Man. This story, which revolves around puzzles and challenged relationships, is set in the George W Bush era.
November 13, 2020
I hadn't read his previous books so it was a bit hard to follow characters that carried over. I can see he had an influence on television.
June 15, 2012
Love the 87th Precinct. It was fun trying to figure out the anagrams and other clues (some from Shakespeare) that had Carella and et al scrambling to solve a murder and possibly prevent another.
April 26, 2014
This McBain's tribute to William Shakespeare as the men and women of the 13th Precinct match wits against the Deaf Man. Nice to read during the anniversary of Shakespeare's birthday.
June 28, 2014
Don't know how I missed this 87th Precinct mystery featuring The Deaf Man, but I glad I ran across it.
July 26, 2014
Another solid entry in the 87th Precinct series.
August 3, 2025
The Deaf Man surfaces again. He is sending notes to Carella at the 87th. First, they seem to be anagrams, then Shakespearean quotes and then palindromes. These have the whole squad scratching their heads. What is he up to? At first, this is all tedious and not so interesting, yet as the tale goes on and the subplots about relationships start to unfold, the interest picks up. The series is nearing the end, and I'll miss it when it comes. Although the social messaging has become more prevalent, this time it is the relationships between Black and White, family dynamics and relationships between cops and media stars, relationships within the precinct. Oh! And we have Fat Ollie Weeks and his girlfriend who tries a diet. I wonder where the final book goes? 3stars for this one.
February 10, 2019
Ding, ding! Round six with The Deaf Man! This one picks up the story, satisfyingly, right after his last grappling with the 87th Precinct, in the book "Mischief"! The books are eleven years apart in the real word (1993 to 2004) and there were eight 87th Precinct Mysteries in between. And still, the fireworks between them...
We get a little revenge, lots of Shakespeare and palindromes, a double wedding, and two relationships on the rocks. Oh, and the Deaf Man’s latest scheme! Toward the end, he leaves a message for the 87th:
“I’LL BE SEEING YOU, BOYS!”
Sadly, with the passing of the author, no, no he won’t. Sniff, sniff. :(
I'm really gonna miss this rivalry...
We get a little revenge, lots of Shakespeare and palindromes, a double wedding, and two relationships on the rocks. Oh, and the Deaf Man’s latest scheme! Toward the end, he leaves a message for the 87th:
“I’LL BE SEEING YOU, BOYS!”
Sadly, with the passing of the author, no, no he won’t. Sniff, sniff. :(
I'm really gonna miss this rivalry...
March 8, 2020
Not McBain’s best, but still a captivating read that grabbed and held my interest (as plots with the Deaf Man always do). Plus - SHAKESPEARE puzzles and references galore! Saddens me to know this was his final 87th Precinct novel, but much nicer to end with our cast in place and still fighting the good fight instead of, say, what the last Travis McGee novel gave us before John D. McDonald’s passing.
August 7, 2023
Another 87th precinct novel. The "Deaf Man" is back and he's planned a whopper of a crime. Will he steal the Shakespeare folio, kill the Greek violinist? His clues are all over the chart and have the boys at the 8-7 scrambling to figure it out.
Carella's mother and sister have found new beau's and Carella is having to foot the bill for a double wedding. Kling and Sharyn have a tiff, Willis and Eileen do the horizontal bop, and Fat Ollie Weeks starts a diet.
Carella's mother and sister have found new beau's and Carella is having to foot the bill for a double wedding. Kling and Sharyn have a tiff, Willis and Eileen do the horizontal bop, and Fat Ollie Weeks starts a diet.
August 24, 2013
Proof that a detective story with an archcriminal who gives anagrams and other literary clues to his next intended crime did not have to be written in England in the 1920s or 1930s. Despite the use of this hoary plot device, the novel does entertain through the author's skillful use of humor to create and define his characters and his ability to juggle multiple subplots.
January 19, 2018
Enjoyed. Love the characters. Fat Ollie redeemed! Bit of an anti-climax and McBain is getting more and more pornographic in my estimation. But great humour. On to the last one now, then back to a classic, methinks.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 103 reviews