Two Envelopes And A Phone’s Reviews > Let's Hear It For The Deaf Man > Status Update

A fun re-read. Fuzz is my favourite Deaf Man appearance, followed by this, and then Mischief. Fuzz got filmed with Yul Brynner as the Deaf Man, so his mention in this book is an in-joke. A subplot in Fuzz - film and book - is reported to have led to a real-life case of two horrible young men setting a woman on fire, and years later cops here in Toronto read Lightning which may have inspired a killer’s methods.

I forgot this was the book that introduced Augusta Blair - but dammit, I'm remembering some of the tricks of the cat burglar subplot, and would have preferred to have been surprised over clues and culprit. And of course the Deaf Man's real plan is not something I forgot. It's okay, though; this would have been one of the first in the series I ever read, early 1980s, along with Eighty Million Eyes, and Lady Killer.

For the rest of the month, my ‘Stuck in the Seventies’ reading project will instead be ‘Stuck in theSeventies Half the Time’. Other notes: this is a re-read for me. I wanted to re-read Calypso, or Sadie When She Died, or Long Time No See, from this series - but a check of what’s in storage and what’s gone has nixed those ideas. This one should be fun, though. Forget who the cat burglar is, or the crucifier…

This will be a re-read. It is one of the earliest in the 87th Precinct series that I recall reading. It is the third novel that featured the recurring villain of the series. This book made quite an impression on me - I was not expecting a character like the Deaf Man - but I think Fuzz is my favourite Deaf Man novel. Anyway, it will feel strange reading this again after so long; I will feel 12 at times!