Two by Ed McBain

I’ve been going through, like, five books a week since The Boy was born, so I thought I could do some short book reviews. I’ll start with the last few I can remember and then comment on the ones I read or listen to as I finish them. (Audiobooks are a lifesaver when you’re nursing a couple of hours a night.)

I’ve read (actual paper copies) of two novels by Ed McBain last week: Killer’s Wedge (1959) and Lady Killer (1958), both part of the 87th precinct series. I listened to a few of the later 87th precinct novels two or three years ago, but I don’t remember them being so “tight.” Both Killer’s Wedge and Lady Killer are very similar in that the boys of the 87th are given a limited time to defuse a potentially fatal situation. In Killer’s Wedge, a woman walks into the squad room with a bottle of nitroglycerin, takes the detectives hostage and waits for Carella — her intended victim — to come back so she can kill him. We know that Carella is supposed to be back at the precinct at 7 p.m. In Lady Killer, a note is sent to the precinct announcing that “The Lady will die tonight at 8.” Both novels are therefore quite similar in that the action takes place within a single day, the murder is to be prevented rather than the mystery solved, and there is plenty of time to explore each of the detectives’ point of view.

I really enjoyed both novels and I’m looking forward to reading some of the later ones to see if the formula is indeed repeated and I just forgot…