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).
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!
What do You think about Hark! (2005)?
A novel of the 87th Precinct (coincidentally, the one that appears to directly precede Fiddlers, which I read last year). An old enemy of the detectives’, The Deaf Man, returns, sending them cryptic anagrams and Shakespearean quotes that serve as tantalizing clues that almost, but not quite, direct them to his next caper. Subplots include Fat Ollie’s burgeoning romance, another romance between two detectives, the possible end of a romance between Kling and his black doctor girlfriend, and Carella’s agonizing over his mother’s wedding.I enjoy McBain’s dry, rapid dialogue and his all-too-human portrayals of the characters. However, as with the previous book, I found the detectives to be just a bit too dense. (They don’t know what an anagram is, or a palindrome; they confuse Nostradamus with Notre Dame, etc.) I realize this is primarily for comedic effect, but it doesn’t endear the detective characters to me.
—Ensiform
This is the penultimate title in the 87th Precinct series and the final appearance of the Deaf Man, the bent, smooth, brilliant and vicious criminal who has bedeviled the detectives through many tales. He's never exactly been my favorite character but I have to give high marks to this convoluted mystery. The Deaf Man bombards the boys of the 87th with cryptic clues as to his nefarious plans. They involve diabolical anagrams and maddening Shakespearean references. One might get the feeling that McBain, perhaps all too aware of the impending end of his life, was trying to be as clever and confounding as possible. He sure kept me guessing.
—Tony Gleeson
