The Frumious Bandersnatch (2004) - Plot & Excerpts
Tamar Valparaiso is on the verge of stardom. Both her new CD and video are set for release and her manager / recording company exec has rented a yacht for a launch party. As Tamar is performing a live version of her video, three masked and armed thugs kidnap her and escape on a boat. Initially, Steve Carella and Cotton Hawes of the 87th Precinct are assigned to the case. In spite of dozens of eyewitnesses, no one is able to identify the kidnappers. Since all three were wearing gloves, there were no fingerprints. Kidnappings are usually investigated by the FBI. At the insistance of Tamar's promoter, Carella and Hawes were to remain on the case. Tape of the kidnapping is replayed thousands of times on the television news. Within 48 hours, Tamar has gone from unknown to diva status. As the story unfolds, McBain makes no secret of his attitude toward television news, the music industry, bureaucrats, and the Patriot Act. As always, McBain has written a hard core detective novel while giving insight into the characters of individual investigators in the 87th Precinct.
I'm no connoisseur of the 87th Precinct novels, but I picked this one up at book sale recently, chugged it last night and have to say that it delivered the goods. I was up till about 1:30 AM finishing it, couldn't see the ending beforehand, and had to spend a while afterwards calming down before I could get to sleep. Yes, it's a procedural, so there's a lot of exposition, of both police work as well as the music business. And the recurrent characters are involved in their own affairs, which have little or nothing to do with the plot. But it's like the 55th novel in the series. That the author had anything left in him at all at that point is pretty amazing. This seems in fact more like Elmore Leonard's territory than McBain's. Solid and satisfying.
What do You think about The Frumious Bandersnatch (2004)?
Disappointing. Tamar Valparaiso is the next hot pop sensation, and is kidnapped from a yacht chartered for a kick-off party for her newest album. Steve Carella catches the squeal, and is asked to stay involved by the promoter following a turf war with the FBI. Things go badly wrong, with the FBI's approach but solid police work uncovers the criminal conspiracy. In a pointless side-story, McBain is still trying to make Fat Ollie Weeks more palatable via his relationship with a policewoman. This one felt like an hour long TV episode, and we see less and less of the 87th Precinct detectives.
—Skip
No one writes police procedurals as well as Ed McBain! His characters are well drawn, detailed and people you can relate to, and his story lines are masterful. In this story -- the 53rd in the series -- McBain takes a serious note on the kidnapping of a rock star and the twists and turns the 87th precinct takes to chase down the criminals, including dealing with FBI agents and other police on a joint task force. The twists and turns keep the suspense up to the very end. Its a story you won't want to miss!
—Pamela Mclaren
This book was a terrible piece of schlock, made more terrible by the halting, overdramatic reading of the story for the audiobook. No reading, however, could have saved it. Many sections of the book contained conversations that were ludicrous, repetative, and completely unrealistic. The plot was full of itself and utterly predictable. The only things that made me actually give this book two stars were the sometimes cunning (usually not) use of the Jabberwocky and the actual police procedural sections of the novel (which, though interesting, were a small portion). I only made it to the end of this book because I was listening in the car.
—Kirstin DeGeer
