Listen to New Releases Audiobooks in Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

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Title: Cat Fear No Evil

Subtitle: A Joe Grey Mystery, Book 9

Author: Shirley Rousseau Murphy

Narrator: Susan Boyce

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 1 min

Language: English

Release date: 03-08-13

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 28 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

Whats the perfect audiobook for fans of New York Times best-selling mystery authors Lilian Jackson Braun and Rita Mae Brown? This delightful ninth Joe Grey Mystery from award-winning author Shirley Rousseau Murphy.

Evil has crept into Molena Point, California, on stealthy cat feet. A rash of brazen burglaries, from antique jewelry to vintage cars, coincides with the unwelcome appearance of yellow-eyed Azrael, feline nemesis of crime-solving cats Joe Grey and Dulcie. But what follows soon after really has Joes fur standing on edge. A young, healthy waiter drops dead at a reception for local artist Charlie Harper. And when the trail of big-time thefts leads up to San Francisco, the dark beast, Azrael is on the scene. Does he have contact with a stalker and a handsome philanderer? If Joe and Dulcie dont get to the bottom of these misdeeds soon, they and all their human friends will have ample reasons to be afraid - very afraid.

Its time for the feline sleuths to start sniffing out the truth.

Critic Reviews:

[A] superior cat cozy.... As usual, the relationships between the lively human characters and the talking cats in whom they confide their problems provide as much interest as the crime solving. The intricate and absorbing plot keeps the reader in suspense throughout. (Publishers Weekly)

Shattered families and long-hidden secrets (both human and feline) are the themes of this ninth volume of Shirley Rousseau Murphys popular mystery series about exceptionally clever cats who can carry on a conversation...and an investigation. (Barnes & Noble, editorial review)

Magical whimsy and deft writing. (CatsMagazine)

Members Reviews:

A Great Joe Grey Read

Would you consider the audio edition of Cat Fear No Evil to be better than the print version?

Different, it's nice to have the book read so well.

What did you like best about this story?

Well paced, great sense of mystery and, as usual, the cats are beautifully written characters, and there is a dash of darkness in the form of Azrael. It's nice when a novel makes you smile too.

What does Susan Boyce bring to the story that you wouldnt experience if you just read the book?

Great characteristion, good story telling and Susan doesn't 'get in the way' of the story, she lets Molena Point and its adventurous stories shine through.

Any additional comments?

Fans will always enjoy a Joe Grey book, and for anyone wanting a mystery that is not bathed in blood thirsty gun slinging villains this is tops!

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Title: Trophies and Dead Things

Subtitle: A Sharon McCone Mystery

Author: Marcia Muller

Narrator: Laura Hicks

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 1 min

Language: English

Release date: 03-06-13

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 15 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

When a former sixties radical is murdered during a string of random sniper attacks, the All Souls Legal Cooperative must settle his surprisingly large estate. Then private investigator Sharon McCone comes across a new will, made just days before he died, that disinherits his two children in favor of four unknown and unconnected parties. McCone sifts through Perry Hilderlys belongings but finds little to explain this puzzling change. That is, until she uncovers a .357 with the serial number burned off.

As McCone tracks down the new beneficiaries she discovers that the shootings arent so random after all and that the dead man isnt the only one with a lurid past. To link the heirs to the killings, she must follow a treacherous trail of evidence that travels from the Vietnam years to the present. But along the way the elusive sniper waits in a homicidal rage and takes aim - this time at All Souls and Sharon McCone.

Critic Reviews:

McCone is one of the most freshly conceived and complexly characterized of the female private eyes. Mullers fine eye for detail and sense of place bring San Francisco and the California subculture vividly to life. (Publishers Weekly)

Full of adventure, humanity, and two engaging kittens, this thoughtful mystery should attract older YAs. (School Library Journal)

Members Reviews:

A Trophy Book

Another good mystery from Marcia Muller. It was interesting and well written. The setting in San Francisco is especially good.

Too many typos

This is another great Sharon McCone outing. However, there are even more typos and even missing paragraphs then in the typical Amazon ebook. Four stars for the book, one for the ebook. My advice is to buy this one on iBooks.

More twists and turns

I enjoyed this McCone Mystery. It had more twists and turns in solving the case. McCone has let a temper get out of control. Sure hope she finds it and a friends don't treat a differently.

Oldie but goodie

I caught on to Marcia Muller well into her Sharon McCone series so it's been fun to go back to the early ones. The characters haven't fully formed yet, more of the book is focused on atmosphere than the newer ones. Overall, a good read.

Trophies and Dead Things

Part of the reason I I like Sharon McCone nis because she is flawed. I love mysteries and Marcia Muller is one of my favorite authorss. I love the fact that the lead character continues from book to book.

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Title: McNally's Secret

Subtitle: Archy McNally, Book 1

Author: Lawrence Sanders

Narrator: Victor Bevine

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-28-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 228 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

Playful, seductive, irresistible - this best-selling masterwork of fatal passion and greed introduces Lawrence Sanders's most wickedly charming sleuth. Meet Archy McNally, a freewheeling playboy who specializes is "discreet inquires" for the rich and not-so-discreet. Beneath the glaring sun of Palm Beach - and behind the lowest crimes of high society - McNally is paid to keep family skeletons in the closet. But when it comes to sex and scandal, McNally has a few secrets of his own....

Members Reviews:

Forgettable? Yeah, Like A Savory Rich Desert!

Probably next week Archy McNally's "Adventure of the Inverted Jennies" will flow completely out of my memory. So what? There are deserts that were so delightful I'll recommend them to everyone who asks. Deserts don't change lives. Don't direct or even inform them. But they can be delightful, huh?

That's what this craftily prepared story is Archy lives in a note-perfect, imaginary culture that evokes Fred and Ginger twirling through platinum and crystal settings. Victor Bevine ices Sanders' cake thick with stylish characters who you'll see and hear and enjoy.

I'm off to download another order of Archy from the Lawrence Sanders' section of the Audio bookshelf. Dunno about you, but I may not remember the details of a perfect desert, yet when I see it on the menu, I'll order it quicker than the summer heat rises in posh Boca Raton.

One word for this book. "Yummy!"

Great McNally book; uninspiring performance

Any additional comments?

The McNally series is always good for a nice entertaining adventure and this book offers a good story with the usual dose of McNally humor.

Unfortunately, the performance is really not good. To be fair to the narrator, there is nothing particularly wrong about his performance, but if you have listened to any of the McNally book narrated by Adam Henderson, you would this performance pales in comparison. While Adam Henderson brilliantly portrays the edgy character and witty humor, the performance in this book simply falls flat. I was very happy that Audible decided to produce the McNally series, since I have been unable to find many of the books in unabridged format, but I am very disappointed by the choice of narrator.

Where is the sass?

Any additional comments?

I loved reading the McNally books and was delighted to see them available on Audible. The story is still as good as ever, and Victor Bevine was great reader with one exception. That exception, alas, is Archie himself. He seems to deliver Archie's best lines as if he were reciting a mathematical formula. The sass, the flippancy is lacking. There were times I wanted to shout out, 'don't be so damn solemn'. I may try another to see if he changes his delivery any (and it may be the director's fault, not the reader) but I probably will not. Too bad. I enjoy the character very much, but not like this.

Glad it was on sale...

The one liners are creative, but I found I didn't care about any of the characters and ultimately the story line didn't engage me much either.

My First McNally won't be My Last!

I heard about this series years ago. I used to work with someone who loved these books. He tried to tell me how much fun they were. Somehow, I never got around to them.

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Title: The Bloodied Ivy

Author: Robert Goldsborough

Narrator: L. J. Ganser

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-05-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 79 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

When a great thinker takes a nasty tumble, Wolfe goes back to school.

A conservative academic, so far to the right that he thought Ronald Reagan was a pinko, Hale Markham rules Prescott University like an intellectual tyrant - right up until the morning he is found dead at the bottom of one of Prescotts famously beautiful ravines. Every liberal on campus hated the crotchety old crank, but which one is responsible for giving Markham his final push to the right?

The case so intrigues the incomparable, reclusive master detective Nero Wolfe that he takes the unusual step of leaving the confines of his home. With man of action Archie Goodwin at his side, Wolfe examines jealous professors, a fanatical assistant, and a university president with an ego that - like the school itself - will not stop growing. Though they are far from the city, Wolfe and Goodwin will find that no back alley is as dangerous as the shadowy corridors of the Ivy League.

Members Reviews:

Not Rex Stout but Not Bad

Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe books are especially lovely because they are laced throughout with moments which "sit like a jewel on the cushion of" the plot. Robert Goldsborough's Nero Wolfe books bring back the much beloved characters who are at the center of Stout's books and I am always glad to spend time with Nero, Archie, Fritz, Saul and even Inspector Cramer. Goldsborough has written a perfectly fine cozy mystery. What his books lack are those moments, those jewels, which cause Stout's books to sparkle.

great listening

loved it the narrator makes me laugh I'm ready to continue on to Archie shut up!

Not up to quality of other books in this series

I have truly enjoyed the other books I've read by Robert Goldsborough, who has brought the old Nero Wolfe series back to life again. But this left me wondering if he just had an off effort here. Moderately interesting in most places, the ending could have been far better. However, the narration is quite good, and that saved the book for me.

It isn't Stout...But it's pretty close!

Any additional comments?

Rex Stout fans will be happy with the familiar characters, the familiar (and in this case, unfamiliar) settings, and all of the "Wolfeisms". Goldsborough does a great job of "feeding our hunger" for Nero. Like I said above, it isn't Stout, but it's pretty close!

Nero Wolfe is Unique

As I listened to this book I wondered if any present day author would create a character such as Nero Wolfe. He's self indulgent, cranky, demanding, extremely overweight and brilliant. The series was first written by Rex Stout. Robert Goldsborough has, in my opinion, done an excellent job on his Nero Wolfe books.

The book is populated with many interesting characters. The mystery was a bit of a disappointment. Even so, the story held my interest.. I

I'll listen to more Nero Wolf stories by Robert Goldsborough.

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Title: Murder of a Sweet Old Lady

Subtitle: A Scumble River Mystery, Book 2

Author: Denise Swanson

Narrator: Christine Leto

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-14-12

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 301 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

When she left Scumble River years ago, school psychologist Skye Denison thought shed never be back. But after a run of bad luck in the big city, she has a new appreciation for the down-home charm of small-town life - and decides to start over in the town where she started out...

When Skyes beloved grandmother is found dead in her bed, the family consensus is natural causes. Still, Skye insists on an autopsy - an examination that proves the sweet old lady was, in fact, murdered! But who could have done the deadly deed? Skye is determined to find out, though her snooping doesnt sit well with the relatives. Family tensions can mean only one thing: family secrets. And when a series of hooligan attacks on Skyes property leads to an outright physical assault, Skye has to wonder if by exposing the rotten roots of her family tree, shes one step closer to exposing the killer

Members Reviews:

Good small town cozy

What did you like best about Murder of a Sweet Old Lady? What did you like least?

I am enjoying this series. This is book 2 and continues with the characters from Murder of a Small Town Honey, now caught up in the mystery of the murder of Skye's grandmother. This is a small town cozy mystery series so if you don't like some small town drama, descriptions of homemade meals and the occasional visit to a pork chop supper, pick a different series. We spend a lot of time with Skye's relatives in this installment and now we can completely see why she moved away in the first place. She endures a lot of family stress and work stress in this one. I used to think school psychologist sounded like a good job, but this installment definitely talked me out of that as Skye's job provides a lot of unpleasant drama for her. Additionally her love life does not come to satisfying conclusion in this one, but there is hope for improvement going forward. The mystery kept me interested throughout despite some occasional over the top perhaps not entirely believable twists. However, I don't think readers of books like this are as concerned about such things if they can accept that some random school psychologist in a small town will keep getting caught up in murder investigations in the first place. I have downloaded the next in the series. I'm not sure I love Skye exactly, but I do like the narration and the books keep me interested.

Not What I Hoped For

I purchased this book hoping to find smart, interesting characters and a somewhat upbeat story.

What I found was Skye, the main character, living in an intolerant small town surrounding by some of the most awful family members I could imagine. I'm sure these situations exist in real life. However, they are not what I Iook for in recreational reading.

I really wanted to like Skye. However, at the time this story is set her life seems rather grim. When I got to Chapter 10, I just couldn't listen anymore. I had completely lost interest.

Christine Leto's narration was fine.

Family Issues

Where does Murder of a Sweet Old Lady rank among all the audiobooks youve listened to so far?

I have to admit I wasn't too sure about this series when I first started it, but now I am really into this series, these books are pretty good, so I will have to rank this series high on my list..

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Title: And Then You Dye

Subtitle: A Needlecraft Mystery, Book 16

Author: Monica Ferris

Narrator: Susan Boyce

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-04-12

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 121 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

At Crewel World - the needlework shop in Excelsior, Minnesota, run by Betsy Devonshire - an array of beautifully hand-dyed yarns are supplied by Hailey Brent, an avid hand-dyer as well as a customer. But shortly after her most recent delivery of yarn, Hailey is found dead in her home, with a gunshot wound to the head.

Betsy can't imagine who might have killed Hailey, but she is determined to find out. Her investigation takes her into the world of dye stuffs and mordants and the plants that are grown to produce colors for all kinds of textiles. Fascinating stuff, indeed - except when it leads to murder.

Members Reviews:

And Then You Dye

Great story - Monica Ferris has done it again! The performance left a lot to be desired in my estimation. Susan Boyce put emphasis on the wrong words - used inappropriate inflections, and was, in my opinion, hard to listen to.

Stilted narration spoils an okay story

What disappointed you about And Then You Dye?

The mystery itself was okay, but Susan Boyce presented almost all the characters as prissy and stilted. It was as if she was reading to a kindergarten class.

I added "And Then You Dye" to my library when Audible offered it on a reduced price--and I had a $10 coupon. Why not try a mystery series I hadn't known about? If I liked it, I could start at the beginning. I knew going in that starting with # 16 in the Needlecraft Mystery series would mean I'd be getting a lot of shorthand on development of long standing characters, but I was willing to give Monica Ferris the benefit of the doubt

What was most disappointing about Monica Ferriss story?

.

How could the performance have been better?

The story was reasonably well plotted and included a couple of digressions to flesh out secondary relationships such as those of Godwin and Rafael and Jill and Lars Larson--the sort of thing that readers of mystery series want--and miss if they're left out (like the family dinners in Donna Leon's Commissario Brunetti series).So. Points for keeping up with the major and minor characters.

What character would you cut from And Then You Dye?

And points also for incorporating a *lot* of information about handicraft dying into the plot without overloading her readers with too much detail. She uses a standard device--bring in an expert to explain the essential points about natural dyes but punctuate her delivery with additional conversation. Further, after setting us up to expect a murder based on poisonous dyes and mordants (see I paid attention), she switches to a plain old death by gunshot. But the dye-ing demonstrations are not irrelevant, as the conclusion makes clear.

Any additional comments?

However, if Susan Boyce represents the way Ferris wants her characters to sound, then I won't be going back to the beginning of the series. ]Boyce. articulates. every. single. word. and. every. sentence. on. a. falling. tone. no. matter. how. complex. it. may. be. And, although Boyce does modulate her voice in an attempt to distinguish the characters, the result is that she sounds like a sheltered first grade teacher reading to a Sunday school class. I will not be listening to any other books she narrates.Just a note: The only way I could get paragraph breaks was to type my comments into the separate boxes.

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Title: Blotto, Twinks and the Bootlegger's Moll

Author: Simon Brett

Narrator: Simon Brett

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-01-12

Publisher: Isis Publishing Ltd

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 28 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

Due to financial hardships at Tawcester Towers, the Dowager Duchess has decreed that the only way the family fortunes can be restored is to marry Blotto off...to an American! Reluctantly, Blotto, together with Twinks and his trusty chauffeur Corky Froggett set sail. Awaiting him in Illinois is fabulously wealthy heiress Mary Chapstick, the only daughter of meat-packing magnate Hiram P. Chapstick III. But it's Twinks who discovers early on that all is not as it seems and that Hiram P. Chapstick III is in fact up to his neck in a bootlegging operation run by the notorious Chicago mobster, Spagsy Chiaparelli. Will Blotto and Twinks ever make it back to dear old Blighty?

Members Reviews:

If you like P.G. Wodehouse, you'll like this!

Any additional comments?

It's fluffy, lightweight and silly, like a lovely Eton Mess dessert. Punctuated with a clever turn of phrase and "upper class twits"....just sit back and go for a carousel ride on a old-fashioned hobby horse. Fun!

And I do like Simon Brett!

I imagine this was written for the US market and a teen audience.

Not much story. But lots of action

Silly 'over the top' narration.

Young folk in those tween years caught between "you are old enough to know better" and "do as you are told" and who can still enjoy grown ups being unaware of how illogical they can be are likely to enjoy this one.

Very amusing!

What did you like most about Blotto, Twinks and the Bootlegger's Moll?

I love the Blotto & Twinks books. Simon Brett is a wonder at wit ! Very enjoyable. Blotto is like Inspector Clouseau, he gets results without even realizing what he's doing!! Love it !!! The whole series is great !

What about Simon Bretts performance did you like?

It's especially good to hear the actual author of the book reading it, makes it seem more 'real'.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Love all the funny lines!

Any additional comments?

More, more please !

I pass on this series...

Not for me, I am afraid. This sort of slapstick leaves me cold . Isn't it time for a new Mrs Pargeter?

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Title: The Pain Scale

Author: Tyler Dilts

Narrator: Mel Foster

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-05-12

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 138 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

Long Beach homicide detective Danny Beckett cant escape the pain. Its everywhere: in the injuries that earned him a year-long medical leave; in the suffering of every victim hes ever encountered; in the agony of his past. But he must keep the pain at bay to prove he still has what it takes to do the job. So its only fitting that his first major case back is a gruesome one: A California congressmans daughter-in-law and grandchildren have been brutally murdered, and the carnage is some of the worst Dannys ever seen. Is it a mob hit? Political retribution? A random sex crime?

Nothing quite adds upuntil Danny and his partner, Jennifer Tanaka, begin scratching at the surface of the congressmans picture-perfect family. Beneath the shiny, camera-ready veneer, Danny discovers a dark, twisted tale of suffering - even as the pain of his own past threatens to derail the investigation.

Members Reviews:

Solid Dialog, Characters, and Pace

This was the second of the Daniel Beckett series I read it because I enjoyed the first one so much. Though written in the first person, the other characters are supporting, not add-ons, and they're a tight-knit group. Beckett's partner (no romantic theme) also has a life and Dilts weaves it into the story in a way that I didn't find distracting. It's refreshing that none of the cops is the typical ass of an idiot. If you're the kind of reader who enjoys off-plot ruminations that let you into the mind of the protagonist, such as Beckett listening to and thinking about NPR segments (Garrison Keillor's Writers Almanac and Terry Gross's Fresh Air), you'll find these add a lot of depth to the book. Though I figured out who dunnit before Beckett did, that didn't detract from the story. As soon as I finished listening to this one, I went straight to Audible and bought The Pain Scale. It isn't necessary to listen to them out of order. Dilts doesn't repeat aspects of Becketts day-to-day life so much that I felt irritated. Also, I was relieved that there aren't any "after a long moment" fillers. Two comments about the production: there's a lot of dead space between chapters that I had to get used to, and some dialog is read to sound like a run-on sentence. As I wrote in the headline, the dialog is good (as in natural, not so-so) and has shadings of subtle humor, strong opinions, and space to let the reader read between the lines.

A lesson in chronic pain

A good title for this one, as the author gives us plenty of insight about chronic pain while solving his second murder mystery. I liked the book and wished I would have read it instead of listening. The narrator changed from the first installment and I had trouble with following this guy. Much of the time, all the voices sounded the same, which turned out to be a bad thing when there were so many characters to keep track of. The characters also had foreign names that were hard to keep track of. All and all it was a good crime story, but I would recommend the Kindle for this one.

good read.

one of the very few stories that deals with chronic pain. It is the underlying theme, and does't follow the overdone story of addiction.

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Title: Vengeance

Author: Benjamin Black

Narrator: John Keating

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-07-12

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 80 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

In Vengeance, a bizarre suicide leads to a scandal and then still more blood, as Benjamin Black reveals a world where money and sex trump everything.

It's a fine day for a sail, and Victor Delahaye, one of Ireland's most successful businessmen, takes his boat far out to sea. With him is his partner's son - who becomes the sole witness when Delahaye produces a pistol, points it at his own chest, and fires.

This mysterious death immediately engages the attention of Detective Inspector Hackett, who in turn calls upon the services of his sometime partner Quirke, consultant pathologist at the Hospital of the Holy Family. The stakes are high: Delahaye's prominence in business circles means that Hackett and Quirke must proceed very carefully. Among others, they interview Mona Delahaye, the dead man's young and very beautiful wife; James and Jonas Delahaye, his identical twin sons; and Jack Clancy, his ambitious, womanizing partner. But then a second death occurs, this one even more shocking than the first, and quickly it becomes apparent that a terrible secret threatens to destroy the lives and reputations of several members of Dublin's elite.

Why did Victor Delahaye kill himself, and who is intent upon wreaking vengeance on so many of those who knew him?

Members Reviews:

Not his best

The line below comes from another reviewer for another book, however, I thought it was so true about Vengeance

'This book goes on and on with small details about things that just does not matter'.

I just couldn't finish it.

Noir-ish

Benjamin Black is, of course, the name under which the high-literary writer John Banville indulges his love of genre, specifically of noir procedurals. He is a skillful and evocative descriptive writer: one beautiful image succeeds another, page after page, until an entire shimmering edifice of hardened men, weak sisters, femmes fatales, familial grudges and dogged investigators is conjured -- and then collapses, bloodlessly, in a silly plot. This book has it all: identical twins, crazy aunts, a variant on the locked room mystery. Everyone in it smokes and drinks like crazy. Perhaps the author suspected that the whole enterprise was more than a bit musty and therefore set it in the Dublin of the 1960s. It would have felt musty then, too.

Coincidentally, I followed this book with Tana French's "In The Woods", another procedural set in Dublin. French's novel is also skillfully written, but is kicking with life and clear-eyed observation: her hardened detective is not a romantic figure, for instance, and amid the general dark mayhem lurks a keen sense of humor. Everyone still smokes and drinks like crazy, though.

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Title: Ax

Subtitle: An 87th Precinct Novel, Book 18

Author: Ed McBain

Narrator: Dick Hill

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 37 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-15-12

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 29 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

An ax murderer has taken root in the 87th Precinct. Will Detectives Hawes and Carella be able to stop him before he kills again?

Critic Reviews:

Imagine your favorite Law & Order cast solving fresh mysteries into infinity, with no re-runs, and you have some sense of McBains grand, ongoing accomplishment. (Entertainment Weekly)

McBain forces us to think twice about every character we meeteven those we thought we already knew. (The New York Times Book Review)

Members Reviews:

McBain does it again

Ed McBain can become an addiction. If you like a good old fashioned detective story, McBain is an author t follow. This is number 18 in his 87th Precinct series and as good as any that came before. An elderly janitor is found in the basement of his building, an ax buried in his head. Thus starts the hunt. An illegal crap game, the janitor's demented wife, his afflicted son, a wood chopping employee, a crooked cop and a few more seemingly unrelated characters get thrown into the mix along the way. Oh yes, throw in several irrelevant dialogs that add some reality to the narrative, a McBain trademark.

This is a short read that should leave you satisfied.

hard-boiled

This was my first exposure to Ed McBain and the 87th precinct. In fact, I had read practically nothing for years except for scify and fantasy novels and Sherlock Holmes. A couple decades ago I had read some works by Raymond Chandler but had drifted away from the hard-boiled police and detective novels. Quite frankly I had forgotten just how much fun they could be and how quickly they read when compared to epic fantasy.

The police detectives of the 87th precinct will never be confused with Sherlock Holmes. Whereas Holmes uses brilliant deductive leaps to solve his cases, the hardworking detectives of the 87th have to grind i, out wading through the grit and grime of an unpleasant reality to arrive at their arrests. Holmes usually seems cool and unflappable; you can almost see the sweat dripping off the police of the 87th as they pursue their cases,

I am not a policeman and maybe a real cop would laugh at the relative ease with which these police solve their crimes, but for me, it worked and I hope it will work for you as well.

McBain is like family, his stories like a favorite uncle's

McBain is like family,his stories like a favorite uncle's,familiar ,accepting,once in awhile new or newish.So..okay,and okay is okay.

Four Stars

It got better as I read further.

Four Stars

A little long but good.