# Which Ed McBain book should I buy?



## toadhall (Nov 25, 2011)

There's a Gold Box deal on Amazon today which has most of the 87th Precinct books by Ed McBain on sale for 99c each.

I've always been meaning to try out Ed McBain so this is a good chance for me to get into it. I wanted to get Cop Hater as that is the first in the series, but it seems that book isn't included in the sale.

So can anyone give me any recommendations for which book I should get as my first? Thanks a lot!

The link for the Gold Box deal is here. The deal is only valid for 13th January.


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## ChadWilliamson (May 31, 2011)

Well, in a perfect world, ALL of them ... I've read the majority of the ones they have up and really picking just a few of 'em is damn near impossible; personally I'm tempted to get all of them just to read them again. 

GHOSTS is pretty great, but it was the first of the 87th novels I read (when I was 14), and it's somewhat atypical because it does possess a very slight supernatural element. TRICKS is also excellent, as are ICE and LULLABY. HAIL HAIL THE GANG'S ALL HERE is a great mid-series read too. 

Honestly, the only one I'd avoid is HE WHO HESITATES, and that's because it's completely atypical from the series, and you wouldn't appreciate it as greatly until you'd read some of the other novels. Otherwise, you'd be hard pressed to find a bad one in the whole bunch. He really was the writer who most inspired me to want to write.


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## Harry Shannon (Jul 30, 2010)

What Chad said. I loved almost every one of those books. Try HAIL, HAIL THE GANG'S ALL HERE.


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## toadhall (Nov 25, 2011)

Wow! Thanks for the recommendations, guys!

Now I feel like getting all the books Chad suggested...


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Ed McBain wroter 54 87th Precinct novels as far as I can determine; 35 of them are available for .99 during this promotion.

The first one, Cop Hater, from 1956 is not available on Kindle at all, but the next one are.  The .99 ones seem to be primarily the earlier work, from a quick look...

I picked up about five early ones, including ones that Chad recommended.  There were a few that were available for very cheap in the early Kindle days that I alreday had.

Betsy


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## toadhall (Nov 25, 2011)

I read the summaries of the books Chad suggested and eventually decided on Ghosts and Hail, Hail The Gang's All Here. Can't wait to dig into them.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

My brother got me started on Ed McBain books, probably in the 70s.

I ordered my Kindle and immediately started buying books...I got 
Fuzz for .60 on October 27, 2008
and on October 31, 2008
The Heckler for $1.25
Killer's Payoff for $0.95
and The Pusher for $0.95

Now I'm adding to the collection.  

Betsy


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

I've never read McBain, but he's always been on my list of people to try.  This is so tempting!  I really kind of want to get them all!


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

BTW, which was the first 87th Precinct novel?


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## toadhall (Nov 25, 2011)

At only 99 cents each, I don't see how you can go wrong!

Cop Hater is the first in the series but apparently it's not available as a Kindle ebook, so not included in the sale.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Note sale was one day only (Friday the 13th) and is now over

Perfect timing, DYB. I mention the first one, Cop Hater, in an earlier post, and its lack of availability on Kindle, but I was just coming to post this list:

1.	Cop Hater (1956) not available on Kindle
2.	The Mugger (1956) 
3.	The Pusher (1956) not available on Kindle
4.	The Con Man (1957) 
5.	Killer's Choice (1957) 
6.	Killer's Payoff (195 not available on Kindle
7.	Killer's Wedge (195 
8.	Lady Killer (195
9.	'Till Death (1959) 
10.	King's Ransom (1959) 
11.	Give the Boys a Great Big Hand (1960) 
12.	The Heckler (1960) not available on Kindle
13.	See Them Die (1960)
14.	Lady, Lady, I Did It! (1961) 
15.	Like Love (1962) 
16.	The Empty Hours (1962) 
17.	Ten Plus One (1963)
18.	Ax (1964)
19.	He Who Hesitates (1965)
20.	Doll (1965) not available on Kindle
21.	Eighty Million Eyes (1966) 
22.	Fuzz (196 *$6.15* not part of sale 
23.	Shotgun (1969)
24.	Jigsaw (1970) 
25.	Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here (1971)
26.	Sadie When She Died (1972) not available on Kindle
27.	Let's Hear It for the Deaf Man (1973) not available on Kindle
28.	Hail to the Chief (1973)
29.	Bread (1974) 
30.	Blood Relatives (1975) 
31.	So Long as You Both Shall Live (1976) 
32.	Long Time No See (1977) 
33.	Calypso (1979) 
34.	Ghosts (1980) 
35.	Heat (1981) 
36.	Ice (1983)
37.	Lightning (1984) 
38.	Eight Black Horses (1985) not available on Kindle
39.	Poison (1987) 
40.	Tricks (1987) 
41.	Lullaby (1989) 
42.	Vespers (1990) 
43.	Widows (1991) 
44.	Kiss (1992) 
45.	Mischief (1993) not available on Kindle 
46.	And All Through the House (1994) not available on Kindle
47. Romance (1995) *$12.99* not part of sale
48.	Nocturne (1997) *$12.99* not part of sale
49.	The Big Bad City (1999) *$5.99* not part of sale
50.	The Last Dance (1999) *$7.99* not part of sale
51.	Money, Money, Money (2001) *$16.99* not part of sale
52.	Fat Ollie's Book (2003) *$7.99* not part of sale
53.	The Frumious Bandersnatch (2004) *$7.99* not part of sale
54.	Hark! (2004) *$7.99* not part of sale
55.	Fiddlers (2005) *$9.39* not part of sale

(edited to add 55th book missing from list. Oops.  )

Betsy


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## toadhall (Nov 25, 2011)

That's a very useful list there, Betsy! Thanks!


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

Betsy, perfect!  Thanks for doing that!  Are the novels stand-alone?  Does it matter if we're not reading "Cop Hater" first?

BTW, wasn't Kurosawa's "High and Low" based on a McBain novel?  What a great film!


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## Sunshine22 (Feb 18, 2010)

I just bought Ice, Lullaby, Ghosts and Hail, Hail the Gangs all Here.

Thanks for recommendations and great info, Everyone!


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## Andra (Nov 19, 2008)

Too funny!  I was just coming over here to see if anyone had suggestions for the McBain books as well.  I'm really bad about wanting to read things in order, but I am going to try the recommendations from upthread and see how I like them.


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## Brownskins (Nov 18, 2011)

I had to go through GoodReads reviews, and of course Chad's recommendations above, and I read through the synopsis of eachof the 35.  Making a selection of just 4 was tough.

For all that work, I settled with Hail, Ghosts, Ice and Tricks.  Apparently McBain shifts his writing style and approach every now and then, so I figured I better sample one of 4 styles represented by these books and then whatever I find myself enjoying the most, I will then buy more of the same kind.

I wish we had more Gold Deals like this one - I enjoy the "shopping" around (of course, with a limited budget in mind).  

Thanks for the recommendations which helped in my selection process!


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## chilady1 (Jun 9, 2009)

I picked up all 35 of the ones available for 99 cents.  I was surprised I had not heard of this author before and I love police procedural novels so was really happy to pick them all up.

I heard on another board that even though as Betsy list indicates it's a series, someone mentioned you didn't have to read them in order.  For anyone that has read these books, is that true?


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

FWIW for lists of authors works in order -- especially useful for those who must do series in order -- try www.fantasticfiction.co.uk.  Great resource!


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Yes, that's where I got that, but thought it would be handy to have the list here...

Betsy


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## padowd (Jan 14, 2010)

I gor a sample of The Mugger and really enjoyed it. To me it reminded me of the gang of detectives on the tv series The Closer and I love that show. My husband said to buy all of them.


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## Tony Rabig (Oct 11, 2010)

Kurosawa's _High and Low_ was based on _King's Ransom_.

Just bought all the 99 cent titles, and will get the rest by and by; the 87th Precinct books are the gold standard for police procedurals. Haven't read most of these in a very long time but I can't remember reading a bad one. Now if somebody will ebook more of the novels he wrote as Evan Hunter (_Sons_, _Last Summer_, _Far from the Sea_, _Blackboard Jungle_, _Buddwing_, and a whole bunch more) I will be one happy though bankrupt camper.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

DYB said:


> Betsy, perfect! Thanks for doing that! Are the novels stand-alone? Does it matter if we're not reading "Cop Hater" first?
> 
> BTW, wasn't Kurosawa's "High and Low" based on a McBain novel? What a great film!


According to Google results, _High and Low_ was based on _King's Ransom_...

Betsy


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

FWIW, I read them out of order because I came across one and read it.  It's always *nice* to read in order, but the  books have a certain feel that I suspect is in all of them (I haven't actually Read them All.)  I don't think reading slightly out of order will hurt.  I certainly wasn't lost or anything.


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

Some of those titles look familiar. I went through a detective/thriller reading splurge when I was 14.


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## Guest (Jan 13, 2012)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Perfect timing, DYB. I mention the first one, Cop Hater, in an earlier post, and its lack of availability on Kindle, but I was just coming to post this list:
> 
> 1.	Cop Hater (1956)
> 2.	The Mugger (1956)
> ...


That is a career right there!


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## Monique (Jul 31, 2010)

This is such a great deal. I burned through these books and other Evan Hunter novels. I've already bought some and will probably break down and buy the rest later tonight.


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## docnoir (Jan 21, 2011)

I'm glad to see a couple of people mentioned the Kurosawa movie HIGH AND LOW, based on KING'S RANSOM. It's really something to read it and then watch the movie. 

I think there was a 55th one. Anyone? I can't remember.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

docnoir said:


> I'm glad to see a couple of people mentioned the Kurosawa movie HIGH AND LOW, based on KING'S RANSOM. It's really something to read it and then watch the movie.
> 
> I think there was a 55th one. Anyone? I can't remember.


Hmmmm. You're right. "All Through the House," a Christmas one...should be book #46 or 47 on the list. Not available for Kindle. I'll add it.

Betsy


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## Ty Johnston (Jun 19, 2009)

To those who were asking, you don't necessarily have to read the books in order as they mostly stand on their own. The first half of the series is pretty much individual stories. There are recurring characters and elements, but not a lot of sub-plots and the like left unfulfilled between books. That changes somewhat with the second half of the series when there are more and more sub-plots that run over several novels at a time. Also, there is one recurring major villain, but he only shows up a handful of times and his background is explained enough in each case.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

foreverjuly said:


> That is a career right there!


Isn't it though! And that's just his 87th Precinct work as Ed McBain... What about _Blackboard Jungle_ and the screenplay for _The Birds_ among others?

Interesting that three of the books currently unavailable on Kindle are ones I bought in Oct 2008 for cheap...

Here's the NY Times obituary from 2005:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/07/books/07hunter.html?pagewanted=all


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## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Isn't it though! And that's just his 87th Precinct work as Ed McBain... What about _Blackboard Jungle_ and the screenplay for _The Birds_ among others?
> 
> Interesting that three of the books currently unavailable on Kindle are ones I bought in Oct 2008 for cheap...
> 
> ...


Betsy, that link takes me to a WC discussion on SOPA...

ETA: I bought all of the .99 books also. I have them all in paper, but you can't beat the price for the best in police procedurals.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Oops!! Fixed it in all places:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/07/books/07hunter.html?pagewanted=all

Betsy


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## docnoir (Jan 21, 2011)

I really enjoyed the Evan Hunter/Ed McBain "split" novel CANDYLAND, where one half was a noir suspense novel, and the other an 87th Precinct investigation. I thought that was a cool way to get into the series.

Also, in Jan. 2000, the New Yorker ran a really cool profile of McBain (by Pete Hamil, no less) that I still sometimes show to my classes because of how it discusses his work ethic, and also how he got started, which is so different than what we see today.


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## liafairchild (Apr 2, 2011)

Can't believe I missed that sale. Someone just recommended his 89th St precinct books to me. I hadn't read any and was going to start at the top.  What do you guys think? Worth paying regular price or wait for a sale? I'm a bargain girl.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

I also downloaded all...34!  I know they said 35, but I think one book appeared twice: "Hail hail to the chief."  As I was going through them I tried buying it - and it told me I'd already purchased it and to check my "Manage your Kindle" page.  I checked - and nope, I didn't buy.  So I set it aside figuring I'd go back to it.  So I bought the rest and when I got to the end - the last book was once again "Hail hail to the chief."  This one I bought without any problems.  For a total of 34.  Did anybody else have this issue?


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## Tony Rabig (Oct 11, 2010)

Re the _Hail to the Chief_ / _Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here_ issue

I ran into that too. For some reason known but to Amazon's servers (first words in the titles part of their checking process?), trying to buy these two at close to the same time confused the process. I bought the rest and then went back to the one that gave me the error and tried it again and the sale went through.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

Tony Rabig said:


> Re the _Hail to the Chief_ / _Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here_ issue
> 
> I ran into that too. For some reason known but to Amazon's servers (first words in the titles part of their checking process?), trying to buy these two at close to the same time confused the process. I bought the rest and then went back to the one that gave me the error and tried it again and the sale went through.


I never did manage to get "Hail to the Chief." The interesting thing is that that's the one I tried to buy first - and it would not let me. But the second one it allowed.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

No wait, I take that back.  I got both.  But it seems that "Hail, hail to the Chief" appeared on the list twice.  The first time - on the first page - it did not let me buy it.  The second time - as the last book on the list - it did.  Though I still ended up with 34.  Did you get 35?


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## Tony Rabig (Oct 11, 2010)

Unless I miscounted somewhere along the way, I ended up with 35 at the end of the spree.

If Amazon does something like this again, I hope they'll include a "Buy All" button somewhere on the page...


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

Tony Rabig said:


> Unless I miscounted somewhere along the way, I ended up with 35 at the end of the spree.
> 
> If Amazon does something like this again, I hope they'll include a "Buy All" button somewhere on the page...


Somewhere I missed one. Oh well. And yes, I really do wish Amazon would allow putting Kindle books into a shopping basket. I'm going to have 34 separate charges on my credit card. Very annoying!


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

DYB said:


> Somewhere I missed one. Oh well. And yes, I really do wish Amazon would allow putting Kindle books into a shopping basket. I'm going to have 34 separate charges on my credit card. Very annoying!


Which is why I buy a GC for some flat amount -- $50, $75, whatever -- and apply that to my account. Then there's only one charge on the CC and the Kindle books are paid for via GC.


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## Steph H (Oct 28, 2008)

Yep, having a GC on the account makes small book (and music and video) purchases much easier for the credit card.

Happily, I got all 35 -- including 4 that weren't originally linked in Betsy's list but just when I went to post about them, she was editing her list so she'd found out about them too!


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Steph H said:


> Yep, having a GC on the account makes small book (and music and video) purchases much easier for the credit card.
> 
> Happily, I got all 35 -- including 4 that weren't originally linked in Betsy's list but just when I went to post about them, she was editing her list so she'd found out about them too!


LOL! it just took a while to add the links...and I got interrupted a couple of times...

I think I'll go through and add current prices. Some of them are cheaper than others....

Betsy


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## Steph H (Oct 28, 2008)

And by the way, thanks a ton for going to the trouble of making that list and the links and noting which weren't on Kindle or else not on sale, etc.  It was a big help!!


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Well, if you knew straight up, which I didn't, that you were going to get all the sale ones, you didn't need it so much.  But if you wanted to just get a few, I thought it would be useful.  Plus I gphad some already and wanted to see where they fit in. so I kind of did it for me.   I was surprised that the ones I got early on are currently available.

Betsy


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## ChadWilliamson (May 31, 2011)

Tony Rabig said:


> Unless I miscounted somewhere along the way, I ended up with 35 at the end of the spree.


EXCELLENT!

They are just amazing books; there's never enough praise I could laud on 'em. I really think he's one of the great American writers who never got his due because he wrote "cop novels."

For those who read 'em, see if you can start counting the number of times he references "The Birds," Lizzie Borden, or some cop movie Burt Reynolds made in the 70s (there's a specific reason for each, and it just makes it more fun as you read along).


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## docnoir (Jan 21, 2011)

ChadWilliamson said:


> They are just amazing books; there's never enough praise I could laud on 'em. I really think he's one of the great American writers who never got his due because he wrote "cop novels."


Absolutely, I agree. And between him and Donald Westlake (Richard Stark), the fact that they were able to write such high quality books so quickly is amazing.


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## Tony Rabig (Oct 11, 2010)

For those who asked about a Kurosawa film based on McBain's _King's Ransom_ -- the title was _High and Low_, and if your cable/satellite/whatever television provider gives you access to Turner Classic Movies, you can see it the night of April 1/2; barring schedule changes, it should be showing at 1:30am CST if I had the right time zone selected, but you'll want to double-check that to be sure.


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## MartinStanley72 (May 17, 2011)

Ice in my humble opinion. It's a cracker!


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## Jon Olson (Dec 10, 2010)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> My brother got me started on Ed McBain books, probably in the 70s.
> 
> I ordered my Kindle and immediately started buying books...I got
> Fuzz for .60 on October 27, 2008
> and on October 31, 2008


October 2008? Ancient history in the eBook world. Was your kindle the size of a truck?


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## acellis (Oct 10, 2011)

Buy _any_ McBain book. You certainly can't go wrong with him.


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## docnoir (Jan 21, 2011)

Jon Olson said:


> October 2008? Ancient history in the eBook world. Was your kindle the size of a truck?


Ha. Reminds me of _Bill & Ted_: "Everything is...bigger, yet...smaller. It's all...computers."

San Dimas High Football Rules!


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## Ty Johnston (Jun 19, 2009)

I just finished "Ghosts," and I have to say, it blew me away. It had one of the spookiest scenes I've ever read, right up there with the best of Shirley Jackson. Makes me wish Ed (or Evan) had written more speculative material. I've read more than a dozen 87th Precinct novels, and this might be my favorite so far.


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## ChadWilliamson (May 31, 2011)

Ty Johnston said:


> I just finished "Ghosts," and I have to say, it blew me away. It had one of the spookiest scenes I've ever read, right up there with the best of Shirley Jackson. Makes me wish Ed (or Evan) had written more speculative material. I've read more than a dozen 87th Precinct novels, and this might be my favorite so far.


First McBain I ever read, when I was about 13. I picked it up because I was looking for mystery books with ghosts (my reading was still rather immature, obviously). I remember reading it and just being enthralled by it but just waiting and waiting and WAITING for the ghost to show up!

It completely changed everything I would read from that point on, and still influences my own writing.


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## Martin OHearn (Feb 9, 2012)

McBain scripted a couple of the last Columbo TV movies in the late Nineties and based them on 87th Precinct novels. They didn't follow the Columbo format (the inverted detective story), and Columbo had to stand in for an entire squadroom of characters from the 87th.

I reread the series in order over a fairly short period of time and noticed an Easter Egg I missed the first time around. A major character in one book makes a walk-on in a later one, and the first one is completely overturned. McBain just throws it away, which makes you appreciate it all the more if you catch it. Without a spoiler alert, I Can Say No More.

And then there's the 87th Precinct's hilarious political roman a clef.

Read as many as you can find!


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