Like Love

87th Precinct #16

by Ed McBain

There’s a lot going on in the 87th Precinct this spring, and none of it is good. Jumpers on building ledges, a salesman torn apart by an explosion, and to cap it all off, they find the dead, half-naked bodies of Irene Thayer and Tommy Barlow in bed together. It has all the earmarks of a double a note, empty liquor bottles, closed windows, and the gas on the stove turned up. At least this one’s open and shut. Or is it? Something doesn’t sit right with the detectives at the 87th Precinct, so Steve Carella and his partner Cotton Hawes decide to give the case a once-over. Routine checks can turn up interesting facts. Like Irene’s mother, who has an insurance policy on her daughter. Or Irene’s grieving, cuckold husband who’s riding the ragged edge. Even Tommy’s brother. Problem is, in order to find a killer, you have to prove there was a murder… A complex, captivating thriller that probes the deep recesses of the human heart, Like Love is a bittersweet addition to Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct series and a rare look inside the softer side of hardened detectives.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Detective, Procedural, Thriller, Mystery Thriller

214 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

"Ed McBain" is one of the pen names of American author and screenwriter Salvatore Albert Lombino (1926-2005), who legally adopted the name Evan Hunter in 1952.

While successful and well known as Evan Hunter, he was even better known as Ed McBain, a name he used for most of his crime fiction, beginning in 1956.

He also used the pen names John Abbott, Curt Cannon, Hunt Collins, Ezra Hannon, Dean Hudson, Evan Hunter, and Richard Marsten.

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's spring, so of course, love is in the air - mushy-gushy, hearts & flowers LOVE, with all the warm, tingly feelings it inspires. But for many, love brings only heartache, misery, and desperation. That means . . . yup - suicides in the city are WAY up. The boys of the 87th Precinct are busy, and there's one case in particular that's buggin' 'em - a scantily-clad couple found dead together in an apartment. It looks like a suicide. But, maybe not . . . Only good investigative work (and maybe one or two hunches), will tell.

This was one of the first Ed McBain books my dad ever nudged my way, and I read it back when I was a teen. Now I'm revisiting it in my attempt to read all the 87th Precinct books in order. For being a fairly unremarkable story, I was surprised how much I remembered of this sad little tale.

There was one bit I didn't catch all those decades ago that made me burst out laughing this time around. Two detectives are going through a suspect's medicine cabinet: one man reads off the contents, while another jots the list down on a notepad. And, it's here that the author chose the words of one of his characters to take a swipe at another popular writer:

"If I were J.D. Salinger, listing all this crap in the medicine cabinet would be considered a literary achievement of the highest order."

Ouch! And, meow!

Oh. but I love a good literary feud . . .

[James Thane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spring finds the detectives of the 87th Precinct busy as usual. As the book opens, Detective Steve Carella has to deal with a beautiful young woman who decides she has nothing to live for and who has climbed out onto a ledge high above the street in her nightgown. She's ready to jump and in 1962, the PD doesn't yet have trained specialists to deal with a situation like this. Carella will do the best he can, but this really isn't his area of expertise.

Meanwhile, a hairbrush salesman is making his rounds. (Remember, it's 1962 when people other than the Girl Scouts apparently still sold things door-to-door.) The unsuspecting salesman rings the doorbell at an apartment which, unfortunately is filled with leaking natural gas. The electrical impulse from the bell touches off an explosion which blows the salesman and his hairbrushes all to hell.

When the dust settles, the police discover a man and a woman lying virtually naked in the bedroom dead from inhaling the gas. They also find a couple of empty Scotch bottles and a suicide note. But something seems off and most of the detectives believe that the deaths were really homicides.

Sadly, their investigation leads them nowhere. They discover some quirky facts about the case but nothing that absolutely disproves the apparent suicide and nothing that points the finger at a viable suspect. In the meantime, some unknown person has made it his hobby to periodically kick the crap out of Steve Carella, which does nothing to improve the detective's disposition. And unless the detectives catch a break soon, it appears that none of this will be resolved to anyone's satisfaction.

This is another very good entry in this series. As always, it's a pretty quick read and fans of the series are certain to enjoy it.

[Gary Sundell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always good to read a new to me 87th Precinct novel. 19 down a bit over 30 to go.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book begins with suicide. Carella tries to prevent one and Cotton Hawes gets an apparent love pact suicide that just doesn't ring true. This one isn't one of the stronger titles in the series. McBain opens up with his now familiar turning of the seasons line - this time Spring gets characterised as a rather lively lady. It's a line he's used before. McBain doesn't really explore the theme of suicide either. He doesn't seem interested. Finding the absence of suicide is all that matters and Mcbain is mostly interested in the crime just like his detectives. Hawes has been absent from the series for a few titles which made me think he'd been written out but I think the real explanation might be due to McBain going through a period of publishing some of his previously abandoned or delayed material. It's a side effect of being such a prolific writer.
McBain through Carella rather pooh-poohs the importance of first discovering motive to solve a crime. I don't know whether he believed that or whether it was just the frustration with the difficulties of maintaining mystery in a story when clear motives are detectable.
Mayer and Parker lend a hand when needed as does Bert Kling. Kling has not moved on from the loss of his girl. He's being eaten up by the tragic event. Hawes has settled down more and seems happy with his long time relationship. Gone are the days of him falling in love every thirty pages.
Although the mystery isn't the best it does show the precinct at work due to the investigation stalling so early resulting in other business getting priority.

[Tim Deforest · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unfortunate hairbrush salesman presses the doorbell of an apartment and sets of an explosion that kills him instantly. It turns out the apartment was full of gas and a spark from the doorbell ignited that gas. The couple inside had apparently turned on the gas to commit double-suicide.

The evidence does mostly point to suicide, but there are a few details that don't make sense. Was it homicide? Detectives Hawes and Carella investigate, but merely run into one metaphorical brick wall after another.

It's a good solid police procedural. Also seeded throughout the book are subplots involving an actual suicide that Carella dealt with in the first chapter and Bert Kling's unhealthy way of processing the death of his girlfriend that took place two books earlier.

This is a mid-tier 87th Precinct novel, but even the mid-tier entries are great reads.

[Oliver Clarke · Rating 5 out of 5]

A rock solid mystery from McBain that kept me guessing right up to the end. There are no gimmicks here, just a really accomplished police procedural with great characters, cracking prose and a healthy dose of pathos. It struck me reading it that one of McBain's great talents was making even the smallest of characters come to the life on the page. The city, too, is a living, breathing thing that is utterly convincing. Just superb.

[Colin Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ed McBain's 87th Precinct novels never let you down. In this one Carella tries to talk a young woman off a ledge 12 storeys up. The a salesman is blasted to death as he rings a doorbell, all leading the hard pressed detectives into a murder investigation. Sharp all action narrative that ends with yet another corpse.

[Kev Ruiz · Rating 3 out of 5]

★★★
"Like Love" has an interesting mystery at its core, though I wouldn’t say it’s one of the stronger ones in the series so far. I was a bit surprised that, although McBain has tackled a range of social themes in earlier books, he doesn’t really explore the subject of suicide here - just brushes past it, really. I’ve noticed other readers have made similar points.

What continues to stand out for me is the ongoing development of the 87th Precinct characters - Kling, for instance, is still clearly dealing with the loss of his girlfriend from a previous book, and that thread adds a nice bit of emotional weight.

This one, though, didn’t do much to develop the city as a character, which is something I usually look forward to. Still, it’s a solid enough entry - I enjoy these books and they’re always a fun read.

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's spring, so of course, love is in the air - mushy-gushy, hearts & flowers LOVE, with all the warm, tingly feelings it inspires. But for many, love brings only heartache, misery, and desperation. That means . . . yup - suicides in the city are WAY up. The boys of the 87th Precinct are busy, and there's one case in particular that's buggin' 'em - a scantily-clad couple found dead together in an apartment. It looks like a suicide. But, maybe not . . . Only good investigative work (and maybe one or two hunches), will tell.

This was one of the first Ed McBain books my dad ever nudged my way, and I read it back when I was a teen. Now I'm revisiting it in my attempt to read all the 87th Precinct books in order. For being a fairly unremarkable story, I was surprised how much I remembered of this sad little tale.

There was one bit I didn't catch all those decades ago that made me burst out laughing this time around. Two detectives are going through a suspect's medicine cabinet: one man reads off the contents, while another jots the list down on a notepad. And, it's here that the author chose the words of one of his characters to take a swipe at another popular writer:

"If I were J.D. Salinger, listing all this crap in the medicine cabinet would be considered a literary achievement of the highest order."

Ouch! And, meow!

Oh. but I love a good literary feud . . .

[Grady · Rating 4 out of 5]

The solution to the mystery is not entirely satisfying, but it works, and the rest of the story is great - solid pacing, a bunch of different interesting characters, and a lot of humor tucked into the banter between the detectives and in their interactions with witnesses and the public. It’s also funny to see McBain offer ironic commentaries on his plot and writing style, as when one detective lists off the contents of a medicine cabinet, and his partner stops in the middle of copying down the names to say, “If I were J. D. Salinger, listing all this crap in the medicine cabinet would be considered a literary achievement of the highest order.” Like Love may not be a literary achievement of the highest order, but it delivers a fine story with plausible procedural details and a lot of compassion for its characters.

[Aca · Rating 2 out of 5]

❤

More like 2.5, perfectly okay.

The beginning and the ending are nicely done, but the middle is lacking. Another thing lacking is a motive.

I was a bit baffled by the characters in a sense that the side characters, those who only appear in this case, are much more fleshed out and developed than the main ones.

All in all, alright but not amazing.

❤

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The guys at 87 find what appears to be a lovers' suicide pact, but they start poking around and find more.

Not as gritty as a lot of the earlier novels.

[AndrewP · Rating 3 out of 5]

A couple are found dead in an apartment and initially it looks like a double suicide. But something seems a little bit too cut and dry and 87th Precinct Detectives Carella and Hawes are not convinced. Once they start investigating they find a few things defiantly seem off, but after running down all the leads they don't find enough to solve the case. At least not until after it gets tossed in the 'open' case file. There were a couple of twists and red herrings along the way, and for the first time it looks like a crime at the end of this book sets things up for the next one.

Another short one at only 205 pages, but well worth it if you are a fan. I blew through it in 3 days.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

No. 16 in the Ed McBain’s wonderful series about the detectives of the 87th Precinct has a decidedly melancholy vibe. It features a glimpse into the effects of the job on Detectives Carella and Hawes and others. Witnessing a young woman jump to her death at the novel’s beginning sets a tone for Carella, who had been sarcastic with her while trying to talk her off the ledge. Guilt is a funny thing and actually comes into play several times throughout the story, ultimately helping to solve what was almost certainly going to wind up in the open cases file.

There are several other crimes to be solved by various members of the squad, but the central mystery is that of an apparent suicide that no one seems to believe was actually a suicide. But who had motives to murder two lovers who were apparently preparing to run off to Reno and get married just as soon as one of them could get a divorce? Ahhh, the plot thickens.

A good deal of the time spent in the story reveals the thankless tasks inherent in police work— following up on details, conducting interviews, filing paperwork, and downing endless cups of coffee. But as a testament to the author’s skills, reading pages of what should be boring police procedural just flows by, never putting the reader off from the inevitable conclusion that will end the story. And along the way we are treated to insights into the psyches of our favorite characters— Carella, Hawes, Meyer and all the other denizens of Isola and the wonderful world of the 87th Precinct. A few bits here and there left unfinished detracted a half point for me, preventing a full four star rating, but a solid entry into one of my favorite series.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad addition to the series. The mystery to be solved was reasonably complicated and the solution was arrived at by realistic means. However these books really don't excite me due to McBain's writing style. His narrations are uncomfortably self-conscious and awkward. His editor should have cleaned them up much better.

[Larry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another top notch outing for the boys of the 87th

[Jeff Tankersley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young couple is found dead in an apparent suicide pact, but Detectives Carella and Hawes aren't so sure about the circumstances and continue to investigate it as a possible homicide.

Verdict: A good whodunit police murder mystery.

Jeff's Rating: 3 / 5 (Good)
movie rating if made into a movie: R

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

A double suicide - or is it - is on the squads agenda.

[Perry Whitford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another case for McBain's boys in blue at the fictional 87th Precinct, one of the seamier jurisdictions in the heaving metropolis which is New York in all but name.

This time Cotton Hawes and Steve Carella investigate a double suicide in an apartment block. A note suggests a lover's pact, but some of the details don't add up...

Like Love is precisely no better or no worse than the other books I have read in this extensive series. McBain portrays his cops as commendable without glamorising them, the faux-New York settings are crisp and clearly recognisable (this one features the "Brio Building" in place of the Brill Building), the dialogue dry and direct.

Dropping in at the 87th Precinct is never exactly over-taxing on your attention, but it's always worth the visit.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this edition of the 87th Precinct, the team focuses primarily on the murders of a couple intending to be married. They die in an apparent suicide, but it's up to the team to discover the truth. While not the tightest plotting ever, it still sucked me in. And I think it was especially important that these characters aren't cardboard - what happens to them professionally and personally carries over book to book. And we now see Kling changing before our eyes after the murder of his girlfriend. While there are some limitations, this book very much feels like a product of its time (in a good way).

[Jez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've seen this book criticised as generic McBain, or as sentimental, but I remembered really liking it first time round and the reread didn't disappoint.
It's fairly dark, carrying on the tone from the previous full length novel, serving as a kind of treatise on the shallowness, or destructive nature, of love. Love's definitely blind here, if it is love and not just a gaudy simulacrum that's just 'like love'.
Not sentimental, it even steers clear of the two most stable relationships in the series. One for the jaded ones amongst us, I guess ;)

[Skip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Carella fails to prevent a girl from jumping off a building and Hawes gets a double suicide, which has some odd elements. Suspiscion falls first on the cuckolded husband and then on her mother because of insurance proceeds, but little progress is made. Once again, Carella gets attacked and badly beaten, presumably because of the investigation. Meanwhile, Cotton Hawes' lover inadvertently provides the key to solving the mystery.

[Mack · Rating 4 out of 5]

A disjointed plot, and the story can’t build power.

[Helen (Helena/Nell) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one. Much more satisfying than the three novellas that comprised the fifteenth volume in this same series. Here, there was enough time to get gradually and fully involved, to start slow and build pace -- although this is not a fast-paced number, and it's not intended to be. At the centre is a double murder puzzle that's set up to look like a joint suicide. It's a puzzle for Carella and Hawes, and therefore for the reader too. An interesting puzzle. In thinking about the homicide, the characters of the two dead victims are gradually opened up, so that you begin to care about them. You want the puzzle to be solved for their sakes, if no other. They are more than just bodies.

There's a really neat twist that adds drama and ties the opening scene to a seemingly disconnected attack on Carella. I won't go into it for spoiler reasons. I just thought this was a good and thoroughly pleasurable read. And as a kind of backdrop, Cotton Hawes is getting serious about his long-term girlfriend. It comes as a surprise to him. Would he recognise love if it smacked him in the face? Well, perhaps eventually....

I keep hoping Kling, who pops up here and there, will give reveal something of how he's coping with grief after the death of his fiance. But he's just rather quiet. Maybe later. He's young. He has time to fall in love again.

[Nik Maack · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was struggling to find something to read. A lot of books annoy me because they're over-written. It's like the author doesn't trust their story so has to douse every sentence in perfume and jewelry. Instead of just telling the facts of the matter, they have to get all poetic.

Ed McBain doesn't do that. He tells you what's happening. Simply. Shortly. It's a complex world, but he competently lays it all out. And he makes a police procedural feel real. Just cops doing their jobs. Nothing romantic about it -- and that's the romance of it.

A few years ago, I was at a used book sale in some church. They had a stack of Ed McBain novels. I cut a deal with the book seller. She gave me all of them at a discount. I've been meaning to read them for a while now, but they've just been sitting there on my bookshelf. Good thing they were, because I was in a mood for straight-forward prose.

Slightly dated, but still great reading, this novel is a lot of fun. Plotlines intersect and intertwine. The same old characters of the 87th precinct are in every book. They start to feel like old friends every time I read one of these books. Reading them out of order is a bit weird, but doesn't hurt the story too much.

This one is about suicide, sort of.

[Nigel Bird · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like Love opens with a suicide and moves onto a huge explosion and the discovery of two semi-naked bodies sharing a bed. The woman is married to someone else, a bottle of whisky has been consumed and there's a suicide note to explain their final moments of life. Thing is, none of those involved in the case believe the note and there are enough clues to investigate further.
I was getting on really well with it until I reached a section where it's revealed that Bert Kling has turned sour following on from recent events, which was a pretty hard pill to swallow. After that, I lost momentum and stopped reading altogether.

When I picked it up again, the threads were still tight and the case was still fascinating. The clues were finally put together in about the most unusual circumstances I can remember and all's well that ends well.

Truth be told, it took so long I can't give it any sense of detail. I enjoyed it and there are terrific scenes which means I'll recommend it to the house.

[Alonzo Church · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s probably not fair that this particular Ed McBain reminded me of an episode of Hill Street Blues or many other cop shows of the 80s and 90s. After all, those shows were inspired by McBain in the first place. Who says a reviewer has to be fair, though? All I can do is suggest you might have the same been there done that reaction.

Well, not at the start, maybe. The first chapter involves an event that would, in a more recent book, have sent the hero into a chronic and deserved depression that would last for the next 4 or 5 episodes. Steve Carella is made of more sturdy stuff, so he is just a touch crabbier than usual. In the meantime, there is a murder that looks like suicide to solve, and the team of the 87th precinct is on it. I enjoyed the way Detective Hawes figures out the solution (it’s unique and shows in a small way how 1962 is not 2020.)

Otherwise, this is all very been there done that. Worth a read, but not worth seeking out.

[Josh Hitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Closer to a 3.5, it is a solid volume in the series. I thought the main case was well done showing how hard it could be in solving a crime that they really didnt know if it was one or not. Also how something small can trigger a deduction and basically solve the case. The main case is about a young couple who were found nude, other then underwear, in bed after a gas explosion in the apt killed a salesman at the door. Which is interesting enough but there is also always other minor happenings in the 87th that brings great atmosphere.

Highly recommended, it's one of the better ones of this series to this point. Top half anyway.

[Diane Ploussard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ed McBain. Just Wow

I would love to read all his books. The 87th Precinct Books I think are my favorites as they seem so authentic. And Carello is such a great character.
Ed McBain , although I have not read a!l his books, I cannot imagine not liking any one of them. Mr McCain was so great at his character development that I feel as if I know them personally.
I would recommend his books to anyone who is I interested in police work, the way they think, and although there are murders and crime there is nothing that is graphic or offensive.
If you have not found his books yet you should give them a try.

[wally · Rating 3 out of 5]

4:59 ay em, the 10th of december 2017, just finished this story, another from mcbain. three stars, kindle, i liked it...liked all of the story save the ending. as endings go. meh. okay. sure. another cold day in december...whudda we have for snow so far this year? dunno...the paper doesn't have it. 'bout a foot of snow cover...have had more. it comes and goes. one thing mcbain does good is character. little girl on the stairwell with a skate key. minor characters are nicely drawn. and then some. christine.