See Them Die

87th Precinct #13

by Ed McBain

Kill me if you can - that was Pepe Miranda's challenge. Murderer, two-bit hero of the street gangs, he was holed up somewhere in the 87th Precinct, making the cops look like fools and cheered on by every neighbourhood punk. It was not a challenge Lieutenant Pete Byrnes and the detectives in the squad room could leave alone. Not in the sticky, July heat of the city with the gangs just waiting to explode into violence . . .

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

158 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1960

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 3 out of 5]

Though West Side Story was not filmed until 1961, it was on Broadway in 1957. I'm guessing that Mrs. McBain forced her husband to sit through the musical at least once before he penned this book in 1960. There is so much star-crossed love, and gang rivalry going on here, I half expected a dance/fight to break out at any minute.



McBain's attempts at hip street slang are pretty cringe-worthy, but when a tense police standoff turns into a hostage situation, the action gets pretty riveting. On the whole, this is a fairly forgettable entry in the series. Recommended for 87th Precinct completists only.

[James Thane · Rating 3 out of 5]

The thirteenth entry in Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series takes place over the course of a single hot, sultry Sunday afternoon. It's a set piece that plays out in the Puerto Rican section of McBain's fictional city of Isola.

The mix of characters includes an honest, struggling lunch counter owner; a sixteen-year-old kid who calls himself Zip and who is anxious to make a name for himself leading a "gang" with three other members; a drunken sailor who wanders into the neighborhood looking for a whorehouse; a crazed killer named Pepe Miranda; and, of course, the detectives of the 87th Precinct, including a racist cop who seems to have a chip on his shoulder directed against all Puerto Ricans who have somehow found their way to Isola.

The central character in this book is really Zip, rather than any of the detectives. He's young and confused and, for the moment at least, his role model is Miranda, who Zip thinks of as a hero for his people because he stands up to the cops. Zip has plans to make a name for himself this Sunday morning, but those plans are interrupted when the cops corner Miranda in an apartment.

A crowd gathers to watch the spectacle as the police confront the killer, led by the Lieutenant of the 87th Precinct and his trusty detectives. And before the afternoon is over, a great deal of blood will have been shed and, hopefully, some lessons will have been learned.

This book is not among my favorites in the series. It's anything but a conventional crime novel; it feels rather more like a small morality play. Being a novel by Ed McBain, it's very well written, but it feels a bit on the preachy side and is not very believable. I'm anxious to move on to the next in the series, which I hope will be a bit more conventional 87th Precinct novel.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

A strange one. A hot afternoon where death visits a couple of people. One good and one bad. I found it odd the police used tear gas in the wrong order. The focus of the story is on a wannabe bad guy with Puerto Rico teenager Zip who dreams of being the leader of a gang.

There is also a sailor that almost finds love. A crook and cop from the neighborhood where it doesn’t end well.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ed McBain's famed police procedural series about the 87th Precinct is, on the surface, easily mistaken for a relatively superficial set of cops-and-robbers stories. Yet McBain actually digs pretty deep into societal issues and human foibles in most of his stories, none more deeply than in this, a story ostensibly about a gunman held at bay by surrounding policemen. In reality, McBain uses this situation to pursue one of his most inquisitive excavations of human relations. The entire novel takes place on one day in the Puerto Rican ghetto of the unnamed city where the 87th precinct functions. The lives of the familiar detectives of the 87th are but a segment of the populace at play in this story. Gangbangers (long before the term was popularized), small business owners, sailors on leave, and fresh-off-the-boat immigrants all have pertinent portions of the mosaic McBain pieces together, and it's a remarkably affecting story about race, poverty, hero-worship, revenge, and loneliness. It's one of the very best of the 87th novels I've read so far, which means it's a very good book indeed.

[George K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Συνόδεψέ τους ως το θάνατο", εκδόσεις Άγκυρα.

Χρονολογικά είναι το δέκατο τρίτο βιβλίο της σειράς του 87ου Αστυνομικού Τμήματος και ενδέκατο που περνάει στη λίστα με τα διαβασμένα. Πέρυσι τον Αύγουστο διάβασα για τελευταία φορά βιβλίο της σειράς και δεν μπορώ να κρύψω το γεγονός ότι μου έλειψε πάρα πολύ το στιλ γραφής του συγγραφέα, η ατμόσφαιρα των ιστοριών του και η όλη ρεαλιστική αποτύπωση του κόσμου του εγκλήματος. Αλλά επειδή τα αδιάβαστα βιβλία της σειράς που έχουν μεταφραστεί, πλέον όλο και μειώνονται, θα πρέπει να είμαι συγκρατημένος, έτσι ώστε να μην ξεμείνω. Κάποια στιγμή, βέβαια, θα διαβάσω στα αγγλικά και ορισμένα που δεν έχουν μεταφραστεί.

Λοιπόν, σε σχέση με προηγούμενα βιβλία της σειράς, έχουμε να κάνουμε με κάτι το διαφορετικό ως προς την πλοκή, μιας και δεν υπάρχει κάποιο μυστήριο για την ταυτότητα ενός δολοφόνου ή ενός απαγωγέα, με όλη την αναμενόμενη αστυνομική έρευνα. Η ιστορία διαδραματίζεται μια ζεστή μέρα του Ιουλίου στο γκέτο των Πορτορικάνων της Ιζόλα, όπου διάφορα γεγονότα, σημαντικά και σχετικά ασήμαντα, συμβαίνουν ταυτόχρονα. Από τη μια βλέπουμε έναν μεθυσμένο ναύτη από μια κωμόπολη του Κολοράντο να ψάχνει μια κοπέλα για να περάσει την ώρα του, από την άλλη βλέπουμε ανήλικα μέλη συμμοριών με πομπώδη ονόματα να προσπαθούν να δείξουν ότι είναι σκληροί τύποι, ενώ επίσης βλέπουμε την αστυνομία να προσπαθεί να πιάσει έναν επικίνδυνο δολοφόνο που έχει ταμπουρωθεί σε ένα διαμέρισμα, με το πλήθος να παρακολουθεί, πότε πότε να επευφημεί τον ταμπουρωμένο, αλλά κατά βάθος να περιμένει με αγωνία να χυθεί λίγο αίμα...

Με τις γνωστές ρεαλιστικές περιγραφές και τους απίστευτα φυσικούς διαλόγους, ο Μακμπέιν μας δίνει την ευκαιρία να δούμε πώς περίπου είναι η ζωή σε ένα γκέτο και τι σκέφτονται μερικοί από τους κατοίκους του, αλλά και οι αστυνομικοί που είναι υπεύθυνοι για την τήρηση της τάξης και του νόμου. Με τις λιτές αλλά εύστοχες περιγραφές του, ο συγγραφέας μπάζει τον αναγνώστη στον ασπρόμαυρο και σκληρό κόσμο της ιστορίας, κρατώντας το ενδιαφέρον και την αγωνία μέχρι το τέλος, έστω και αν δεν υπάρχει κάποιο μυστήριο ή αυτή η μαγεία του police procedural που συναντάει κανείς σε προηγούμενα βιβλία του.

[Gary Sundell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite in the series.

I didn't care much for this entry in the series. Not enough of the cops of the 87th. This is not the worst of the series.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

An unusual installation in the 87th Precinct series inasmuch as McBain seemed to have focused more on a coming of age / morality issue than a police procedural / murder mystery.
The story focuses on a small group of Latino teens, some of whom have recently arrived from Puerto Rico, and their struggles for identity in the barrio. The central character within their ranks, a boy called Zip, wants to feel important and has tried to form a gang. But the story, well written by McBain, is really all about various characters searching for something bigger than themselves. Searching for belonging, for something meaningful, and to escape the prejudice and fear that has infiltrated their lives.
Andy Parker is a cop filled with fear and bigotry. He's a rather loathesome character, not at all like "fat" Ollie Weeks, a detective with similar prejudice towards minorities, but he is the other central character herein. His struggle is vivid and raw-- like those of the people he seems to fear and hate.
I found the story to be uneven and not as enjoyable as the standard 87th Precinct novel. But upon reflection, McBain's skill shines through and made the book better than perhaps it deserved and worth reading for his fans.

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

Devastatingly perfect. Reread.

[Nigel Bird · Rating 5 out of 5]

After recently reading and thoroughly enjoying The Heckler, I was prepared for See Them Die to be less satisfying, after all when the bar is raised so high not every book can make it over. I couldn't have been more wrong. I'd go as far as to say that this could by my favourite 87th novel so far.

This was a really special read. The opening chapter sets the scene, beginning the dissection of the Puerto Rican community on the station's doorstep. It has the feel of Steinbeck, carrying weight and simplicity in equal measure. The broad strokes soon become more detailed as the focus shifts from the street to the luncheonette run by Luis Amandez. The only customer is Zip, a teenager too proud and arrogant to join the biggest gang in town who has formed his own. He's the leader of the Latin Purples, a gang with only four members that needs to do something major if it's going to gain any reputation.

The pair are soon joined by a drunken sailor who's looking for the local whorehouse and is struggling to come to terms with the fact that it's closed on a Sunday morning. The interplay between the trio is beautiful, the dialogue and action slick and easy and we know everything we need to about them within a few paragraphs.

By page three, we know that there are going to be two people lying dead on the street before today, but have no idea who they might be.

The Latin Purples intend to murder a local boy because he made advances towards Zip's girl, China. As it turns out, the advances were merely a hello and China wants nothing to do with Zip, but the boy has to go anyway. The Purples need to splash their colour around and murder will certainly add to their notoriety.

Enter the police. There's friction at headquarters between three of the officers. Puerto Rican local boy made good, Frankie Hernandez, hard nut and cold-hearted Peter Byrnes and main man Steve Carella. There's needle between Byrnes and Hernandez born from the former's racism and general unpleasantness and there's friction between Carella and Byrnes because of a previous encounter where Byrnes over-stepped the mark on the wrong day. Byrnes is on pins because he's keen to nail local anti-hero Pepe Miranda, public enemy number one. Byrne's desperate to finish Miranda off personally and is prepared to take his frustration out on anyone who even looks at him sideways.

Byrnes ends up drinking coffee with the sailor, Zip and Louis. It's all friendly on the surface, but charged by the heat and the growing tension of the city as it springs to life.

As the local people wake, the area blossoms like a desert after a rainstorm, stirring the pot and bringing all the main players onto the stage.

The sailor meets China and the pair fall hard for each other as if fate has brought them together so that they can escape their own private hells. Pepe Miranda is discovered in one of the street's buildings and the entire area is swamped by police and spectators while the church bells ring. Hernandez goes to speak to the boy Zip intends to wash. Two members of the Royal Guardians stray into the territory. The loyalties of the Purples become strained as they hide their guns and prepare for action. Tension within the detective builds. A couple of hookers see their opportunity to make some extra cash. A picnic basket is prepared. And people die.

I adored it. The layers of the characters are exposed carefully as contrasts are explored. We see the differences between the law-abiding and the crooks, the gap between generations, the tensions between an immigrant community and the police, the rivalry of gangs, the precarious interplay of lust and love, bravery and cowardice, hope and hopelessness, life and death.

As the god overseeing the action McBain plays with us a little. He even tells us that he's doing it. If he were so inclined, he could make all the endings rosy. But he didn't feel like it.

There may be melodramatic elements to the story, but I'm a sucker for a good set-up that keeps me on the edge of my seat ready to reach for the hankies.

I reckon See Them Die is like a collision between Angels With Dirty Faces and West Side Story. It's tough stuff with a big heart. And if you listen really carefully, you may even feel the beat of the musical score.

Wonderful stuff.

[wally · Rating 4 out of 5]

if the world of literature and art were still evenly divided between comedy and tragedy this one is in the tragedy column. one reviewer called it a morality play. and maybe not so much a police procedural. mcbain's stories, these 87th precinct stories, have at their core the detectives of the 8th squad. and the individuals unique to each story. this one is no different with a number of others who are on stage, a sailor, a hop owner, a young pretty puerto rican girl, several young puerto rican boys, and one bad apple. i really liked it. good read. on to the next.

[John Biddle · Rating 2 out of 5]

See Them Die is the first of the 87th Precinct books by Ed McBain that I didn't like. Unlike all the others I've read, this book is mostly from the perspective of criminals, and mostly uninteresting ones at that. It really stands out as a dud among many very enjoyable stories, though as I've read more and more they're getting worse and worse. I'm taking a break from them for awhile, maybe I try some of the later ones if I come back.

[Michael Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read all of these long ago. A great series that did tend to wander back on itself in later volumes.

[Glen Engel-Cox · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing’s still a bit purple, but finally we see a glimpse of the McBain to come–the McBain that knows what a mystery is and knows how to show it to us rather than tell it to us. The set-up on this book is simple–in the first chapter, McBain tells us that two people are going die this day. From then on, character after character, and situation after situation, is introduced, and everytime you think, “ah-ha! here’s the one that’s going to die,” McBain pulls the rug out and disaster is averted. Or, when someone gets shot and you think, “no, this isn’t the person to die, can’t be,” well, you’re wrong. There really isn’t a mystery per se here, but there is a quite a bit of tension and surprise. Also, McBain kills off a repeating character in such an unexpected manner, showing you the difference between his series and those of other mystery writers. For other writers, the characters are king. Pick up any Nero Wolfe novel, and you know that Nero, Archie, Fritz, Saul, and Inspector Cramer will be there. Not so with McBain. His character is the 87th Precinct, and no matter who the cops and villains are, it is the city and the precinct that will be there.

[Vicky D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the most intense 87th book that I have read. McBain describes the scene well for the readers to bring you that level of despair, fear and anger of the setting for the book. Both the story and substory are heart wrenching.

[Jeff Tankersley · Rating 1 out of 5]

The 87th Precinct novels to this point have had a smart and interesting array of cases in and around the NYC-styled fictional metropolis of Isola. We've had drug cases, murders for hire, kidnapping, blackmail schemes, bunco acts, some scary threats, and a fun assortment of detective characters working these various cases who are relatable and interesting. These novels were written starting in 1956 and it is a testament to the immersive flavor of the series as a whole that this is the first I can say is a badly dated and boringly tropey read.

In this 13th episode of the 87th Precinct Series, a young Puerto Rican street hoodlum and his small group of teenage friends have set a target on a schoolmate of theirs, to earn some street rep and be tough guys. The prejudiced cop Andy Parker is butting heads with the Puerto Rican Detective Frankie Hernandez when it comes to dealing with the profiling of young minorities in the street.

There's a lot of racist or anti-racist dialogue in this one, some idiot will make a racist remark and his colleague or the diner owner will measure a guarded response, and it happens over and over and over as if illuminating or interesting. And when the hoodlums are involved it is even worse, written in half-broken Spanish-English ("What's dee sense havin' a jacket if you cann wear it, huh?"), pages and pages of this, not very interesting, and kind of just like McBain setting an atmospheric tone that doesn't hold up. There's also an hispanic murder suspect with a history of fighting cops who they now have a line on and there's additional racial overtones with this storyline, too. We get it, people here are racist and struggle with identity when in big melting pots like NYC / New Isola.

As for characters, we've got Detective Carella in a supporting role, the two cardboard cutout cops mentioned above, Lieutenant Byrnes, a sailor on shore leave who finds himself in the middle of the mayhem, and the bunch of street-speaking wannabe gangsters with the female they are all riled up about. Usually we get more cops or better-flushed out criminals. Meyer, Kling, Hawes, Brown, no-shows.

Verdict: "See Them Die" comes across as a mashup of some tropey 60's racial harmony and street preaching exposition with horribly cartoony gunplay and whole teams of cops shooting guns at buildings.

Jeff's Rating: 1 / 5 (Bad)
movie rating if made into a movie: R

[David Mccracken · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being back in the world of the 87th Precinct is very enjoyable. McBain captured me with this series not only how he uses the whole Precinct as who you follow as your main characters, but how develops characters with a few lines of dialogue. He puts humor and darkness within a few paragraphs or pages. "See Them Die" shows this skill off very much. Most of the characters that get showcased especially the Gang Members and Pepe Miranda who is kind of the Air of the whole book get seen in different ways in the book, rather than being one dimensional. Books of the time those characters would most likely would be one dimensional, but McBain's point is showing all these different sides. It might be written a little, but differently now if it were written. I think he did something very well here. I am not always a fan of McBain's Gang novel's, I think this is one of his best. It doesn't consume the novel. There are so many stories going on and you get so much these little stories in this one part of this City. It comes off very like a Film, I can see sequences. It's heart wrenching, very funny in parts and very frustrating how it mirrors things still going on today. A Great Entry.

[Jiří Pavlovský · Rating 4 out of 5]

Další radikální úkrok stranou. Poldové z 87 revíru tu hrají čistě roli křoví, jen aby se to dalo zařadit do série. Jinak to působí více jako přepis divadelní hry odehrávající se na jedné ulici a přilehlých lokacích v portorikánské čtvrti, kde je policií obklíčený hledaný (a některými místními obdivovaný) zločinec. Od začátku je jasně řečené, že umřou dva lidé, jen netušíte kdo. Námořník, který vyrazil do bordelu? Majitel bistra? Kluk, který pozdravil špatnou holku a je teď v zaměřovači místního gangu? Náctiletý šéf toho gangu, který se za každou cenu chce stát velkým zvířetem? Holka, o které tvrdí, že mu patří? Nebo rasistický policajt? Postavy se setkávají a vzájemně ovlivňují. Mnohem víc než detektivka je to McBainův pokus o čistokrevné drama, něco jako si předtím střihnul v Džungli před tabulí. Jen uzavřené v čase a prostoru, na poli pár hodin. Ano, v mnohém je to naivní... ale taky to bylo napsané někdy v roce 1960. A jako celkový příběh to pořád hodně dobře funguje.

[Mark Schiffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A blazingly hot day in July in a Puerto Rican neighborhood is the locale for See Them Die. The bulls are chasing down Pepe Miranda in an apartment building, but surprisingly they are not McBain's focus. Instead we spend the majority of the >200 pages with the neighborhood residents, including Zip, Cooch, Little Killer, China, and other "one book" characters. See Them Die functions more as a crime thriller than a murder mystery, and it lands magnificently, like a tightly wound watch. The reduced time frame adds to its vitality, the entirety of the book takes place takes place on a Sunday morning/early afternoon - basically in real-time. At the moment this is easily one of my favorite 87th Precinct books.

[AndrewP · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book #13 of the 87th Precinct series and this one is another distinct style of police story.

The cops of the 87th Precinct have a wanted criminal, Pepe Miranda, cornered in an apartment in the Pueto Rican neighborhood. He's not going to give up and it's obvious from the start that he's going down. This is the backdrop of the book, but the majority of the story consists of a half dozen tales on the motivations, lives and backgrounds of some half a dozen spectators of the standoff.

Really enjoyed this one and flew through it in 2 days casual reading. It's nice to see a diversion from the standard police procedural style.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

With all due respect to the author who continues to seek books posthumously, who taught you how to write? Yours is one of the most awkward styles I've ever encountered and if I didn't already own so many of your books, I'd probably quit the series right now. I can only hope that your style will improve as we move through the series.

[Kev Ruiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ 4.5 Stars

Despite its departure from the usual 87th Precinct formula, I thoroughly enjoyed See Them Die. The story unfolds over the course of a single, sweltering Sunday afternoon, and McBain nails that tense, claustrophobic atmosphere—you can almost feel the heat rising off the pavement.

What really sets this apart is the shift in focus. The police officers, usually front and centre, are more in the background, with the spotlight on the Puerto Rican community living in the precinct’s neighbourhood. McBain’s always been great at bringing the city to life, but here he goes one better, zooming in on one part of it with sharp social commentary. Themes of racial tension, poverty, identity, and the struggle to belong are woven into the narrative, alongside the way young Puerto Ricans wrestle with their heritage while trying to fit into an often hostile environment.

The exploration of gang culture and its grip on young boys is really well done. At times, it does feel a bit like McBain’s standing on a moral soapbox, but it reflects the realities of the time. There’s definitely a risk of stereotyping, something I’ve seen pointed out in other reviews, but he balances this with some strong female characters who reject the gang life and challenge the men around them, raising interesting questions—like how violence often feels like just another game for boys.

As always with McBain, the story is driven by great characters. Pepe Miranda really stands out, and it’s fascinating to see how his presence and actions ripple through the community. The whole thing feels quite theatrical, with its tight timeframe and single setting, which adds to the tension. Like many in the series, it’s easy to imagine this as a TV episode or even a stage play.

Despite the darker themes, it still delivers that old-school feel I get from the series—that kind of comfort you find in returning to familiar territory, but with an edge that keeps it fresh. Bold, gritty, and thought-provoking.

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best 87th Precinct novels of the 14 I've gotten to. Puerto Rican gang members watch as a few detectives of the 87th Precinct face off against a murderous and clever Puerto Rican criminal. A sailor visiting the city and a Puerto Rican girl fall in love. The detective bureau suffers through the friction brought on by a racist in the squad room. Good stuff.

Excellent narration.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 13th book with 87th Precinct on the cover is a bit of a curate's egg. McBain is sometimes experimental with his writing and the formula sometimes gets a bit bent out of shape but this one is barely recognisably part of the series. There are a few scenes, mainly in the squad room, that are pure 87th but for the most part McBain chooses to tell a morality fable from the street. I don't think it surprises me that this was written not long after West Side Story had exploded with nuclear impact on Broadway for the first time. Although the story kicks off with the chance meeting of three guys, all cut off from their roots, from different walks and stages of life, the story really only follows one of them. Zip is a young trouble maker who has moved to a new neighbourhood and having been bullied at his old one sets out to be top dog of his own little street gang.- The Latin Purples. He's sort of the very small cog by which the larger story turns. Unfortunately he's chosen a very bad role model in Pepe Miranda and so believes that the best way to make a reputation is by killing someone. He's gong to kill another young kid who was unlucky enough to say "Hello." to a girl that Zip likes.
Meanwhile, lest we forget who are heroes are, the cops have cornered Pepe in some apartments and lay siege. Lieutenant Pete Byrnes gets to dust off his megaphone and lead his troop of beat cops and bulls to winkle Pepe out and nobody on either side is looking to spare their bullets. Carella backs him up, but it's Frankie Fernandez, the precinct's only Puerto Rican bull and Andy Parker who are the main players on the law side of the tale. Parker is a cop who hits first and doesn't bother much listening to questions answered later. He's also racist as hell but doesn't understand why the objects of his racism are so touchy. With everything heating up at the height of summer it all makes for a boiling pot that's got too hot not to explode and the tough end of fate is going to decide who gets to walk away alive. Along with the sometimes preachy diatribe against racism McBain takes a hard look at fate and asks 'why can't things always turn out for the good?'. I gave the book four stars for a story well told but if I was to score it as an 87th Precinct story I might only give it two or maybe three, the extra star only because it does have some pivotal plot action for some of the boys from the 87th.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's a lot going on in this, the thirteenth 87th Precinct novel.

A hot, summer Sunday morning.

The police have Pepe Miranda, a thief and killer, pinned in a hotel room. He refuses to come out. The building is surrounded by both civilians and police. The roofs, hanging out of windows, all watching, the crowds alternately cheering the police and Miranda.

We have Zip, a would-be gang leader who'd formed The Latin Purples and idolized Miranda. He has four members and wants instant respect. He thinks murdering a sixteen year old who'd merely said hello to a young woman he fancied as his girl friend(she had other ideas) as the way to go. He'd blown it up from saying hello to feeling her up. The encounter with real gang members hadn't helped his ego.

Andy Parker of the 87Th, once a good cop, who'd survived a savage beating and now wanted to kill Miranda to "fix" himself.

And Steve Carella, going in disguised as a priest, knowing he was going to be used as a hostage. Miranda had already shot one of the patrolman that went up to arrest him and a detective, Frankie Hernandez, climbing the fire escape after Zip shouts a warning.

As always, McBain paces everything nicely, drawing things out to the inevitable conclusion.

Liked this one.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great addition to the 87th Precinct series. McBain starts off the book with this great concept of the city and the heat as twim pillars of the summer. And how the heat transforms the city into something more malicious. Going from there, he really captures the ethos of this one small neighborhood corner. I've read some comments that maybe he wasn't "culturally sensitive," but these are similar attacks launched at Twain for using the n-word in Huck Finn. McBain was capturing the time period and showing how the neighborhood's inhabitants were living and surviving. Throughout the book, we know two characters will die - but we don't know their identities until the end. It's a brutal ending, and it's elevated to greatness by asking why/how does God permit things to happen. Really well done.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

See Them Die (1960)

A lot of Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct thrillers are a combination of mystery and police procedural. This one has no real mystery and tells the story of an armed killer holding the boys at bay in a Puerto Rican slum. There’s a lot of characters and a lot more hooptedoodle than most of McBain’s book in this series. This one is different and even optimistic.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two men will die on the streets of the 87th Precinct 0n the same day, one a good man and one bad. McBain uses ridicule of God to tell his story with extensively over detailed character development for minor characters.

[Beverly Laude · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would have been a great movie/Tv show....not such a great book, but still entertaining.

[Socrate · Rating 3 out of 5]

IULIE

Arşiţă.

În marele oraş, ele sunt sinonime, sunt identice, seamănă până la confuzie. Târfele astea gemene, care-şi vântură pletele blonde platinate şi buzele rujate într-un roşu sclipitor şi ţipător, care se leagănă pe tocurile înalte şi-şi dau aere în rochiile lor galbene din mătase, bat străzile ca nişte turbate. Arşiţa şi Iulie sunt gemenele care s-au născut ca să te facă să suferi.

Aerul e palpabil. Doar să-ntinzi puţin mâna şi reuşeşti să-l pipăi. Lipicios şi cleios cum e, te poţi înveli în el ca-ntr-un veşmânt gelatinos. Asfaltul a devenit vâscos şi tălpile ţi se prind în el, atunci când te aventurezi pe stradă. Trotuarele radiază o strălucire alburie şi mată care contrastează cu negrul aproape lichid al rigolei, dând astfel naştere unei urzeli schimbătoare de umbre şi lumini care te ameţeşte. Soarele atârnă de cerul neclintit şi decolorat ca o pereche de blugi uzaţi de prea mult spălat. Pe cerul ăsta, albastrul a rămas doar o amintire neclară, pentru că a fost izgonit de nălucirea orbitoare a soarelui şi totul e învăluit într-un abur tremurător, un freamăt al arşiţei pe cale să explodeze în ploaie.

Clădirile suportă arşiţa cu aerul solemn al evreilor ortodocşi, îmbrăcaţi în redingote lungi şi negre. S-au obişnuit cu ea. Unele dintre ele îi rezistă de aproape un secol şi suferinţa lor e tăcută; o înfruntă cu indiferenţa dârză a stoicilor.

O mână nesigură a scris cu cretă albă pe pavaj câteva cuvinte: JESUS VIENE. PREPARENSE POR NUESTRA REDENCION!{1}

Clădirile dau să înghesuie trotuarele şi nu se pregătesc nici pentru mântuire, nici pentru pierzanie.

Pe strada asta nu e prea mult aer.

În lume există locuri unde cerul e mare şi se întinde cât ţine orizontul, ca un cort de un albastru strident, dar nu aşa stau lucrurile pe strada asta. Cerul de aici pare să fi fost strivit de siluetele inegale ale clădirilor, îndesat cu forţa, pentru că altfel n-ar mai fi încăput cum se cuvine, stâlcit sub loviturile date cu un pumn slinos, până când a acoperit toată strada pentru a nu îngădui arşiţei să se risipească.

Strada e cufundată în linişte.

E doar 8:40 dimineaţă şi e duminică.

Prin rigole zac nemişcate bucăţi de ziar; ele îşi împart asfaltul cleios cu sticle sparte, şipci rupte din lăzile de portocale şi cutii goale de conserve. Pe terenul viran de la colţul străzii se văd rămăşiţele carbonizate ale unor ruguri, o saltea ruptă şi murdară de la un pat de copil, şerpii de un alb lăptos al prezervativelor folosite. Pe scările de incendiu se lăfăie tot felul de lucruri neînsemnate ce ţin de viaţă; pături, perne, lăzi de bere, ghivece de flori şi, ici-colo, câte-o ghitară. Un bărbat doarme pe una din platformele scării de incendiu şi-şi mişcă o mână, care alunecă printre barele de metal şi atârnă în jos legănându-se moale, apoi rămâne inertă.

Asta-i singura mişcare de pe stradă.

Aerul e dezgustător de încremenit. Arşiţa e ceva atotcuprinzător şi lipsit de viaţă care nu se clinteşte şi care descurajează mişcarea în tot ce îmbrăţişează. A pătruns adânc în faţadele de cărămidă ale clădirilor de locuinţe, în asfalt, în pavaj şi în cer. S-a lipit de toate aceste lucruri precum un email portocaliu pe un obiect din cupru.

De undeva, din depărtare, se aud dangătele unor clopote de biserică, pentru că e duminică dimineaţă dar până şi chemările acestea lansate în aer, care trebuie să răzbată prin pânzele şi vălurile arşiţei, au un sunet supărător de apatic şi de poticnit. Alături de toate astea, ca un contrapunct precipitat, trenul suspendat trece mugind la vreo două cvartale spre sud, apoi se stinge şi clănţănitul metalic al roţilor, iar ecoul clopotelor se dizolvă în tăcerea cleioasă a aerului şi strada recade în nemişcare.

Astăzi, pe strada asta, vor muri doi oameni.

[Rob Smith, Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

One fault that might be found with this entry in the 87th Precinct novels is that it's somewhat a rewriting of McBain's 'On the Sidewalk' from 1956. Basically the same premise as one of the main lines of this novel are kid gangs and the fantasy world they live in until reality comes to call.

I find it funny that some believe this book derives from 'West Side Story'. It would be more likely 'West Side Story' derives from 'On the Sidewalk' or McBain's best known work, 'Blackboard Jungle'. Reality is that the kid gang life in New York City was a stark reality, splashing across newspapers beyond New York City and many in New York were writing about what they were seeing.

McBain does an outstanding job of delineating the motivations of so many in this novel. This style of writing was becoming a writers version of Method Acting in the 1950s. Having characters emote. Usually not many characters emote as McBain does in this book. however, this works as McBain navigates the narrow shoals to come out of this a single strong stream.

This writing style was a short, condensed punch in the face to the beautiful, prolonged similar tactic used by greats as Austin, Dickens and du Maurier. Reading this by the standards of the blundering writers in the 21st century, this book might come across as mushy and too illustrative. The big reason for this development was the hurried sales of the 25 cent novel and the push to get as many out as possible with writers pumping out thousands of words a day and finding ways to sharpen characters with what McBain demonstrates inside this book.

Though the police are part of this book, they are not the main characters. I have to wonder if McBain was working on this as a separate novel and the demands of the publisher for more 87th Precint had him add the series' characters to this.

This book is in the style McBain was developing through the 87th series, but really sparks as each character is to be read and understood. The results of that understanding and what happens is quite fulfilling for the reader.

Bottom line: I recommend this book. 10 out of ten points.