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Runaway
A young black man is framed by the police for a murder he didn’t commit in this gritty New York crime story from the author of the 87th Precinct series.
Johnny Lane is outside the Apollo when he sees Luis, and rage floods his veins. Every tough in Harlem knows that Luis tried to rape Johnny’s girl, and that means he has to die. Johnny comes out swinging, but Luis is wearing brass knuckles, and he almost kills Johnny before the fight gets broken up. A few weeks later, as a brutal winter settles over New York, Johnny is walking down the street when he hears the gunfire. Luis has been shot dead.
Johnny runs without thinking, because it’s bad news for a black man to get caught near a corpse, but the cops catch up with him anyway. He didn’t shoot Luis, but he had a motive, and that’s good enough for the New York Police Department. Cornered, alone, and helpless, Johnny has no choice but to find the real killer—or spend the rest of his life on the run from the cops, his friends, and his girl.
A hardboiled story of a friendless man hunted by the police, Runaway is vintage Ed McBain. It’s a story of life on the margins of a merciless city, from an author who knew the dark side of New York better than anyone.
Johnny Lane is outside the Apollo when he sees Luis, and rage floods his veins. Every tough in Harlem knows that Luis tried to rape Johnny’s girl, and that means he has to die. Johnny comes out swinging, but Luis is wearing brass knuckles, and he almost kills Johnny before the fight gets broken up. A few weeks later, as a brutal winter settles over New York, Johnny is walking down the street when he hears the gunfire. Luis has been shot dead.
Johnny runs without thinking, because it’s bad news for a black man to get caught near a corpse, but the cops catch up with him anyway. He didn’t shoot Luis, but he had a motive, and that’s good enough for the New York Police Department. Cornered, alone, and helpless, Johnny has no choice but to find the real killer—or spend the rest of his life on the run from the cops, his friends, and his girl.
A hardboiled story of a friendless man hunted by the police, Runaway is vintage Ed McBain. It’s a story of life on the margins of a merciless city, from an author who knew the dark side of New York better than anyone.
364 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 1954
11 people are currently reading
58 people want to read
About the author
Richard Marsten
20 books4 followersBorn and raised as Salvatore Lombino in New York City.
Legally changed name to his pseudonym Evan Hunter.
Best known by his pseudonym Ed McBain.
Legally changed name to his pseudonym Evan Hunter.
Best known by his pseudonym Ed McBain.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 13, 2017
This is a story of a young black man from Harlem on the run for a murder he did not commit and the characters he engages with while avoiding the police. McBain brings the same eloquent writing to his descriptions of New York as he does to his fictional Isola in the 87th Precinct series. The police play a small part in this story in comparison with the other players involved, particularly the beautiful dancer girlfriend of the fugitive
May 25, 2021
As far as I can tell, this was originally published in 1954. It is a sympathetic account of a young black man on the run from the police in New York. Some of the writing may appear to be dated when looking through the eyes of 21st century sensibilities. A contemporary audience might struggle with some of the terminology used. There’s so few ratings of this book on GR to measure this, but I would imagine that some readers would see racist and sexist undertones throughout. However, I think that at the heart of it, McBain gives an insight into life on the margins and the deprivations of poverty. There a couple scenes of genuine terror towards the end of this book that I think will stay with me.
May 23, 2020
Copy I read was credited to Ed McBain.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews