What do you think?
Rate this book
87th Precinct #40
Tricks
On Halloween night in the 87th Precinct, a liquor store owner is shot by costumed children, a headless torso is discovered, and Detective First Class Eileen Burke, disguised as a hooker, hopes to trap a serial killer
247 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1987
100 people are currently reading
590 people want to read
About the author
Ed McBain
706 books667 followers"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.
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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 104 reviews
October 6, 2015
First published in 1986, Tricks is the 40th book in Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct series. This entry is somewhat unique in that all of the action takes place during the course of a single day and night, a Halloween that is packed with more than a few tricks and not a lot of treats for the detectives of the 87th.
One of the cases involves the disappearance of a magician who finishes a performance in a high school auditorium late in the afternoon. His wife, who is also his sexy assistant, changes out of her costume, goes out into the parking lot and discovers that her husband’s props are scattered all over the place and he is nowhere in sight. When random male body parts then start appearing in garbage cans all over the precinct later than night, the news is not going to be good.
The second case involves a series of liquor store robberies and murders that first appear to be carried out by a group of children in their holiday disguises. Mom drops them off in front of the store; they race in and demand the money from the register and then shoot the person on duty. There seems to be a pattern to the crimes, but can the detectives anticipate from that where the next robbery will be in time to stop it?
Finally, Detective Eileen Burke is back working undercover after being seriously injured on her last assignment. She’s posing as a hooker in an attempt to snare a killer who’s picked up three women in the same bar and then murdered them. Burke is understandably nervous, even though she expects that the other members of her team will have her back. But will that really be the case if and when she needs them?
This is a very entertaining book, one of the better ones in the series, and fans of the series will certainly want to search it out. An easy four stars.
One of the cases involves the disappearance of a magician who finishes a performance in a high school auditorium late in the afternoon. His wife, who is also his sexy assistant, changes out of her costume, goes out into the parking lot and discovers that her husband’s props are scattered all over the place and he is nowhere in sight. When random male body parts then start appearing in garbage cans all over the precinct later than night, the news is not going to be good.
The second case involves a series of liquor store robberies and murders that first appear to be carried out by a group of children in their holiday disguises. Mom drops them off in front of the store; they race in and demand the money from the register and then shoot the person on duty. There seems to be a pattern to the crimes, but can the detectives anticipate from that where the next robbery will be in time to stop it?
Finally, Detective Eileen Burke is back working undercover after being seriously injured on her last assignment. She’s posing as a hooker in an attempt to snare a killer who’s picked up three women in the same bar and then murdered them. Burke is understandably nervous, even though she expects that the other members of her team will have her back. But will that really be the case if and when she needs them?
This is a very entertaining book, one of the better ones in the series, and fans of the series will certainly want to search it out. An easy four stars.
June 20, 2014
If you're considering reading an Ed McBain book I wouldn't advise starting at the beginning of the series. The first three were written in 1956 and although they're great they come off a little dated. The series ran from 56 until 2005!
Start with "Tricks". It's a book in the latter third of the series. It has everything that's awesome about the 87th Precinct.
Over a single Halloween the 87th cops try to keep up with a wild fiesta of felonies. They're trying to apprehend a thrill club of kids in costumes robbing liquor stores . . . except that's not what's really happening. They're picking up pieces of a magician that has been cut up by some psycho . . . except that's not what's really happening. And there's genuine suspense as an undercover cop tries to lure a serial killer.
The dialogue crackles.
The laughs are twisted.
The pages turn themselves.
Read it. And when you're hooked you can then go back and read the series in order.
Carac
October 20, 2024
It's Halloween, and things start going to heck. Little kids go to trick or treating at liquor stores, and shooting people. Body parts are turning up all over town. A magician has really disappeared.
It all comes together a little too neatly, but at least Carella doesn't take over the book.
It all comes together a little too neatly, but at least Carella doesn't take over the book.
March 15, 2024
This is one eventful read set over one very eventful day... It's Halloween, a night filled with Tricks and Treats...
We follow a band of cops dealing with the days events, random everyday things like Kids murdering and robbing liquor stores, a magician who goes missing, body parts found in bins, female cops undercover as hookers to trap a slasher/murderer, blood, lies, deception and a whole lot of jokes!
It's funny, the characters are wild and it's very entertaining
We follow a band of cops dealing with the days events, random everyday things like Kids murdering and robbing liquor stores, a magician who goes missing, body parts found in bins, female cops undercover as hookers to trap a slasher/murderer, blood, lies, deception and a whole lot of jokes!
It's funny, the characters are wild and it's very entertaining
November 3, 2013
A bit dizzying, this one. Three plots, all revolving around Halloween and the book's apt title. One: the disappearance of a magician from a high school performance where pieces of his body are discovered all over the city; Two: A series of liquor store robberies with dead owners, starting with four costumed “kids” going into the stores for a treat; Three: Detective First Class Eileen Burke has to fight her demons, posing as a hooker to lure in a serial killer.
January 16, 2011
Perhaps not my favorite of the 87th Precinct titles, but still a solid enough read for entertainment if you're in the mood for reading a police procedural. The plot involves a magician husband's disappearance and a gang of little stick up thieves.
April 6, 2022
After the occurrences in the previous book the title of this book suggested that it was all going to be about prostitution. I was partially right but this book goes back to covering several crimes all occurring at the same time. First there is the disappearance of a stage a magician, then a sting operation to catch a prostitute murderer, a series of robberies by trick or treaters and everything occurs on Halloween.
Really enjoyed this one and flew through it in a couple of days.
Really enjoyed this one and flew through it in a couple of days.
November 24, 2017
A tumultuous Halloween evening and night shift for the officers of the 87th Precinct - a carefully planned murder, armed robberies with at least 5 dead, a decoy exercise for a rapist & murderer and a major fire-starting incident for the usually hapless Genero.
October 15, 2016
I first read Tricks in High School, and have since read it over a dozen times. It's a little gem of a book, that captures the spirit and mayhem of Halloween. It's a quick read, and one of the best police procedurals out there. Tricks is part of the highly successful 87th precinct series, 55 books in total. Tricks was first published in 1987.
As this book is set entirely on Halloween night, this seemed like a perfect fit. Pretty much the entire cast of the 87th appears in this ultra busy entry in Ed McBain’s series. We have four major cases: Eileen and Annie track a killer of prostitutes; Cotton looks for a missing magician; Brown tries to find out who is leaving the chopped up parts of a body all over the city; and Meyer and Carella take on and a group of kids who are going round trick or treating in stores and killing the staff before emptying the cash registers!
As this book is set entirely on Halloween night, this seemed like a perfect fit. Pretty much the entire cast of the 87th appears in this ultra busy entry in Ed McBain’s series. We have four major cases: Eileen and Annie track a killer of prostitutes; Cotton looks for a missing magician; Brown tries to find out who is leaving the chopped up parts of a body all over the city; and Meyer and Carella take on and a group of kids who are going round trick or treating in stores and killing the staff before emptying the cash registers!
December 26, 2020
Tricks because it's about someone preying on prostitutes AND a vanishing magician, geddit? Not McBain's finest title. We get the usual cast of characters although a little less of them than I like. Carella continues his run as the most injured-in-the-line-of-duty cop in the history of detective fiction and there's a weird, even by the eight seven's standards, subplot about a gang of little people holding up liquor stores on Halloween. Odd.
August 7, 2020
Children are shooting up liquor stores, a serial killer is murdering prostitutes, and the body parts of a missing magician are turning up all over town - it’s just another Halloween night in the 87th precinct.
A quick and gritty read with three equally sensational storylines. Bonus points for this edition’s nonsensical cover which I can only hope was influenced by cheesy 80’s heavy metal albums.
A quick and gritty read with three equally sensational storylines. Bonus points for this edition’s nonsensical cover which I can only hope was influenced by cheesy 80’s heavy metal albums.
January 9, 2021
My first McBain novel is the 40th book in his famous 87th Precinct series. There’s a lot going in this relatively short book, with many different police officers working on different cases, all unfolding on Halloween night. I enjoyed the clipped, hard-boiled writing style and the blackly comic humour, and look forward to reading more in the series.
June 17, 2016
This one is just so much fun! Ok, yeah, sure, it's full of murder and mayhem. But it takes place on Halloween and McBain clearly had a ball writing it, as I did reading it.
March 25, 2017
finished this one about an hour ago, 3/25/17. good story. everyone is involved.
August 3, 2022
Police procedural mystery set on Halloween night and following three crimes, each having something to do with “tricks.” One is the Missing Persons case of a magician who disappears after doing a magic show (“doing tricks”). The next is a series of deadly liquor store burglaries involving children dressed for trick-or-treating. The third is about a serial killer who goes after prostitutes (“turning tricks”). Well-written, with some great and often funny dialogue. A bit dated (written in 1987), but still entertaining.
May 18, 2024
Το πρώτο audiobook για φέτος!μεγάλος Μακμπαιην
January 18, 2023
Holy smoke, I didn't expect a book this deep in the series to be this good! Easily one of my favorites from the 87th.
Why so good, well, aside from including the entire 87th gang being involved, the happenings occur over the course of Halloween. There are three distinct plot lines that intertwine to completion. We get a magic act that results in a murder, we get a string of robberies by costumed midgets, and we get an undercover sting operation to catch yet another murderer of hookers. All of these, and we get increased layers to the depth of these characters, as well.
Hawes and Brown handle the dismemberment/murder of a magician and the resulting investigation which has a few interesting investigative turns. Gennaro, who was initially on a body part of this murder plot, gets reassigned and runs across a Devil's Night firebombing prank by juveniles. He ends up being beaten up, yet taking out the gang single-handedly, and deftly handling the press afterwords. Seems like another fast-track promotion for Gennaro. He even mentions Carella as being the same rank while he progresses.
Carella and Meyer pick up the liquor store robbery trail, pull a stake out, and catch some lead in the process from the angry "trick or treaters" a.k.a. circus folks dressed as little children. We get the wives of these two together, briefly, in the latter half of the story, as the guys are in surgery. Carella has a dream? sequence as well. Carella and Meyer can't seem to catch a break.
Eileen Burke and Annie Rawles take on an undercover operation on loan to the 72nd precinct. Arguably the most tense of the three main crimes. Kling gets involved when he shouldn't and gets a life shock. We also get to meet a couple of new cops from the 72nd, Shanahan and Alvarez, who make a nice addition to the series. The villain feels stretched with his comedic delivery, almost as a page filler, but the sequence works well enough.
McBain takes extra time to normalize and develop Parker into an almost likeable guy, shitty cop, but a funny guy (who wants to be a writer of books that tell of his police exploits.) He does this through an adventure between Parker and Peaches Muldoon, which crosses over the robbery plot and gives Parker another notch on his belt (and potential story for his books). He also reserves the final twist for Parker at the end. Entertaining segment.
Willis and O'Brien are clean-up in the magician murder story and performed admirably while rounding out the precinct members. We even get Lt. Byrnes and Commissioner Brill involved.
Tricks has only one noticeable flaw, the dialogue overlapping during a couple of sequences with rooms full of people holding separate conversations. McBain doesn't delineate the groups, so the dialogue happens simultaneously and that is how he delivers it.
Otherwise, this story is fast paced, entertaining, gives the fans a little bit of everything.
Highly recommend.
Thanks for reading.
Why so good, well, aside from including the entire 87th gang being involved, the happenings occur over the course of Halloween. There are three distinct plot lines that intertwine to completion. We get a magic act that results in a murder, we get a string of robberies by costumed midgets, and we get an undercover sting operation to catch yet another murderer of hookers. All of these, and we get increased layers to the depth of these characters, as well.
Hawes and Brown handle the dismemberment/murder of a magician and the resulting investigation which has a few interesting investigative turns. Gennaro, who was initially on a body part of this murder plot, gets reassigned and runs across a Devil's Night firebombing prank by juveniles. He ends up being beaten up, yet taking out the gang single-handedly, and deftly handling the press afterwords. Seems like another fast-track promotion for Gennaro. He even mentions Carella as being the same rank while he progresses.
Carella and Meyer pick up the liquor store robbery trail, pull a stake out, and catch some lead in the process from the angry "trick or treaters" a.k.a. circus folks dressed as little children. We get the wives of these two together, briefly, in the latter half of the story, as the guys are in surgery. Carella has a dream? sequence as well. Carella and Meyer can't seem to catch a break.
Eileen Burke and Annie Rawles take on an undercover operation on loan to the 72nd precinct. Arguably the most tense of the three main crimes. Kling gets involved when he shouldn't and gets a life shock. We also get to meet a couple of new cops from the 72nd, Shanahan and Alvarez, who make a nice addition to the series. The villain feels stretched with his comedic delivery, almost as a page filler, but the sequence works well enough.
McBain takes extra time to normalize and develop Parker into an almost likeable guy, shitty cop, but a funny guy (who wants to be a writer of books that tell of his police exploits.) He does this through an adventure between Parker and Peaches Muldoon, which crosses over the robbery plot and gives Parker another notch on his belt (and potential story for his books). He also reserves the final twist for Parker at the end. Entertaining segment.
Willis and O'Brien are clean-up in the magician murder story and performed admirably while rounding out the precinct members. We even get Lt. Byrnes and Commissioner Brill involved.
Tricks has only one noticeable flaw, the dialogue overlapping during a couple of sequences with rooms full of people holding separate conversations. McBain doesn't delineate the groups, so the dialogue happens simultaneously and that is how he delivers it.
Otherwise, this story is fast paced, entertaining, gives the fans a little bit of everything.
Highly recommend.
Thanks for reading.
March 1, 2017
For the boys in blue of the 87th Precinct Halloween is a killer!
This fast paced whodunit was almost impossible to put down.
Highly recommended.
This fast paced whodunit was almost impossible to put down.
Highly recommended.
March 12, 2012
This novel can be described in a single word – crisp. Not a line that shouldn’t be there, not a word out of place.
Tricks is set over a single night – Halloween Night – as different crimes get the attention of the men & women of the 87th squad. A magician has mysteriously disappeared after his last vanishing act, parts of a human body are being discovered in various parts of the precinct, a trap has been set for a serial killer with a sense of humour who’s targeting prostitutes in a pattern and a gang of children seem to be on a murder & looting spree at liquor stores. Its going to be a busy night for the squad.
Tricks is a fast-paced well-crafted thriller that will retain your attention till the last page.
http://theprintedword.wordpress.com/2...
Tricks is set over a single night – Halloween Night – as different crimes get the attention of the men & women of the 87th squad. A magician has mysteriously disappeared after his last vanishing act, parts of a human body are being discovered in various parts of the precinct, a trap has been set for a serial killer with a sense of humour who’s targeting prostitutes in a pattern and a gang of children seem to be on a murder & looting spree at liquor stores. Its going to be a busy night for the squad.
Tricks is a fast-paced well-crafted thriller that will retain your attention till the last page.
http://theprintedword.wordpress.com/2...
March 29, 2014
This one is a lot of fun. It juggles a half dozen story lines and keeps you in suspense with each one. This time the 87 is after a missing magician, a gang of murderous midgets, and a prostitute killer with the entire novel taking place on Halloween night. Of the cops, McBain focuses on Andy Parker, who is usually obnoxious, and Eileen Burke, the undercover operative who poses as a prostitute to lure out the killer. Because there are so many plots to juggle, the book never slows down for a second, and the series of climaxes are particularly powerful coming one after another in rapid succession.
January 3, 2021
Haloween evening and it's all happening in the 87th squad district. Lt. Byrnes has called in extra detectives and there are seven on duty. The evening starts slowly but soon there is a missing magician, kids are robbing liquor stores and Eileen Burke has been sent on a decoy mission dressed as a hooker. Oh! and Andy Parker is sloping off. It all ends up in turmoil. I won't spoil the story there.
All good action stuff as the stories are brought together as the night fades away. A very good read for the 40th edition. A good 4 stars.
All good action stuff as the stories are brought together as the night fades away. A very good read for the 40th edition. A good 4 stars.
September 7, 2024
Hailed as a "police procedural novel", this is my first foray into the 87th precinct series, and I'll say I thoroughly enjoyed my stay here. This was a comfort food type read with a substantial amount of edge and thrills that left me satisfied and curious to pick up another.
September 10, 2008
Another installment in the continuing story of the 87th precinct. This one includes all of the main detectives and tells the story of the crimes committed on Halloween in the big city.
December 15, 2014
Complex plot, spoilt by McBain's increasing use of near pornographic speech put in to the mouths of the perps and some of the cops.Now up to 1986. About 12 books to go.
July 4, 2018
Halloween starts out as a quiet night for the cops of the 87th Precinct, but that soon changes. A group of costumed children shoot a liquor store owner, a headless body is found, and detective Burke goes undercover as a prostitute in an attempt to catch a serial killer.
This is a fun little read, but it isn't up to the quality of some of the other books in this series. One thing I've noticed is that McBain seems to place less emphasis on the lives of the detectives and their interactions with each other in these later entries. That's unfortunate because he did such a great job with that in the earlier books that readers couldn't help but become interested in them. I also find that there are times when he seems to go for shock value which is a shame because he's too talented a writer to have to resort to that.
Don't get me wrong: this is a fun read that you won't regret; it's just not quite as good as many of the earlier books about the 87th.
This is a fun little read, but it isn't up to the quality of some of the other books in this series. One thing I've noticed is that McBain seems to place less emphasis on the lives of the detectives and their interactions with each other in these later entries. That's unfortunate because he did such a great job with that in the earlier books that readers couldn't help but become interested in them. I also find that there are times when he seems to go for shock value which is a shame because he's too talented a writer to have to resort to that.
Don't get me wrong: this is a fun read that you won't regret; it's just not quite as good as many of the earlier books about the 87th.
April 1, 2025
Tricks is has so many threads it's amazing that it never once gets tangled up in itself.
As usual, the title has multiple meanings. There's the murder of a magician who has been cut up and disposed of about the city, the trick-or-treaters who are robbing stores and there are the tricks of the sex workers who hang round in a bar where two of their colleagues have recently been murdered. There are some elements of sleight of hand to go along with it and many aspects of the characters and plot are not what they seem (Hawes is pulling the wool over the eyes of his cop partner and Parker is somehow making himself popular as he pursues an attractive woman from a previous case).
Though the dead magician story feels like the main player, it's outdone by the police casualties in the robbery case, which is further trumped by Annie and Eileen who are reunited in the undercover world of prostitution as they try to get their man (this has enough to fill a novel all by itself).
Tricks is an excellent example of the multiple case procedural. With so many plates spinning at once and so many characters involved, it's amazing that McBain keeps them all in the air with apparent ease. To me, it's a masterclass of the genre, with depth, pacing, intrigue, humour, tension and satisfaction perfectly balanced. A wonderful piece of fiction.
As usual, the title has multiple meanings. There's the murder of a magician who has been cut up and disposed of about the city, the trick-or-treaters who are robbing stores and there are the tricks of the sex workers who hang round in a bar where two of their colleagues have recently been murdered. There are some elements of sleight of hand to go along with it and many aspects of the characters and plot are not what they seem (Hawes is pulling the wool over the eyes of his cop partner and Parker is somehow making himself popular as he pursues an attractive woman from a previous case).
Though the dead magician story feels like the main player, it's outdone by the police casualties in the robbery case, which is further trumped by Annie and Eileen who are reunited in the undercover world of prostitution as they try to get their man (this has enough to fill a novel all by itself).
Tricks is an excellent example of the multiple case procedural. With so many plates spinning at once and so many characters involved, it's amazing that McBain keeps them all in the air with apparent ease. To me, it's a masterclass of the genre, with depth, pacing, intrigue, humour, tension and satisfaction perfectly balanced. A wonderful piece of fiction.
February 16, 2025
Es la noche de Halloween y todos los policías del Distrito 87 están en alerta. Cinco casos ocupan su tiempo: una serie de licorerías atracadas violentamente por niños disfrazados, un ilusionista que ha desaparecido después de hacer su número en un colegio, una señora que recibe llamadas obscenas, un psicópata que va dejando trozos de un cuerpo por las calles de la ciudad y un dispositivo policial para atrapar a un hombre que ha asesinado a tres prostitutas.
Esta novela pertenece a la misma serie que Diez más uno , mi reseña anterior. Compré ambos libros de segunda mano, sin saber nada del autor. Me parece bastante reseñable que haya bastado abrir este y leer unos párrafos para darme cuenta de que sí, los agentes son los mismos, pero ha pasado bastante tiempo entre una y otra (24 años, concretamente), solo por pequeños detalles de la ambientación. Estas cosas me gustan.
Potente novela coral, que aúna cinco tramas no relacionadas. Como en la anterior, los protagonistas son los miembros de toda una comisaría, pero aquí no se centra en uno o dos, sino en de verdad todo el personal. Se trata de una novela que no se sostiene sobre los personajes (que son todos un poco intercambiables), sino sobre la pura acción y sobre la manera de ir saltando de una trama a otra, sin nunca dejar una de lado.
No hay enrevesados misterios a ser desentrañados por detectives brillantes (de hecho, he averiguado los principales giros de trama), sino tipos y tipas normales siguiendo el procedimiento que les llevará a resolver crímenes tan comunes como tristes. Muy gratamente sorprendido por este autor, la verdad.
Esta novela pertenece a la misma serie que Diez más uno , mi reseña anterior. Compré ambos libros de segunda mano, sin saber nada del autor. Me parece bastante reseñable que haya bastado abrir este y leer unos párrafos para darme cuenta de que sí, los agentes son los mismos, pero ha pasado bastante tiempo entre una y otra (24 años, concretamente), solo por pequeños detalles de la ambientación. Estas cosas me gustan.
Potente novela coral, que aúna cinco tramas no relacionadas. Como en la anterior, los protagonistas son los miembros de toda una comisaría, pero aquí no se centra en uno o dos, sino en de verdad todo el personal. Se trata de una novela que no se sostiene sobre los personajes (que son todos un poco intercambiables), sino sobre la pura acción y sobre la manera de ir saltando de una trama a otra, sin nunca dejar una de lado.
No hay enrevesados misterios a ser desentrañados por detectives brillantes (de hecho, he averiguado los principales giros de trama), sino tipos y tipas normales siguiendo el procedimiento que les llevará a resolver crímenes tan comunes como tristes. Muy gratamente sorprendido por este autor, la verdad.
May 21, 2025
I'm in process of reading my way chronologically through all 54 books in the 87th Precinct Series. This is possibly the most intricate and tricksy of all so far.
The whole novel is set on Hallowe'en, during one shift, which is of course the graveyard shift from four p.m. to midnight, and all the key players are involved: Carella, Meyer, Hawes, Kling, Brown, Byrne (in an administrative way), Genero, Parker, Eileen Burke, Annie Rawles, Monroe (without Monaghan). Willis only appears in passing (he's recovering from the previous volume where he played the star role).
No fewer than five plot elements are set in motion from early on. First, there's a series of robberies two hours apart carried out by midgets dressed up as trick-or-treaters (that's Carella and Meyer's squeal). It looks like it's going to be amusing but then it's not.
Second, there's a professional magician who vanishes into a trick wardrobe at the end of his school show, but then disappears more permanently, leaving his tricks behind. This is a murder case and it falls to Brown and Hawes (who is generally playing fast and loose these days and strongly attracted to the magician's wife). Here McBain also tricks the reader. Or that's certainly his intention. (I was certainly fooled.)
The hapless Genero gets involved with the disappearing magician plot when he comes across a body part, though he also has another case of his own where he successfully intercepts a gang of four incendiary youths (plot three). Nobody mentions his spelling once.
Fourth, there's the bigot, Parker. He's toying with the whole idea of being a writer, rather than a police officer. He thinks he could write a best-selling crime thriller (how hard can it be?). But he goes to a fancy-dress party as a cop, with a woman he's always fancied and it all seems like safe territory, until ... it connects with one of the other plots.
Fifth and last, there's a killer rapist on the loose and Eileen Burke is playing a hooker. That is to say, she is the decoy for a serial prostitute killer with Annie as her back-up. Naturally Kling feels he has to interfere since his loved-one is at risk, though he lives to regret it. His love-life is frankly doomed. But Eileen should NEVER have been given this job in the first place. It couldn't have happened in real life.
And that phrase 'in real life' is directly relevant too, because part of the trickery involves deliberately highlighting the contrast between drama and 'real life'. So Parker plays a fake cop at a fancy dress party and "For the first time in as long as he could remember, he felt like a bona fide detective on the world's finest police force." Meanwhile, the killer rapist plays the part of a comedian. He tells jokes non-stop, although it turns out that he really is a former detective himself (his father is a psychologist). Two characters in this novel tell a lot of jokes, and tell them well, and both of them are deadly serious. Dangerous people, indeed.
And McBain himself plays with the idea of what's real and what isn't. As often, there's a passing reference to Hill Street Blues, the TV series directly inspired by the 87th Precinct books, and also Kojak, which Meyer likes because the hero, like him, is bald. In these novels, in which everything is imaginary, McBain loves to point out how fake TV drama is. In this book (cue spoiler), Carella and Meyer are both shot, albeit not fatally: "This wasn't a cops-and-robbers movie, this was real life." And then the author rubs the reader's nose in it: "No tricks. Real blood. Real pain."
As the book progresses, McBain gets more and more ambitious with the technique of cutting from one plot to another, and intertwining different elements. It's enormously tricksy and extremely clever, but I couldn't respond to it properly until my second reading. And I had to read it twice. Why?
McBain balances the different plot elements so that at least three are equally complex and compelling: the midgets, the serial prostitute killer, and the disappearing magician. In fact, he downplays the Carella/Meyer element because Carella usually steals the limelight. Nevertheless, for me the Eileen-Burke-entraps-serial-killer story stole the show. Utterly chilling. After all, she has already been cut by a rapist with a knife, and she's clearly still traumatised. She and Kling haven't had sex since it happened. She absolutely shouldn't be taking on another, equally dangerous task. Last time round she was a victim, as if to prove that cops don't always survive. It was possible that this time either she would die or (and I thought this second possibility more likely) that Kling would be killed in trying to avert her doom. So I had to belt through the last eighty pages to see what happened to Eileen. I couldn't concentrate properly on anything else, including whether Carella lived or died.
But second time through, I picked up masses that I'd missed while reading at break-neck speed. It is a remarkable work, a masterpiece of ingenuity. And he pulls most of it off with ease and virtuosity, like the consummate trickster he is. Once or twice, the scenes of dialogue in the squadroom are overambitious, working like a screenplay, cutting in and out of different conversations occurring simultaneously. It's more brilliant in concept than in execution, I think, but I relished the idea.
There are card tricks, prostitutes turning tricks, tricks of the mind, tricks of disguise, literary tricks, tricks of role reversal (eg Carella makes the mistakes; Genero turns out a hero, as does Parker). Then there's trick or treat, a hat trick, a con-artist trickster episode, tricks of infidelity. And more.
I think my favourite bit is near the end, where McBain cuts from the serial killer in a bar telling jokes to Eileen ... to the waiting area of a hospital. The beauty of the understatement is a vivid reminder, if any were needed, that the author really does care about these characters. His own emotional investment is huge. See below.
___________________________________
"On the Eve of All Hallows' Day, a Christian and a Jew kept vigil in the corridor of the Ernest Atlas Pavilion on the fourth floor of Buenavista Hospital.
The Christian was Teddy Carella.
The Jew was Sarah Meyer.
[ ... ]
Sarah had not seen the inside of a synagogue for more years than she cared to count.
Teddy scarcely knew the whereabouts of her neighborhood church.
But both women were silently praying, and they were both praying for the same man.
Sarah knew that her husband was out of danger.
It was Steve Carella who was still in surgery.
On impulse, she took Teddy's hand and squeezed it.
Neither of the women said a word to the other. "
The whole novel is set on Hallowe'en, during one shift, which is of course the graveyard shift from four p.m. to midnight, and all the key players are involved: Carella, Meyer, Hawes, Kling, Brown, Byrne (in an administrative way), Genero, Parker, Eileen Burke, Annie Rawles, Monroe (without Monaghan). Willis only appears in passing (he's recovering from the previous volume where he played the star role).
No fewer than five plot elements are set in motion from early on. First, there's a series of robberies two hours apart carried out by midgets dressed up as trick-or-treaters (that's Carella and Meyer's squeal). It looks like it's going to be amusing but then it's not.
Second, there's a professional magician who vanishes into a trick wardrobe at the end of his school show, but then disappears more permanently, leaving his tricks behind. This is a murder case and it falls to Brown and Hawes (who is generally playing fast and loose these days and strongly attracted to the magician's wife). Here McBain also tricks the reader. Or that's certainly his intention. (I was certainly fooled.)
The hapless Genero gets involved with the disappearing magician plot when he comes across a body part, though he also has another case of his own where he successfully intercepts a gang of four incendiary youths (plot three). Nobody mentions his spelling once.
Fourth, there's the bigot, Parker. He's toying with the whole idea of being a writer, rather than a police officer. He thinks he could write a best-selling crime thriller (how hard can it be?). But he goes to a fancy-dress party as a cop, with a woman he's always fancied and it all seems like safe territory, until ... it connects with one of the other plots.
Fifth and last, there's a killer rapist on the loose and Eileen Burke is playing a hooker. That is to say, she is the decoy for a serial prostitute killer with Annie as her back-up. Naturally Kling feels he has to interfere since his loved-one is at risk, though he lives to regret it. His love-life is frankly doomed. But Eileen should NEVER have been given this job in the first place. It couldn't have happened in real life.
And that phrase 'in real life' is directly relevant too, because part of the trickery involves deliberately highlighting the contrast between drama and 'real life'. So Parker plays a fake cop at a fancy dress party and "For the first time in as long as he could remember, he felt like a bona fide detective on the world's finest police force." Meanwhile, the killer rapist plays the part of a comedian. He tells jokes non-stop, although it turns out that he really is a former detective himself (his father is a psychologist). Two characters in this novel tell a lot of jokes, and tell them well, and both of them are deadly serious. Dangerous people, indeed.
And McBain himself plays with the idea of what's real and what isn't. As often, there's a passing reference to Hill Street Blues, the TV series directly inspired by the 87th Precinct books, and also Kojak, which Meyer likes because the hero, like him, is bald. In these novels, in which everything is imaginary, McBain loves to point out how fake TV drama is. In this book (cue spoiler), Carella and Meyer are both shot, albeit not fatally: "This wasn't a cops-and-robbers movie, this was real life." And then the author rubs the reader's nose in it: "No tricks. Real blood. Real pain."
As the book progresses, McBain gets more and more ambitious with the technique of cutting from one plot to another, and intertwining different elements. It's enormously tricksy and extremely clever, but I couldn't respond to it properly until my second reading. And I had to read it twice. Why?
McBain balances the different plot elements so that at least three are equally complex and compelling: the midgets, the serial prostitute killer, and the disappearing magician. In fact, he downplays the Carella/Meyer element because Carella usually steals the limelight. Nevertheless, for me the Eileen-Burke-entraps-serial-killer story stole the show. Utterly chilling. After all, she has already been cut by a rapist with a knife, and she's clearly still traumatised. She and Kling haven't had sex since it happened. She absolutely shouldn't be taking on another, equally dangerous task. Last time round she was a victim, as if to prove that cops don't always survive. It was possible that this time either she would die or (and I thought this second possibility more likely) that Kling would be killed in trying to avert her doom. So I had to belt through the last eighty pages to see what happened to Eileen. I couldn't concentrate properly on anything else, including whether Carella lived or died.
But second time through, I picked up masses that I'd missed while reading at break-neck speed. It is a remarkable work, a masterpiece of ingenuity. And he pulls most of it off with ease and virtuosity, like the consummate trickster he is. Once or twice, the scenes of dialogue in the squadroom are overambitious, working like a screenplay, cutting in and out of different conversations occurring simultaneously. It's more brilliant in concept than in execution, I think, but I relished the idea.
There are card tricks, prostitutes turning tricks, tricks of the mind, tricks of disguise, literary tricks, tricks of role reversal (eg Carella makes the mistakes; Genero turns out a hero, as does Parker). Then there's trick or treat, a hat trick, a con-artist trickster episode, tricks of infidelity. And more.
I think my favourite bit is near the end, where McBain cuts from the serial killer in a bar telling jokes to Eileen ... to the waiting area of a hospital. The beauty of the understatement is a vivid reminder, if any were needed, that the author really does care about these characters. His own emotional investment is huge. See below.
___________________________________
"On the Eve of All Hallows' Day, a Christian and a Jew kept vigil in the corridor of the Ernest Atlas Pavilion on the fourth floor of Buenavista Hospital.
The Christian was Teddy Carella.
The Jew was Sarah Meyer.
[ ... ]
Sarah had not seen the inside of a synagogue for more years than she cared to count.
Teddy scarcely knew the whereabouts of her neighborhood church.
But both women were silently praying, and they were both praying for the same man.
Sarah knew that her husband was out of danger.
It was Steve Carella who was still in surgery.
On impulse, she took Teddy's hand and squeezed it.
Neither of the women said a word to the other. "
November 8, 2021
Mám ráda 87. revír, takže se mi líbila i tato knížka. Možná by stačily i dva případy v jedné knize :) Liliputány bych si i odpustila.
POZOR! Navazuje na 37. díl - Postrach. Takže jestli chcete číst Noc, nejdřív si dejte Postrach.
POZOR! Navazuje na 37. díl - Postrach. Takže jestli chcete číst Noc, nejdřív si dejte Postrach.
February 28, 2012
* * * 1/2
Overall this is about what I expect from an 87th Precinct novel. The boys of the Eight-Seven are juggling about four different cases on a single Halloween night: an obscene phone caller, a gang of kids shooting up liquor stores, a serial killer who attacks prostitutes, and a magician who seems to have done "one last disappearing act." (Phrase cribbed from the back cover; it's a good one.) The book constantly shifts viewpoints and the action never lags. The dialogue is similarly snappy and overlapping: the conversation between Parker, Hawes and Brown about Parker's desire to write a book had me laughing out loud with its comic timing. I was a bit concerned about the serial-killer-targeting-prostitutes storyline, because it's not exactly the easiest thing for me to read about, but fortunately the previous murders are not discussed in extensive detail. Recommended for fans of the series.
Overall this is about what I expect from an 87th Precinct novel. The boys of the Eight-Seven are juggling about four different cases on a single Halloween night: an obscene phone caller, a gang of kids shooting up liquor stores, a serial killer who attacks prostitutes, and a magician who seems to have done "one last disappearing act." (Phrase cribbed from the back cover; it's a good one.) The book constantly shifts viewpoints and the action never lags. The dialogue is similarly snappy and overlapping: the conversation between Parker, Hawes and Brown about Parker's desire to write a book had me laughing out loud with its comic timing. I was a bit concerned about the serial-killer-targeting-prostitutes storyline, because it's not exactly the easiest thing for me to read about, but fortunately the previous murders are not discussed in extensive detail. Recommended for fans of the series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 104 reviews