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87th Precinct #23
Shotgun
With Walter Damascus, a psychopath who likes his women well-off, well-built, and dead, loose on the city, Detective Carella and the investigating team of the 87th Precinct must work overtime to find him before he can take out his next victim.
188 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1969
91 people are currently reading
411 people want to read
About the author
Ed McBain
712 books670 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews
March 18, 2022
So now the closet door was open, and as usual there was a skeleton hanging in it. The skeleton was a familiar one, it bored Carella and Kling to tears. Oh, how they hoped for an original slaying once in a while, a well-conceived murder instead of these sloppy run-of-the-mill crimes of passion that were constantly being dumped into their laps. Oh, how they longed for a killer who would knock off somebody with a rare untraceable poison. Oh, how they wished they might find a body in a locked windowless room. Oh, how they wanted somebody to scheme and plot for months on end and then commit the perfect homicide which everyone would think was suicide or something.
Be careful what you wish for, lest it come true!
Aesop, circa 260 BC
The gang catches some nasty murder cases that turn out to be anything but run-of-the-mill, and spends a horrific Halloween night dealing with all the demons the city can throw at them.
Meanwhile, a drunken barroom confession helps them solve a years-old cold case.
Another fun entry in the series.
Be careful what you wish for, lest it come true!
Aesop, circa 260 BC
The gang catches some nasty murder cases that turn out to be anything but run-of-the-mill, and spends a horrific Halloween night dealing with all the demons the city can throw at them.
Meanwhile, a drunken barroom confession helps them solve a years-old cold case.
Another fun entry in the series.
June 18, 2014
This is another sold entry from the middle of the 87th Precinct series. As the book opens, detectives Steve Carella and Bert Kling are assigned a particularly messy case. A couple has died from shotgun blasts. The first cops on the scene are ready to close the case and rule it a routine murder/suicide. Carella, though, points out that both victims have been shot twice and that it's highly unlikely that any suicide victim would be able to accomplish that feat after first blowing off half of his or her own head with a shotgun.
The victims are identified as a traveling salesman and his wife who were shot in the middle of the night. Amazingly, though, no one else in their apartment building heard the shots and was concerned enough to call it in. The bodies were thus discovered the next morning by the milkman.
There are precious few clues and even fewer suspects; no one seem to have even mildly disliked either the man or his wife. But when Carella and Kling interview the staff of the company where the man worked, a particularly hot and ready receptionist is attracted to Kling. She is not remotely bashful about pursuing him, which will cause serious problems with Kling's girlfriend, Cindy.
Meanwhile, in an equally baffling case, a woman is killed in her apartment, again in the middle of the night, after meeting a stranger in a bar. But who was the stranger, and did he kill the woman? Detectives Hawes and Meyer are left to sort that one out and in the end, McBain again provides the reader with an excellent excuse for ignoring his or her responsibilities and losing an evening in a book.
The victims are identified as a traveling salesman and his wife who were shot in the middle of the night. Amazingly, though, no one else in their apartment building heard the shots and was concerned enough to call it in. The bodies were thus discovered the next morning by the milkman.
There are precious few clues and even fewer suspects; no one seem to have even mildly disliked either the man or his wife. But when Carella and Kling interview the staff of the company where the man worked, a particularly hot and ready receptionist is attracted to Kling. She is not remotely bashful about pursuing him, which will cause serious problems with Kling's girlfriend, Cindy.
Meanwhile, in an equally baffling case, a woman is killed in her apartment, again in the middle of the night, after meeting a stranger in a bar. But who was the stranger, and did he kill the woman? Detectives Hawes and Meyer are left to sort that one out and in the end, McBain again provides the reader with an excellent excuse for ignoring his or her responsibilities and losing an evening in a book.
October 26, 2012
A husband and wife are both killed by a shotgun, staged to appear as a murder/suicide. As Detectives Carella and Kling investigate, a separate murder is discovered by stabbing. Parallel investigations ensue. Bert Kling becomes an obsession for a pretty blonde source, and his girlfriend Cindy does nuts. Along the way, the 87th Street bulls wring a confession out of a suspect, who turns out to be the murderer from "He Who Hesitates." Carella gets knocked out (as he does in every book), but he and Bert eventually catch the perpetrator, who turns out to be not who they expected.
July 8, 2018
When ever I'm a little lost in my reading direction its back to the 87th. This one is no exception, straight forward crime novel in the classic tradition. Carella and Kling are investigating the murder of a couple who have each been shot with a double blast from a shotgun. This leads the detectives into a scenario of jealousy and deceit. Along the way the squad room face another death of a woman who is stabbed and then a man admits to the murder 4 years previously of the body in the refrigerator and Halloween arrives accompanied by bodies. All this in 158 pages.
May 26, 2019
Not continuation of the series although in this book there is only really one case going on and there is none of the multi-case crossover that characterizes most of the books.
A couple are murdered with two shotgun blasts to the face each. It's a bit of a mystery as the clues are somewhat obvious but lead nowhere. There was a twist at the end that I really should have seen coming, there were a few clues along the way.
In a somewhat surprising chapter, there is a conclusion to something that happened several books ago. It's almost like McBain did not like the way he ended that book and wrote a follow up that ultimately gave it a different ending.
A couple are murdered with two shotgun blasts to the face each. It's a bit of a mystery as the clues are somewhat obvious but lead nowhere. There was a twist at the end that I really should have seen coming, there were a few clues along the way.
In a somewhat surprising chapter, there is a conclusion to something that happened several books ago. It's almost like McBain did not like the way he ended that book and wrote a follow up that ultimately gave it a different ending.
May 25, 2025
★★★★
A really enjoyable entry in the 87th Precinct series. Shotgun is short, tight, and yet crammed with incident, character moments, and McBain’s reliably sharp dialogue. I liked how this one gives us more time with our detectives beyond the squad room. Carella’s home life is nicely drawn, and we get a closer look at Kling’s relationship with Cindy, which continues to develop here.
The writing is very good, and I enjoyed the humour in the exchanges between Kling and the flirtatious female character he encounters during the investigation. It’s handled with McBain’s usual light touch, without tipping into caricature.
One of my favourite aspects was the unexpected connection to He Who Hesitates (Book 19). The Roger Broome storyline resurfaces as part of the current investigation, neatly resolving an old thread in a way that feels natural and unforced. I also liked that this gave us a sense of time passing in the 87th Precinct universe. We’re told the events of He Who Hesitates took place four years earlier, and the Carella twins are growing up too. Small details like these help anchor the series and reward long-time readers.
Overall, Shotgun is another solid, engaging procedural from McBain. I’d recommend it, and continue to enjoy how easy it is to pick up an 87th Precinct novel and get completely drawn in.
A really enjoyable entry in the 87th Precinct series. Shotgun is short, tight, and yet crammed with incident, character moments, and McBain’s reliably sharp dialogue. I liked how this one gives us more time with our detectives beyond the squad room. Carella’s home life is nicely drawn, and we get a closer look at Kling’s relationship with Cindy, which continues to develop here.
The writing is very good, and I enjoyed the humour in the exchanges between Kling and the flirtatious female character he encounters during the investigation. It’s handled with McBain’s usual light touch, without tipping into caricature.
One of my favourite aspects was the unexpected connection to He Who Hesitates (Book 19). The Roger Broome storyline resurfaces as part of the current investigation, neatly resolving an old thread in a way that feels natural and unforced. I also liked that this gave us a sense of time passing in the 87th Precinct universe. We’re told the events of He Who Hesitates took place four years earlier, and the Carella twins are growing up too. Small details like these help anchor the series and reward long-time readers.
Overall, Shotgun is another solid, engaging procedural from McBain. I’d recommend it, and continue to enjoy how easy it is to pick up an 87th Precinct novel and get completely drawn in.
November 21, 2018
Really enjoyed this addition to the 87th Precinct universe. It's very smooth and feels effortless. The bulls investigate two cases involving three murders, one knifed and the others shot. It almost seems set in another world altogether, not just 50 years ago. And there's a fun sense of sensuality, albeit pre-Me Too. Fun couple hour read.
May 31, 2023
Shotgun by Ed McBain, 23rd in the 87th Precinct series, was a terrific story but spoiled somwhat by the overly emotive reader Dick Hill. I've listened to 22 of these and Hill's been the reader on all of them. He's amazing with all the voices but he emotes too much for my taste and I've slowed way down on listening to them. The stories are great, though, so I keep coming back.
March 11, 2017
finished this one on the 3rd, headin
somewhere between home and hawaii...on the plane...one of several. good read. enjoyed the story. left the kindle in the seatback upon arrival in honolulu...get to the hotel, call the airline, one of those lovely 800 numbers. but...they put it in their lost and found and i retrieved it on the way back. had a blast...didn't get much reading done. now it's back to the white stuff. oh la.
and on another mcbain. always good. onward and upward
somewhere between home and hawaii...on the plane...one of several. good read. enjoyed the story. left the kindle in the seatback upon arrival in honolulu...get to the hotel, call the airline, one of those lovely 800 numbers. but...they put it in their lost and found and i retrieved it on the way back. had a blast...didn't get much reading done. now it's back to the white stuff. oh la.
and on another mcbain. always good. onward and upward
June 13, 2020
Have you ever gone target shooting with a shotgun? Be sure to bring a lot of targets, because one shot will blow it all to hell. Our heroes from the 87th precinct find a shotgun murder/suicide scene with husband and wife and they're blown beyond recognition. What homicide is ready to call an open and shut case is stopped by the best detective in the series, Steve Carella. He notices that there are ejected shell casings next to the suicide victim which would not be possible with that model of gun. Meanwhile Meyer Meyer, named twice by his mischievous parents, is trying to run down the culprit of a stabbing murder. The couple’s murder wasn’t hard for me to determine as I’ve seen similar crimes in movies, but the stabbing was clever they way he sneaked it in.
Young Bert Kling has his usual girl trouble although in a different form this time. His intellectual girlfriend is speculating on a doctoral thesis called "Cop as Voyeur." She cites the then contemporary movie, Blow Up, as an example and goes into all the Freudian connotations which only makes Kling more frustrated as she is not quite in the mood to demonstrate those connotations. Concurrently he meets a vivacious secretary that takes a liking to him and won't tale no for an answer. It's almost worth reading the next book to see how that plays out.
All in all this is a very standard 87th which means it reads quickly and leaves you satisfied.
Young Bert Kling has his usual girl trouble although in a different form this time. His intellectual girlfriend is speculating on a doctoral thesis called "Cop as Voyeur." She cites the then contemporary movie, Blow Up, as an example and goes into all the Freudian connotations which only makes Kling more frustrated as she is not quite in the mood to demonstrate those connotations. Concurrently he meets a vivacious secretary that takes a liking to him and won't tale no for an answer. It's almost worth reading the next book to see how that plays out.
All in all this is a very standard 87th which means it reads quickly and leaves you satisfied.
November 28, 2017
I really like this series on the 87th Precinct. This investigation involved Carella and Kling and the solution unfolded rapidly in the last couple of chapters, with a little surprise ending eluding to the 87th Precinct book #19 ... He Who Hesitates. Great reading if you like detective stories.
January 1, 2019
This review first appeared on CriminOlly.wordpress.com
There’s something about the pleasure of cracking open a book that you know you’re going to enjoy. I spent most of 2018 (a year in which I’d pledged to only read books by female authors), suffering from withdrawal symptoms for the work of my favourite crime writer, Ed McBain. That’s not to say that I wasn’t served up with some marvellous crime fiction in my year of abstinence. All the reviews I’ve posted so far on CriminOlly are for female authored books and many of them have been great, but there’s something about McBain’s work that I just love and going a year without reading one of his books was hard. Needless to say then, the first thing I did on New Year’s Day 2019 was crack open ‘Shotgun’ by Mr McBain and re-immerse myself in the grimy but enjoyable world of the 87th Precinct. By lunchtime I had finished it.
For the uninitiated, Ed McBain was a pseudonym of author Evan Hunter, and the 87th Precinct series was arguably his greatest work. It comprises over 50 books, published between 1956 and 2005, all set in a fictional city and focussed on a largely consistent team of detectives. If you’re interested in learning more about McBain and his work I strongly recommend ‘Hark! The 87th Precinct podcast’ which you can find here.
I’ve read many of the books over the last 30 or so years, and in 2013 started reading them through in order (an activity which obviously had to be put on hold in 2018). ‘Shotgun’ is the 23rd book and you can expect to see reviews of the subsequent books appear here as I work my way through them.
The plot of this one is relatively simple, and it doesn’t draw on as many of the members of the precinct as some of the other books do. It opens with detectives Carella and Kling at the scene of an apparent murder/suicide and the story develops from their as they investigate the deaths and the lives of two victims. There’s also a sub-plot about another murder being investigated by detective Meyer, and another about Kling’s relationship with his fiancee Cindy Forrest. The denouement isn’t the greatest in the series (in fact I figured it out before the cops did, which is unusual for me) but the book still comes to a satisfying conclusion.
As ever with McBain, the details of the police work in ‘Shotgun’ are fascinating and convincing. The grisly details of the murders in the opening chapter of ‘Shotgun’ are brutally effective, and there’s an extended and disturbing passage that lists the horrific crimes committed in the precinct on Halloween. Against this violence the cops plough a workmanlike furrough as they interview potential witnesses and chase down clues. This is the police procedural at its finest, and whilst the work may be boring the book never is.
McBain’s other great strength was his ability to mix effective commentary on the appalling impacts of crime on individuals and communities, with affectionate and often amusing insights into the human condition. The 87th Precinct books are populated with incidental characters who leap off the page in just a few words, almost as if each is the subject of their own short story. The standout in this one was Joe Witters, the embittered boss of one of the victims who labels all young women “nymphomaniacs”. In scenes like these McBain manages to entertain, as well as, in this case, commenting on the reaction of men to the women’s lib movement in the 1960s. His light touch means that whilst he never glamorises crime or soft pedals on its impacts, those elements never overwhelm the books.
Aside from these character studies, ‘Shotgun’ also includes an amusing breakdown of the Oedipal references in the movie ‘Blow Up’, an unexpected (and brilliant) reappearance of a character from a previous book and a brief but effective essay on the importance of gun control. The fact that the mystery element isn’t up to McBain’s best work loses it a few points, but this is still a really enjoyable read. Even when he’s only average by his own standards, McBain is head and shoulders above much of the competition.
There’s something about the pleasure of cracking open a book that you know you’re going to enjoy. I spent most of 2018 (a year in which I’d pledged to only read books by female authors), suffering from withdrawal symptoms for the work of my favourite crime writer, Ed McBain. That’s not to say that I wasn’t served up with some marvellous crime fiction in my year of abstinence. All the reviews I’ve posted so far on CriminOlly are for female authored books and many of them have been great, but there’s something about McBain’s work that I just love and going a year without reading one of his books was hard. Needless to say then, the first thing I did on New Year’s Day 2019 was crack open ‘Shotgun’ by Mr McBain and re-immerse myself in the grimy but enjoyable world of the 87th Precinct. By lunchtime I had finished it.
For the uninitiated, Ed McBain was a pseudonym of author Evan Hunter, and the 87th Precinct series was arguably his greatest work. It comprises over 50 books, published between 1956 and 2005, all set in a fictional city and focussed on a largely consistent team of detectives. If you’re interested in learning more about McBain and his work I strongly recommend ‘Hark! The 87th Precinct podcast’ which you can find here.
I’ve read many of the books over the last 30 or so years, and in 2013 started reading them through in order (an activity which obviously had to be put on hold in 2018). ‘Shotgun’ is the 23rd book and you can expect to see reviews of the subsequent books appear here as I work my way through them.
The plot of this one is relatively simple, and it doesn’t draw on as many of the members of the precinct as some of the other books do. It opens with detectives Carella and Kling at the scene of an apparent murder/suicide and the story develops from their as they investigate the deaths and the lives of two victims. There’s also a sub-plot about another murder being investigated by detective Meyer, and another about Kling’s relationship with his fiancee Cindy Forrest. The denouement isn’t the greatest in the series (in fact I figured it out before the cops did, which is unusual for me) but the book still comes to a satisfying conclusion.
As ever with McBain, the details of the police work in ‘Shotgun’ are fascinating and convincing. The grisly details of the murders in the opening chapter of ‘Shotgun’ are brutally effective, and there’s an extended and disturbing passage that lists the horrific crimes committed in the precinct on Halloween. Against this violence the cops plough a workmanlike furrough as they interview potential witnesses and chase down clues. This is the police procedural at its finest, and whilst the work may be boring the book never is.
McBain’s other great strength was his ability to mix effective commentary on the appalling impacts of crime on individuals and communities, with affectionate and often amusing insights into the human condition. The 87th Precinct books are populated with incidental characters who leap off the page in just a few words, almost as if each is the subject of their own short story. The standout in this one was Joe Witters, the embittered boss of one of the victims who labels all young women “nymphomaniacs”. In scenes like these McBain manages to entertain, as well as, in this case, commenting on the reaction of men to the women’s lib movement in the 1960s. His light touch means that whilst he never glamorises crime or soft pedals on its impacts, those elements never overwhelm the books.
Aside from these character studies, ‘Shotgun’ also includes an amusing breakdown of the Oedipal references in the movie ‘Blow Up’, an unexpected (and brilliant) reappearance of a character from a previous book and a brief but effective essay on the importance of gun control. The fact that the mystery element isn’t up to McBain’s best work loses it a few points, but this is still a really enjoyable read. Even when he’s only average by his own standards, McBain is head and shoulders above much of the competition.
October 20, 2018
Shotgun is another winner from Ed McBain in the 87th precinct series. The author has provided us with two rather perplexing murders, both of which seem to lack an abundance of clues, likely suspects, or any obvious solutions.
In the first murder, a traveling salesman and his wife appear to have committed a murder-suicide with a shotgun. However, Detective Carella quickly observes a spent shell casing next to the man’s body where he lay holding the shotgun. As the weapon was a pump-action shotgun, it would have been impossible for him to have ejected the spent casing after blowing his face off. Despite urgings to close the case as a suicide from the always lazy homicide detectives that are, by regulation, called to such crime scenes, detective Carella knows better and, with his partner Bert Kling, begins the arduous task of uncovering the perpetrator.
Soon thereafter, another perplexing murder occurs. A woman is stabbed in the chest while in her apartment, perhaps by a stranger she’d only just met earlier that night. Detectives Meyer and Hawes are assigned the case, and in the end the two murders will intersect in the most satisfyingly curious fashion.
The story is complex, fast-paced, and balanced with just the right amount of humor and police procedure. As an interesting side bar, Detective Kling, who is an attractive man, receives some uninvited amorous attention from by a very pretty and rather assertive secretary. This would be fine, except that he is in love with his girlfriend Cindy, who reacts rather aggressively when she sees her would be rival flirting with Kling. The whole scene is one of the more amusing interludes in the story and Kling’s reactions to the advances of the secretary are a hoot.
This is another very entertaining and enjoyable read in a wonderful series. A solid 4.5 stars rounded up just because I enjoyed losing myself for an evening with the boys from the 87th precinct. I’m on a roll with these lean, tightly written books and I look forward to more soon.
In the first murder, a traveling salesman and his wife appear to have committed a murder-suicide with a shotgun. However, Detective Carella quickly observes a spent shell casing next to the man’s body where he lay holding the shotgun. As the weapon was a pump-action shotgun, it would have been impossible for him to have ejected the spent casing after blowing his face off. Despite urgings to close the case as a suicide from the always lazy homicide detectives that are, by regulation, called to such crime scenes, detective Carella knows better and, with his partner Bert Kling, begins the arduous task of uncovering the perpetrator.
Soon thereafter, another perplexing murder occurs. A woman is stabbed in the chest while in her apartment, perhaps by a stranger she’d only just met earlier that night. Detectives Meyer and Hawes are assigned the case, and in the end the two murders will intersect in the most satisfyingly curious fashion.
The story is complex, fast-paced, and balanced with just the right amount of humor and police procedure. As an interesting side bar, Detective Kling, who is an attractive man, receives some uninvited amorous attention from by a very pretty and rather assertive secretary. This would be fine, except that he is in love with his girlfriend Cindy, who reacts rather aggressively when she sees her would be rival flirting with Kling. The whole scene is one of the more amusing interludes in the story and Kling’s reactions to the advances of the secretary are a hoot.
This is another very entertaining and enjoyable read in a wonderful series. A solid 4.5 stars rounded up just because I enjoyed losing myself for an evening with the boys from the 87th precinct. I’m on a roll with these lean, tightly written books and I look forward to more soon.
April 26, 2016
Thanks to James Thane for recommending the 87th Precinct series - - Ed McBain is my kind of writer - short, concise sentences and always to the point - with rapid fire delivery. He knows about cops and how they go about solving various crimes. This story is about a double murder - its a tough one - the two protagonists are detectives and partners - they each have a private life but its in the background - the crime comes first. There's only one thing that made me choose four stars instead of five - - McBain doesn't use a real city as the locale - - its a made up city - large and on the East Coast. Ok, maybe its New York, but he uses some other made up name. I'm a reader who likes the city be one of the story characters - - I think its important to the story. So, four stars. But, I loved everything else - - looking forward to reading the series.
May 8, 2016
In the 80's, I discovered and loved reading the 87t Precinct stories - especially with Steve Carella in the starring role. I am sure I read this one back then as well. It was a kindle special deal and I had to see if these stories held up. They do - of course sans technology of our time.
March 6, 2012
Your goto guy. McBain. When you can't figure out what else to read at 4am on a sleep-deprived morning. Even the filler is solid.
February 13, 2025
There are some interesting character details going on in this one. Kling, finally in love again (having recovered from the death of Claire and committed to Cindy), has a faithfulness wobble. He's tired, as any good detective might be, and in need of comfort. He goes to Cindy, wanting and needing her. She's not in the mood.
'It isn't that I don't love you ...'
'Sure,' he said.
'It isn't that I don't want you ... '
'Sure.'
It's just that at this particular moment I don't feel like making love. I feel more like crying, if you'd like to know.'
'Why?'
'I told you. I'm about to get my period. I always feel very depressed a day or two before.'
'Okay,' he said.
How unromantic. But how beautifully realistic. Go Cindy!
And then at the end of that same chapter, how thoughtfully McBain ties this up. Kling has talked to Cindy about her thesis, just like she wanted him to. A gentle discussion and no sex. But he can't resist a little hint that they could still ... you know.
"He sensed what she was about to say. Yes, she would say, Yes, she'd make love even though she didn't feel like it, even though she was depressed and tired and felt unattractive, even though she'd much rather sit her and watch the skyline and sip a little more Scotch and then doze off, even though she didn't feel the tiniest bit sexy. Yes, she would, if that was what he wanted. He read this in her eyes and perched on her lips, and he suddenly felt like a hulking rapist who had shambled up out of the sewer, so he shrugged and lightly said, 'Maybe we'd better not. Be too much like necrophilia,' and smiled back at him, wearily and not at all encouragingly. He gently took the glass from her dangling hand and went to refill it for her.
But he was disappointed."
Such a great ending. Kling has done the noble thing, of course. But he's felt the real thing. A faint sense of being cheated when desire doesn't meet corresponding desire.
(It's worth noting that this NEVER happens between Steve and Teddy Carella. Teddy is invariably lusting to fall into Steve's arms, reading his every bodily need. But King and Cindy are real people.)
That little author comment about Kling's let-down does two things. First it pays tribute to real life, which is what the 87th Precinct is all about. Second, it rings a warning bell. We know (rightly) that Kling's sense of "disappointment" means trouble.
Later Kling will nearly (but not quite) fall into the arms of A. N. Other. But even that will teach him something about love.
The main plot resolves itself satisfactorily, but it's not outstanding. There isn't enough emotional investment in either killer or victims. The main character interest is in the detectives.
But there's another little pay-off for anyone reading their way through the whole set of 87th precinct books (like me). Namely, that Roger Broome, who got away with murder in He Who Hesitates, turns up again and finally achieves what he was attempting all the way through number 19. I wonder why McBain needed to let him do that? Most interesting....
'It isn't that I don't love you ...'
'Sure,' he said.
'It isn't that I don't want you ... '
'Sure.'
It's just that at this particular moment I don't feel like making love. I feel more like crying, if you'd like to know.'
'Why?'
'I told you. I'm about to get my period. I always feel very depressed a day or two before.'
'Okay,' he said.
How unromantic. But how beautifully realistic. Go Cindy!
And then at the end of that same chapter, how thoughtfully McBain ties this up. Kling has talked to Cindy about her thesis, just like she wanted him to. A gentle discussion and no sex. But he can't resist a little hint that they could still ... you know.
"He sensed what she was about to say. Yes, she would say, Yes, she'd make love even though she didn't feel like it, even though she was depressed and tired and felt unattractive, even though she'd much rather sit her and watch the skyline and sip a little more Scotch and then doze off, even though she didn't feel the tiniest bit sexy. Yes, she would, if that was what he wanted. He read this in her eyes and perched on her lips, and he suddenly felt like a hulking rapist who had shambled up out of the sewer, so he shrugged and lightly said, 'Maybe we'd better not. Be too much like necrophilia,' and smiled back at him, wearily and not at all encouragingly. He gently took the glass from her dangling hand and went to refill it for her.
But he was disappointed."
Such a great ending. Kling has done the noble thing, of course. But he's felt the real thing. A faint sense of being cheated when desire doesn't meet corresponding desire.
(It's worth noting that this NEVER happens between Steve and Teddy Carella. Teddy is invariably lusting to fall into Steve's arms, reading his every bodily need. But King and Cindy are real people.)
That little author comment about Kling's let-down does two things. First it pays tribute to real life, which is what the 87th Precinct is all about. Second, it rings a warning bell. We know (rightly) that Kling's sense of "disappointment" means trouble.
Later Kling will nearly (but not quite) fall into the arms of A. N. Other. But even that will teach him something about love.
The main plot resolves itself satisfactorily, but it's not outstanding. There isn't enough emotional investment in either killer or victims. The main character interest is in the detectives.
But there's another little pay-off for anyone reading their way through the whole set of 87th precinct books (like me). Namely, that Roger Broome, who got away with murder in He Who Hesitates, turns up again and finally achieves what he was attempting all the way through number 19. I wonder why McBain needed to let him do that? Most interesting....
August 17, 2024
He can just do this all year, can't he? We've got droll patrolman wordplay; a cranky office manager muttering that all of his female employees, no matter how dowdy, are "nymphomaniacs"; funny, maudlin bad poetry at what is clearly a Greenwich Village funeral; a love triangle featuring detective Bert Kling, somewhat yucky due to period sexism; some funny bits featuring ugly Americans just back from Puerto Rico; and a quick, brutal plot featuring a couple shotgunned, as in the title, in their apartment, and a solution that kind of comes out of nowhere and also is related to clues that have been dropped. Fun little meta-moment where Steve Carella wishes he were involved in a case that included rare poisons, a locked room, or some other Golden-Age trickiness...and then the solution does in fact involve a nod to classic tropes. The usual excellent dialogue, Yiddish-influenced shtick (I mean, "A hospital mortuary is never a cheerful place, but it is perhaps least cheerful on a Saturday afternoon. The weekend is not a good time for dying, you should never die anytime between Friday evening and Monday morning. Wednesday is the best time for dying except in some towns in Connecticut where even the barber shops are closed on Wednesday"), and flyby evocations of particular apartments, bars, and offices. Interestingly, it doesn't feel particularly like a novel published in 1969, aside from the beatniks being drawn as leftovers of an extinct culture, so it wasn't useful for the period color I was looking to see if I could draw on. Ah well.
I dunno, maybe I will revisit the whole series....urgh, there are 55 of them. That's...a lot. But I will read the first few and see how they feel.
I dunno, maybe I will revisit the whole series....urgh, there are 55 of them. That's...a lot. But I will read the first few and see how they feel.
July 22, 2020
(Hodnocení pro Brokovnici i Skládačku.)
Dva romány, ke kterým jen těžko můžu být objektivní. V mládí jsem je četl pořád dokola. Jedno je klasická detektivka, druhá má spíš našlápnuto k thrilleru postaveném na hledání pokladu. Zajímavé na tom je, že (pokud se nepletu), Brokovnice je první román, kde McBain použil to, co se rychle stalo trademarkem románů z 87. revíru – brutální epizodky. To jsou ty krátké a s dějem nesouvisející sekvence, kde autor na čtenáře vychrlí, k čemu ještě došlo ve městě, různá znásilnění, zabití z malicherných důvodů, brutální vraždy… prostě věci, které dodávají románům nelítostnou atmosféru. A pak si klidně autor může přijít (jako v případě Skládačky) se zápletkou, která by klidně mohla vyjít i v románu tak o padesát let starším.
Ani jedno nepřichází s nějakou šokující pointou, ale stylem, nápaditými popisy, živými dialogy a vůbec hravostí, s jakou k tomu McBain přistupuje, to boduje. (Mimochodem, u Brokovnice se dokonce vrací k jednomu ze starších románů, aby ho po létech uzavřel.) Jsem asi osobně zaujatý, ale podle mě tyhle věci patří k McBainové nejlepšímu období, kdy už přesně věděl, co dělá, a ještě se z toho nestala čirá macha.
Dva romány, ke kterým jen těžko můžu být objektivní. V mládí jsem je četl pořád dokola. Jedno je klasická detektivka, druhá má spíš našlápnuto k thrilleru postaveném na hledání pokladu. Zajímavé na tom je, že (pokud se nepletu), Brokovnice je první román, kde McBain použil to, co se rychle stalo trademarkem románů z 87. revíru – brutální epizodky. To jsou ty krátké a s dějem nesouvisející sekvence, kde autor na čtenáře vychrlí, k čemu ještě došlo ve městě, různá znásilnění, zabití z malicherných důvodů, brutální vraždy… prostě věci, které dodávají románům nelítostnou atmosféru. A pak si klidně autor může přijít (jako v případě Skládačky) se zápletkou, která by klidně mohla vyjít i v románu tak o padesát let starším.
Ani jedno nepřichází s nějakou šokující pointou, ale stylem, nápaditými popisy, živými dialogy a vůbec hravostí, s jakou k tomu McBain přistupuje, to boduje. (Mimochodem, u Brokovnice se dokonce vrací k jednomu ze starších románů, aby ho po létech uzavřel.) Jsem asi osobně zaujatý, ale podle mě tyhle věci patří k McBainové nejlepšímu období, kdy už přesně věděl, co dělá, a ještě se z toho nestala čirá macha.
May 25, 2022
Halloween in the 87th, I'm here for it.
Murder/Suicide? or something more sinister for Carella and Kling? Random stabbing victim for Meyer and Hawes? Sounds like routine mayhem for the bulls of Isola.
Satisfactory murder scene to introduce levels of professionalism between Carella and Kling. McBain lays out the hints right up front. Gives the team solid clues to pursue to resolution.
Interesting change of the times for sexuality between the men and women. Kling gets the brunt of this one and who better, really? Cindy is continuing to blaze her own path in this series.
Good to see the Carella household enjoying All Hallow's Eve.
Even better to get some call back from an unsolved case, He Who Hesitates, visits the city again and can't hold his liquor.
The end doesn't really hold up in the face of the evidence, or points at the glaring lack of forensic stability as a criminal procedure. Either way, the fingerprint situation is underwhelming, and personal identification methods used, beg way too many questions into contrivance.
Otherwise, good entry in the series. Recommend.
Thanks for reading.
Murder/Suicide? or something more sinister for Carella and Kling? Random stabbing victim for Meyer and Hawes? Sounds like routine mayhem for the bulls of Isola.
Satisfactory murder scene to introduce levels of professionalism between Carella and Kling. McBain lays out the hints right up front. Gives the team solid clues to pursue to resolution.
Interesting change of the times for sexuality between the men and women. Kling gets the brunt of this one and who better, really? Cindy is continuing to blaze her own path in this series.
Good to see the Carella household enjoying All Hallow's Eve.
Even better to get some call back from an unsolved case, He Who Hesitates, visits the city again and can't hold his liquor.
The end doesn't really hold up in the face of the evidence, or points at the glaring lack of forensic stability as a criminal procedure. Either way, the fingerprint situation is underwhelming, and personal identification methods used, beg way too many questions into contrivance.
Otherwise, good entry in the series. Recommend.
Thanks for reading.
May 18, 2020
Another good one, it's hard to rate these, especially since they're rereads, I feel like I'm randomly swinging between 3 and 4.
This is a return to the more standard police procedural stuff, but that's fine with me. There's the usual wonderfully drawn minor characters, the bleak reasons that ordinary people commit horrible crimes, plenty of sharp dialogue and dry humour, and the era of the swinging sixties is touched on a bit, following on from the previous book - McBain evokes the time well but doesn't over-do it, just like he is ramping up the violence to move with the times but not gratuitously so.
I'm not sure if the ending was telegraphed a little of if I still remembered it from 20+ years ago...
There's a good shout-back in this, too - don't read it before you've read He Who Hesitates, just sayin'.
There's also some good character-building for Kling (I don't remember much of the series but I do know that this is foreshadowing the events in about 12 books time).
This is a return to the more standard police procedural stuff, but that's fine with me. There's the usual wonderfully drawn minor characters, the bleak reasons that ordinary people commit horrible crimes, plenty of sharp dialogue and dry humour, and the era of the swinging sixties is touched on a bit, following on from the previous book - McBain evokes the time well but doesn't over-do it, just like he is ramping up the violence to move with the times but not gratuitously so.
I'm not sure if the ending was telegraphed a little of if I still remembered it from 20+ years ago...
There's a good shout-back in this, too - don't read it before you've read He Who Hesitates, just sayin'.
There's also some good character-building for Kling (I don't remember much of the series but I do know that this is foreshadowing the events in about 12 books time).
November 2, 2021
The ending is a 4+ but the book overall brings it down in my opinion. McBain can write well but he has a tendacy for hacky writing at times and he does quite a bit of that here. Lots of padding. The first case was a couple who were killed by shotgun blasts to their heads with a sloppy suicide setup in their apartment. Also has a second case of a middle age lady stabbed once in the chest also in her apartment. The cases were interesting and were well thought out but it seemed he didnt have enough so he does what he does and just kept typing random junk. McBain even brought back the killer from He Who Hesitates for a few pages of something to just get his word count up. Though the ending brings the book up some, didnt see it coming.
I can recommend, you have to get by a lot of hack material but overall it's a solid crime novel.
I can recommend, you have to get by a lot of hack material but overall it's a solid crime novel.
July 26, 2018
Interesting read...
This is my first McBain book and I must say a very interesting read.
The language used is colloquial and the storytelling is straightforward, no thrilling climax, road chasing stunts, kind of old fashioned, and the characters, be them policemen or victims or witnesses, are just ordinary people like you and me, relatable people.
The only distraction I would say I had when reading this book was there were a few references or explanation of reference made the details of which I felt was rather unnecessary. At one time I was bored and was contemplating giving up, I am glad I didn’t.
The weekend is not a good time for dying, you should never die anytime between Friday evening and Monday morning. - Pg. 16
Fighting wars to preserve peace. - Pg. 99
This is my first McBain book and I must say a very interesting read.
The language used is colloquial and the storytelling is straightforward, no thrilling climax, road chasing stunts, kind of old fashioned, and the characters, be them policemen or victims or witnesses, are just ordinary people like you and me, relatable people.
The only distraction I would say I had when reading this book was there were a few references or explanation of reference made the details of which I felt was rather unnecessary. At one time I was bored and was contemplating giving up, I am glad I didn’t.
The weekend is not a good time for dying, you should never die anytime between Friday evening and Monday morning. - Pg. 16
Fighting wars to preserve peace. - Pg. 99
September 2, 2024
I admit to being very busy and more distracted than usual. I missed something that i wouldn't have missed if I'd been paying more attention. Good way to kick me in the pants to wake up. Thus, the book caught me off guard with the conclusion, though it's a plot element often used. I thought I'd see more reviewers anticipate the ending, but , apparently, not. Could it also that McBain was putting us chain readers to such comfort we aren't trying to get ahead of him?
The plotting and storytelling are expertly handled. The dialogue is even better than usual. The pitter-patter of Bert Kling and the saucy dame is perfect. Just a really solid novel.
Bottom line: i recommend this book. 10 out of ten points.
The plotting and storytelling are expertly handled. The dialogue is even better than usual. The pitter-patter of Bert Kling and the saucy dame is perfect. Just a really solid novel.
Bottom line: i recommend this book. 10 out of ten points.
August 22, 2023
Ed McBain's Shotgun thrusts Detectives Steve Carella and Bert Kling into a web of chilling murders that appear to be suicides, but their instincts tell them there's more beneath the surface. As the 87th Precinct investigates the macabre deaths of married couples, McBain's vivid, concise prose captures the gruesome details. The detectives suspect a calculated killer is at large. Amid escalating tension, they plunge headfirst into the relentless pursuit, refusing to accept the suicide theory. In this tense #23 installment of the 52-book series, McBain crafts a narrative that builds to an explosive climax, proving once again why he's a master of the genre.
April 6, 2022
“Everyone likes to spend Saturday in a different way. Meyer and Hawes went to a poetry reading, Carella got hit on the head, and Bert Kling got beat up.
It was a nice Saturday.”
The title of this book seemed to scream from its cover - in the voice of Jr. Walker & The All Stars!
Unfortunately for the man and woman at the beginning of this book, the title refers to the weapon that shot them, at close range, in the face.
The discussion of Cindy’s thesis was so boring. Maybe the first time I've been bored reading an 87th Precinct story! But the rest was good, and as per usual, Carella gets knocked out! Poor guy.
As a cool bonus for regular readers - Roger Broome returns to the city and confesses to the murder he committed in book #19! Nice touch!
It was a nice Saturday.”
The title of this book seemed to scream from its cover - in the voice of Jr. Walker & The All Stars!
Unfortunately for the man and woman at the beginning of this book, the title refers to the weapon that shot them, at close range, in the face.
The discussion of Cindy’s thesis was so boring. Maybe the first time I've been bored reading an 87th Precinct story! But the rest was good, and as per usual, Carella gets knocked out! Poor guy.
As a cool bonus for regular readers - Roger Broome returns to the city and confesses to the murder he committed in book #19! Nice touch!
November 4, 2017
I spent the morning reading yet another 87th Precinct book and I'm very glad I did.
In this one, a man and woman are shot. The cops who are originally called to the scene think this is an open and shut case, a murder/suicide. Carella, however, points out some inconsistencies and he and Kling investigate. The tone of this one is lighter than the last several entries, but I still found the mystery to be quite intriguing. And I got a lot of laughs along the way.
In this one, a man and woman are shot. The cops who are originally called to the scene think this is an open and shut case, a murder/suicide. Carella, however, points out some inconsistencies and he and Kling investigate. The tone of this one is lighter than the last several entries, but I still found the mystery to be quite intriguing. And I got a lot of laughs along the way.
March 23, 2021
Bought this for 50p at a charity shop on a whim and it was just as pulpy and terrible as expected. Macho masculinity for middle aged white dads, with just a sprinkle of sexism amidst the complete disregard for socio-economics. The "twist" at the end of the novel isn't that interesting and exists solely to tie up the mind-numbingly dull B-plot without Ed McBain having to put any actual creativity into his writing.
June 21, 2017
The 87th Precinct series never disappoints (even 50 years later) - some are good, some are better, but they always entertain. Carella, Kling, Hawes, Brown - all cops that you want to be your friend, not on your case. "Shotgun" is one of the earlier ones, so if you're reading them chronologically, you have a lot of pleasure in front of you.
June 18, 2018
Another fun McBain. This one is almost better because I've read the other books in the series. It cleans up something that happened in an earlier book.
The surprise twist at the end is no surprise at all -- you'll totally see it coming. Also, it's a bit weak in the details. But the characters, the dialogue -- that's solid. And that's why I love McBain so much.
The surprise twist at the end is no surprise at all -- you'll totally see it coming. Also, it's a bit weak in the details. But the characters, the dialogue -- that's solid. And that's why I love McBain so much.
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