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Matthew Hope #12
Gladly the Cross-Eyed Bear
Lainie Commins, a freelance designer of children's toys, hires attorney Matthew Hope for a lawsuit against her old employers, Brett and Etta Toland. At stake are the lucrative rights to Gladly, a teddy bear with crossed eyes and corrective lenses. It's a straightforward case -- until Brett Toland is shot in the throat aboard his luxury yacht and Lainie becomes the chief suspect. From elegant canals to sunbaked ghettos, McBain has done for Florida's Gulf Coast what he did for the 87th Precinct -- created a teeming world where justice is elusive and where the saints and sinners are often one and the same.
324 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
51 people are currently reading
225 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 34 reviews
October 7, 2014
If I was an attorney and I found out my client lied to me, I would dump her (or his) ass immediately. Sorry, dear friends. For a minute I forgot this is a book of fiction as stated on the cover; and I'm not an attorney.
But that character, the main character, obviously I didn't like her much. She just rubbed me the wrong way but perhaps that's what McBain wanted. He wanted me to dislike her. That makes for a good book if I have strong feelings about characters, good, bad or ugly.
If I was an attorney and I found out my client lied to me, I would dump her (or his) ass immediately. Sorry, dear friends. For a minute I forgot this is a book of fiction as stated on the cover; and I'm not an attorney.
But that character, the main character, obviously I didn't like her much. She just rubbed me the wrong way but perhaps that's what McBain wanted. He wanted me to dislike her. That makes for a good book if I have strong feelings about characters, good, bad or ugly.
Nevertheless, it was a pretty good read in the Matthew Hope series. I have two more in the 13 book series. It's only my opinion but Matthew Hope seems to be waning a bit. He's getting tired of telling us stories.
Again, my opinion of course, authors write great characters and storylines the first few books then everything goes downhill gradually (sometimes it isn't gradual.) I think they probably just get tired of the character they created and want to move on to writing something else. Run out of ideas, maybe. And there are some such as Nero Wolfe, no idea how many books in the series but he's solid through all the ones I've read.
McBain is also the author of the 87th Precinct series, a police procedural which has umpteen books in the series. Lordy me, there are characters galore with some shining more than others in the books. Can't see how he could ever get bored with that series.
Back to this one, it was ok, as Matthew Hope usually is even with two storylines.
Fussing with myself as to whether it's three or four star. I'm settling on 3.5 stars and since GR has no change in their rating system, I round up to four stars although it isn't, in my opinion, a four star book.
But that character, the main character, obviously I didn't like her much. She just rubbed me the wrong way but perhaps that's what McBain wanted. He wanted me to dislike her. That makes for a good book if I have strong feelings about characters, good, bad or ugly.
If I was an attorney and I found out my client lied to me, I would dump her (or his) ass immediately. Sorry, dear friends. For a minute I forgot this is a book of fiction as stated on the cover; and I'm not an attorney.
But that character, the main character, obviously I didn't like her much. She just rubbed me the wrong way but perhaps that's what McBain wanted. He wanted me to dislike her. That makes for a good book if I have strong feelings about characters, good, bad or ugly.
Nevertheless, it was a pretty good read in the Matthew Hope series. I have two more in the 13 book series. It's only my opinion but Matthew Hope seems to be waning a bit. He's getting tired of telling us stories.
Again, my opinion of course, authors write great characters and storylines the first few books then everything goes downhill gradually (sometimes it isn't gradual.) I think they probably just get tired of the character they created and want to move on to writing something else. Run out of ideas, maybe. And there are some such as Nero Wolfe, no idea how many books in the series but he's solid through all the ones I've read.
McBain is also the author of the 87th Precinct series, a police procedural which has umpteen books in the series. Lordy me, there are characters galore with some shining more than others in the books. Can't see how he could ever get bored with that series.
Back to this one, it was ok, as Matthew Hope usually is even with two storylines.
September 24, 2014
“I didn’t kill him.” This persistent refrain comes from Hope’s client but on each occasion of her affirmation the surrounding circumstances in her story change in a Roshomon-like manipulation of the truth.
His client, Lainie Commins, is suing a toy company for violation of copyright, claiming she had come up with the idea of a cross-eyed bear whose eyes were corrected when specially designed toy glasses were put on. When the owner of the toy company is murdered, suspicion falls on Lainie, especially when she doesn’t deny having gone to his yacht that evening and numerous witnesses placed her at the scene around the time of the murder.
Hope is hampered by the absence of his normal detective operatives, Warren and Toots. In a parallel story, Warren has kidnapped Toots, who has become a crack addict, and much against her will, taken her out on a boat, some thirty miles out to sea, where she remains handcuffed to a bracket in Warren’s attempt to get her to kick the drug “cold turkey.”
There are actually three parallel stories going on although not necessarily concurrently: Hope’s experience in the hospital escaping from a coma and his subsequent recovery after being shot; Warren’s efforts to “cold turkey” Toots; and the investigation of the Toyland boss’s murder.
I like the way McBain writes and lays out the story, often in a matter-of-fact manner but vivid manner. His description of the intensity of an addict’s cravings seems so real one wonders if he had some personal knowledge.
Downgraded from 4 stars only because I didn't think the multiple story lines worked that well.
His client, Lainie Commins, is suing a toy company for violation of copyright, claiming she had come up with the idea of a cross-eyed bear whose eyes were corrected when specially designed toy glasses were put on. When the owner of the toy company is murdered, suspicion falls on Lainie, especially when she doesn’t deny having gone to his yacht that evening and numerous witnesses placed her at the scene around the time of the murder.
Hope is hampered by the absence of his normal detective operatives, Warren and Toots. In a parallel story, Warren has kidnapped Toots, who has become a crack addict, and much against her will, taken her out on a boat, some thirty miles out to sea, where she remains handcuffed to a bracket in Warren’s attempt to get her to kick the drug “cold turkey.”
There are actually three parallel stories going on although not necessarily concurrently: Hope’s experience in the hospital escaping from a coma and his subsequent recovery after being shot; Warren’s efforts to “cold turkey” Toots; and the investigation of the Toyland boss’s murder.
I like the way McBain writes and lays out the story, often in a matter-of-fact manner but vivid manner. His description of the intensity of an addict’s cravings seems so real one wonders if he had some personal knowledge.
Downgraded from 4 stars only because I didn't think the multiple story lines worked that well.
August 11, 2014
"Disjointed" is the first word that this book evokes for me. Story lines that never intersect, unless you count an "oh, by the way, where's so-and-so," the telegraphed ending (I was right about whodunit the first time I met the characters, in spite of numerous limp attempts to point elsewhere), and just, well . . . disjointed. The character development was almost incidental and two-dimensional at best, at several junctures it was difficult to figure out which scene the story had jumped to, the timeline was uncertain, and, by the time the end came I was convinced the author had written himself into a labyrinth and didn't know the way out so he just pulled out the chainsaw and cut himself an exit.
I'm not sure why I gave it the second star?
I'm not sure why I gave it the second star?
August 12, 2022
3,5/5. Διαβάζεται γρήγορα και με ενδιαφέρον, χωρίς να ξεχωρίζει. Ωραίος ήρωας ο Matthew Hope, αν και μάλλον δεν υπάρχουν άλλα βιβλία της σειράς στα ελληνικά.
March 13, 2017
Ed McBain is a writing god! Every book he has written, I have enjoyed, especially the quirks, the slight wackiness, the twists and turns. And this one — while not my favorite of his series — is no different.
Matthew Hope is a lawyer in Florida and the cases he gets, well lets just say, they never are straightforward. Especially the copyright infringement case involving the design of a cross-eyed teddy bear, his first case since getting shot and nearly dying (in a previous book I haven't, unfortunately, read). So already, you get the background story of Matt having to live with everyone asking if he is OK. His client is a beautiful young woman who also has a wandering eye (physically, not metaphysically). He thinks he's got the case in hand but the client is not so sure, so she meets with her former employers and before you know it, there's a dead body on the boat and his client, Lainie Commins, is the primary suspect.
In true McBain fashion, people lie, omit and hedge in their tales of what happened and when that night and Hope is having to deal without his usual investigators. But he plods along and through sheer doggedness, slowly the real story — or as much as possible — comes out. A wonderful story and a wild ride from start to finish.
Matthew Hope is a lawyer in Florida and the cases he gets, well lets just say, they never are straightforward. Especially the copyright infringement case involving the design of a cross-eyed teddy bear, his first case since getting shot and nearly dying (in a previous book I haven't, unfortunately, read). So already, you get the background story of Matt having to live with everyone asking if he is OK. His client is a beautiful young woman who also has a wandering eye (physically, not metaphysically). He thinks he's got the case in hand but the client is not so sure, so she meets with her former employers and before you know it, there's a dead body on the boat and his client, Lainie Commins, is the primary suspect.
In true McBain fashion, people lie, omit and hedge in their tales of what happened and when that night and Hope is having to deal without his usual investigators. But he plods along and through sheer doggedness, slowly the real story — or as much as possible — comes out. A wonderful story and a wild ride from start to finish.
January 30, 2016
For all the big name critics who sang praises for this next-to-last book in the Matthew Hope series, I was sadly disappointed. My thought was that in order to keep the action moving, Attorney Hope's investigator Warren had to run a side story line in which his assistant, Toots, fell off the wagon and was caught up in cocaine addiction again. Warren kidnapped her to clean and they in turn were kidnapped by a drug cartel. Actually that was more interesting the Mr. Hope's adventures. Pass on this one.
September 16, 2024
Being an Ed McBain fan I picked this book not knowing what it was about, needless to say I was surprised. I was introduced to a new character, Matthew Hope, and I liked him. This time McBain gets out of police work and enters the lawyer world. This case has many twists and turns that will keep you guessing. One memorable line is, "Her voice as soft as a hot summer wind blowing in off the Tennessee river.", wow what a line. I'm already looking for the first in the series. Highly recommended.
May 12, 2017
I used to read a lot of 87th Precinct books by Ed McBain when I was in the Navy. He uses a good bit of profanity and sexual type content. I was intrigued by the title of this book and a version I found with large print, At least the first third of the book was fairly decent without the usual style that McBain drifts into, but it came around, but I was enough into the book that I wanted to finish it. As it went along though I was more interested in the side story of a policeman helping a friend kick a drug habit then I was in the main story, which turned out to be somewhat lacking. The thing I DO like about Ed McBain books is the rapid fire style of interrogations and conversations. I may read others, but cautiously.
January 19, 2020
A lot of subplots in this book. So many that I was often frustrated when the story jumped often from one scenario to another. Lawsuit. Murder. Video. Cocaine. Affair. Hijacked boat. Lawyer recouperating from being shot.
Also, Lainie was quite the liar! McBain certainly did not make her an endearing character. So much so that I was not disappointed when she lost the lawsuit. Maybe that was his intent.
Some you win, some you lose. (Last line of the book.)
Also, Lainie was quite the liar! McBain certainly did not make her an endearing character. So much so that I was not disappointed when she lost the lawsuit. Maybe that was his intent.
Some you win, some you lose. (Last line of the book.)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 29, 2020
Fairly weak entry in the Matthew Hope series. It opens with a copyright case being argued in a courtroom. Once the inevitable murder case gets underway the investigation is hampered by an unreliable defendant, a trope that McBain has used before in this series. As a result of Hope's recent gunshot wound it is said that he suffers from short-term memory loss and mild aphasia, neither of which is apparent in his murder investigation and represent a lost narrative opportunity.
December 1, 2019
Excellent. I really enjoyed this even though I probably read it 20 years ago when I listened to all the Matthew Hope books. The characters are well developed and the plot had several twists. People are just so devious!
July 5, 2020
The penultimate Matthew Hope book, and my 74th Ed McBain book. I do like these books, set in Florida and this is written in typical McBain style. A trademark and copyright dispute is clouded by Hope’s client being arrested for murder of one of the defendants.
April 2, 2020
A most enjoyable mystery.
November 20, 2022
Very boring, so I stopped reading it
March 24, 2024
A cross eyed toy bear with corrective glasses? A dispute between a former employee and the company she worked for over who owned the rights to the bear. Murder? It works and it is good.
September 23, 2024
Great book, with several twists and turns, and stories-within-stories. Another Ed McBain hit, this one in the Matthew Hope series.
October 2, 2025
Ed McBain: he does what he does better than anyone else.
November 28, 2025
always good
Always good , surprise ending, not unexpected , but three murders unexpected , start reading and find it hard to put down
Always good , surprise ending, not unexpected , but three murders unexpected , start reading and find it hard to put down
January 4, 2024
(Actually, the edition I read doesn't show up here on Goodreads - I found a paperback copy of "Gladly, l'orsacchiotto strabico" translated by Nicoletta Lamberti and published by Mondadori for the August 15, 1999 issue no. 2,637 of their weekly "Il giallo Mondadori" title*. I believe it's a reprint of the hardcover edition published in 1997 also by Mondadori.)
*To me it's amazing that a publisher could release a detective/mystery/crime novel every week for over 2,637 weeks! The series began in 1929 and was a weekly publication for decades before cutting back to twice a month in 2003, and then monthly starting in July 2015. Issue no. 3,215 (!!) was published in May 2022, and so the title is still going strong!
Pure chance brought this Italian-language copy of Ed McBain's novel to me. It's my first time reading this author, and I found the book breezy, light, and entertaining. Not having read prior novel(s) featuring lead character Matthew Hope was no impediment to my enjoyment of this story. Significant events from Hope's past were seamlessly woven into the story without bogging down the narrative flow.
One odd note was that there was a B story with two characters (Warren and Toots) and that story was mostly confined to a small boat and didn't intersect or contribute in any way to the A story. In other words, the two stories were completely separate in every way. I found that unusual, but I suspect it was a way to bring in characters from prior novels and advance their story lines, and the B story was in fact interesting, although, as I said, it contributed nothing to the main story of Matthew Hope and his client du jour Elaine Commins, who is accused of a murder that she (probably) didn't commit. Or did she?
A few not terribly surprising twists and turns and a lot of interesting digressions into the backstory of various main characters and miscellaneous individuals which come and go through the course of the story.
All of this in the Florida of the 1990s, so it feels like a different world. The book probably felt very contemporary when it came out; now it feels a bit like watching an episode of a dated TV detective series, but that's not a criticism of the book. It actually adds to the interest a bit, like looking back into a time capsule at how the world was a quarter century ago, the things that have changed and the things that haven't.
A quick, pleasant read for riding the bus, waiting for appointments, and any other spare minutes when you don't feel like concentrating too hard.
*To me it's amazing that a publisher could release a detective/mystery/crime novel every week for over 2,637 weeks! The series began in 1929 and was a weekly publication for decades before cutting back to twice a month in 2003, and then monthly starting in July 2015. Issue no. 3,215 (!!) was published in May 2022, and so the title is still going strong!
Pure chance brought this Italian-language copy of Ed McBain's novel to me. It's my first time reading this author, and I found the book breezy, light, and entertaining. Not having read prior novel(s) featuring lead character Matthew Hope was no impediment to my enjoyment of this story. Significant events from Hope's past were seamlessly woven into the story without bogging down the narrative flow.
One odd note was that there was a B story with two characters (Warren and Toots) and that story was mostly confined to a small boat and didn't intersect or contribute in any way to the A story. In other words, the two stories were completely separate in every way. I found that unusual, but I suspect it was a way to bring in characters from prior novels and advance their story lines, and the B story was in fact interesting, although, as I said, it contributed nothing to the main story of Matthew Hope and his client du jour Elaine Commins, who is accused of a murder that she (probably) didn't commit. Or did she?
A few not terribly surprising twists and turns and a lot of interesting digressions into the backstory of various main characters and miscellaneous individuals which come and go through the course of the story.
All of this in the Florida of the 1990s, so it feels like a different world. The book probably felt very contemporary when it came out; now it feels a bit like watching an episode of a dated TV detective series, but that's not a criticism of the book. It actually adds to the interest a bit, like looking back into a time capsule at how the world was a quarter century ago, the things that have changed and the things that haven't.
A quick, pleasant read for riding the bus, waiting for appointments, and any other spare minutes when you don't feel like concentrating too hard.
May 26, 2016
#12 in the Matthew Hope series.
Matthew Hope, recovered from gunshots and a coma - There Was a Little Girl (1994) - and, true to his earlier resolve, practicing only civil law in Calusa, Fla., represents the plaintiff in a suit involving the eponymous teddy bear, named after a misheard line in a hymn ("Gladly the cross I'd bear"). Young toy designer Lainie Commins is suing her ex-boss, toy manufacturer Brett Toland, for copyright and patent infringement, contending that his cross-eyed bear is a direct steal from hers. When Brett is found shot to death on his yacht, Lainie is arrested and charged with murder. She persuades Hope to represent her even as, we later learn, she commits the first legal sin, lying to her lawyer.
Matthew Hope, recovered from gunshots and a coma - There Was a Little Girl (1994) - and, true to his earlier resolve, practicing only civil law in Calusa, Fla., represents the plaintiff in a suit involving the eponymous teddy bear, named after a misheard line in a hymn ("Gladly the cross I'd bear"). Young toy designer Lainie Commins is suing her ex-boss, toy manufacturer Brett Toland, for copyright and patent infringement, contending that his cross-eyed bear is a direct steal from hers. When Brett is found shot to death on his yacht, Lainie is arrested and charged with murder. She persuades Hope to represent her even as, we later learn, she commits the first legal sin, lying to her lawyer.
September 8, 2011
I was expecting this to be the 87th Precinct. It was good, entertaining, and yet there was an extra part about a woman who is addicted to crack, and whether the man who cares about her can get it off the drug. The seemingly innocent designer of the bear turns out to be less than innocent. The lawyer who represents her, Matthew Hope, miraculously survives two bullets and flatlines for five minutes, but seems to be recovering well. A good yarn for the day after 7.03 inches of rain, when one can't drive far.
April 22, 2024
I didn't enjoy this entry as well as the others. Maybe it's because there were less people involved. Maybe it's because the combatants were unlikeable. Maybe it's because the book was mostly strictly business and didn't have the usual entertaining secondary plots. It's still an entertaining book but not the strongest in the series. Maybe McBain knew that the series was winding down.
September 28, 2014
I always enjoy Ed McBain's writing style. He knows how to use words to help create mood as well as to convey exact ideas. The "love scene" in chapter 11 cracked me up. In the last review I wrote (on First Love by Kathy-Jo Reinhart) the book was promoted as "humorous" and missed that mark by a mile. This book was not billed as "humorous", but it certainly had its moments.
February 26, 2008
I love these books because i like mysteries and crime dramas. I like the hero matthew because he's flawed. THe 87th precinct novels are good too. They based the nbc shows law and order of these novels i heard...very good.
March 14, 2009
What I remember most about this book is where I read it. I was at a banking conference in Fort Myers, FL. I would read it a night before turning in, so...it was relaxing, not taxing on the brain, and not memorable on its own.
May 7, 2012
My English teacher heart shrank from all the comma-spliced sentences, but once I got past that I found the plot kept me moving through the story. Not as well written as others of his I have read, but good enough to deserve credit for a job well done.
July 20, 2009
Don't know a better living who-done-it writer. You can take your pick. He is very prolific. Bet you can't read just one.
August 6, 2011
Good read!!
February 26, 2015
easy read
Just an ok book but I won't be buying any more in the series. Very disjointed, story jumps around way to much.
Just an ok book but I won't be buying any more in the series. Very disjointed, story jumps around way to much.
April 24, 2015
Quick story about a toy designer.
A murder, crack on a boat, porno movie.
OK+.
A murder, crack on a boat, porno movie.
OK+.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews