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ambrose_7's review against another edition
4.0
I heard raving reviews about this series and wanted to get into crime books more, so I decided to dive into "Cop Hater." I liked a lot of things about this novel. It was fast-paced and just long enough. I liked the dialogue; the characters were witty and snappy. I also liked how the book was about how the cops did everything. It was my first experience reading a book like that, and I've always been interested in police procedures and what happens behind the scenes. I also appreciated how the cops weren't placed on a pedestal; it felt reasonably unbiased. There were bad cops, and there were good cops. Carella was a well-written character. I felt very connected to him and didn't connect super positively with anyone besides his fiancé, but it didn't matter because at least I had Carella. Considering how much build-up there was, the ending felt rushed, but at least the last scene was WELL built up. I'll be indulging in the rest of the series in the future.
wayka's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
karinlib's review against another edition
3.0
Mysteries are probably my third favorite genre, Sci-Fi and Fantasy being my first and second. History and literary fiction, being my fourth and fifth. I say this because I like police procedural, Noir, cozy, psychological, etc, I will read them all. So, I am trying Ed McBain's 87 precinct series. I have decided to read them in order. Although I felt that there was too much explanation of procedural in this first book.
The 87th precinct is the main character of this series, and in this first book, composed of 16 detectives set in a fictitious big city. On to the next book.
The 87th precinct is the main character of this series, and in this first book, composed of 16 detectives set in a fictitious big city. On to the next book.
pat17's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
dan_hill's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
justlily's review against another edition
2.0
So at no point in time during this book did I really care what was happening at all. None of the characters are fleshed out enough to bother being attached to. None of the red herrings last long enough to really make you curious about the murder. The book starts, things happen, it ends, I have already forgotten all of it.
rpcroke's review against another edition
4.0
They're fun, though dated. If you take this series too seriously you may be disappointed.
dantastic's review against another edition
3.0
When a cop is cut down with a .45, Detectives Carella and Bush spring into action. But can they stop the killer before he kills again?
I was looking for another crime series to begin reading when the 87th Precinct series by Ed McBain caught my eye. I'd read one McBain book before, The Gutter and the Grave, and I enjoyed it enough to take a change on the long long long series of 87th Precinct books..
Cop Hater is a police procedural about someone killing cops, set in the fictional city of Isola. While it was written in the 1950's, women and minorities get better treatment in this book than in a lot of its contemporaries. Steve Carella, the lead character, is engaged to a beautiful deaf mute named Teddy, is something I didn't expect but McBain manages to make their relationship believable.
Cop Hater takes place during a heat wave and all of the characters have frayed nerves from the beginning. All of the cops wonder which of them will be next, as did this reader. One thing I liked is that while Carella is the lead, he's no super cop and no angel. While the mystery wasn't solveable, the killings made sense once the motivations behind them were explained.
It's a pretty quick read. I enjoyed it enough that I'll read the next couple but McBain wrote 50-something of these things so I'm not sure I'll attempt to ever read all of them.
I was looking for another crime series to begin reading when the 87th Precinct series by Ed McBain caught my eye. I'd read one McBain book before, The Gutter and the Grave, and I enjoyed it enough to take a change on the long long long series of 87th Precinct books..
Cop Hater is a police procedural about someone killing cops, set in the fictional city of Isola. While it was written in the 1950's, women and minorities get better treatment in this book than in a lot of its contemporaries. Steve Carella, the lead character, is engaged to a beautiful deaf mute named Teddy, is something I didn't expect but McBain manages to make their relationship believable.
Cop Hater takes place during a heat wave and all of the characters have frayed nerves from the beginning. All of the cops wonder which of them will be next, as did this reader. One thing I liked is that while Carella is the lead, he's no super cop and no angel. While the mystery wasn't solveable, the killings made sense once the motivations behind them were explained.
It's a pretty quick read. I enjoyed it enough that I'll read the next couple but McBain wrote 50-something of these things so I'm not sure I'll attempt to ever read all of them.
bmarr's review against another edition
4.0
Very good book! Great start to the 87th Precinct series. Can't wait to read more. The book holds up surprisingly well for being written in the 1950's.