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geemont235's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
wordboydave's review against another edition
4.0
My first 87th Precinct novel, and now I see why people like Ed McBain. Although these are straight police procedurals, the writing is genuinely light—sarcastic and funny and wry. The novel is very dated in a few ways (the Chinese tattoo artist is a racial stereotype, and the female characters are very much of their time), but the voice and pacing are really well done, and I'll happily read another.
ring01's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
plantbirdwoman's review against another edition
4.0
These early Ed McBain novels from the 1950s are now old enough to qualify almost as historical mysteries and the language and attitudes often seem staid, stilted, and outdated.
Did policemen really used to talk like that? I remember watching reruns of "Dragnet" years after the series first ran and I seem to recall that Sgt. Joe Friday and his partner did, in fact, employ some of this terminology and exhibit some of those attitudes, so, yeah, I guess maybe they really did talk like that.
In spite of the fact that the books feel dated, the writing is so crisp that it draws us in and holds our attention. We feel like time travelers visiting another planet and observing the interaction of the inhabitants there. The books never fail to spark our interest and this, the fourth in the 87th Precinct series, is the best one yet, I think. Each entry has been an improvement upon the last one, which bodes well for my future reading of the series.
This story begins with a con man cheating people out of their money, some small amounts and some more substantial. The cop assigned to this case takes that personally and pursues his quarry with a vengeance.
Meanwhile, a con man of another and much more sinister sort plies his trade through personal ads in magazines. His goal is to reach lonely women and, after bilking them out of whatever money they may have and convincing them to get a tattoo which he tells them will mark them as his, he poisons them with arsenic and dumps their bodies in the river.
But bodies dumped in the river, even when they are weighted down, don't always stay there. And so, the Isola police and Precinct 87 are the unfortunate recipients of a "floater," a badly decomposed body that comes to the surface after being in the water for at least three months. Detective Steve Carella and his partner Bert Kling are assigned to the case and start trying to establish the identity of the dead woman, whose only clothing consisted of a bra and who had no identification, and to work out how she came to be in the water.
Before they can solve the first murder, yet another "floater" turns up. The cause of death turns out to be the same - arsenic poisoning - and the woman has a similar tattoo. It looks as though Isola may have a serial killer on its hands.
The tattoos turn out to be the definitive clue which helps to break the case, along with the help of a conscientious citizen tattoo artist named Charlie Chen.
The Con Man lets us get to know Steve Carella a little better. We also see his wife, Teddy, playing an important role in finally tracking down this con man/murderer. Apparently, they will continue to be at the center of future mysteries in the series.
By this time, McBain had really perfected his technique of writing a scintillating beginning to his tales, one that hooks you from the first sentence and keeps you turning pages. It's easy to see why other writers of mysteries, particularly of police procedurals, acknowledge him as the master.
Did policemen really used to talk like that? I remember watching reruns of "Dragnet" years after the series first ran and I seem to recall that Sgt. Joe Friday and his partner did, in fact, employ some of this terminology and exhibit some of those attitudes, so, yeah, I guess maybe they really did talk like that.
In spite of the fact that the books feel dated, the writing is so crisp that it draws us in and holds our attention. We feel like time travelers visiting another planet and observing the interaction of the inhabitants there. The books never fail to spark our interest and this, the fourth in the 87th Precinct series, is the best one yet, I think. Each entry has been an improvement upon the last one, which bodes well for my future reading of the series.
This story begins with a con man cheating people out of their money, some small amounts and some more substantial. The cop assigned to this case takes that personally and pursues his quarry with a vengeance.
Meanwhile, a con man of another and much more sinister sort plies his trade through personal ads in magazines. His goal is to reach lonely women and, after bilking them out of whatever money they may have and convincing them to get a tattoo which he tells them will mark them as his, he poisons them with arsenic and dumps their bodies in the river.
But bodies dumped in the river, even when they are weighted down, don't always stay there. And so, the Isola police and Precinct 87 are the unfortunate recipients of a "floater," a badly decomposed body that comes to the surface after being in the water for at least three months. Detective Steve Carella and his partner Bert Kling are assigned to the case and start trying to establish the identity of the dead woman, whose only clothing consisted of a bra and who had no identification, and to work out how she came to be in the water.
Before they can solve the first murder, yet another "floater" turns up. The cause of death turns out to be the same - arsenic poisoning - and the woman has a similar tattoo. It looks as though Isola may have a serial killer on its hands.
The tattoos turn out to be the definitive clue which helps to break the case, along with the help of a conscientious citizen tattoo artist named Charlie Chen.
The Con Man lets us get to know Steve Carella a little better. We also see his wife, Teddy, playing an important role in finally tracking down this con man/murderer. Apparently, they will continue to be at the center of future mysteries in the series.
By this time, McBain had really perfected his technique of writing a scintillating beginning to his tales, one that hooks you from the first sentence and keeps you turning pages. It's easy to see why other writers of mysteries, particularly of police procedurals, acknowledge him as the master.
michaelromeo's review against another edition
3.0
In The Con Man (the fourth book in the 87th precinct series, circa 1957) McBain delivers a standard entry into the series. There are two levels of con men on the loose; one, the relatively harmless kind who is just out to cheat a few unsuspecting marks out of a few dollars, and the other the most deadly kind, the kind out to swindle hapless victims out of everything they have and then leave them for dead.
McBain’s strengths lay in a couple of areas, both of which are present in this entry. The first is his characterizations. McBain’s people come off the page. They are real. They are tangible. In many cases you can relate a character to someone you have met at some point in your life. Another strength of his is his pacing. Though his books can be predictable they are never boring. Though you know the guys will get their criminal in the last pages how they do so and the challenges they have to get over always make for a good read. In The Con Man these elements combine in the last 30 pages to make one of the most suspenseful climaxes I’ve encountered in a long time. The killer, his latest victim, several cops, a deaf woman, and a witness are all trying to contact/avoid/chase one another with a long series of missed connections that at times takes the reader’s breath away.
McBain is not to everyone’s taste. His books are very macho, and the earlier volumes carry racial stereotypes that in today’s world hit the reader as thoughtless and insensitive. The crimes he depicts are often bordering on the gruesome or at the very least cruel. What does make him palatable is the people he populates his books with; some likeable, some despicable, some comical, some pitiful, all extremely believable, and creativity of the crimes and the pursuits.
©2015 M. Romeo LaFlamme
https://secondpot.wordpress.com/2015/01/28/ed-mcbain-and-the-87th-precinct-the-journey-of-100-books-makes-a-stop-in-the-fictional-city-of-isola-new-york/
McBain’s strengths lay in a couple of areas, both of which are present in this entry. The first is his characterizations. McBain’s people come off the page. They are real. They are tangible. In many cases you can relate a character to someone you have met at some point in your life. Another strength of his is his pacing. Though his books can be predictable they are never boring. Though you know the guys will get their criminal in the last pages how they do so and the challenges they have to get over always make for a good read. In The Con Man these elements combine in the last 30 pages to make one of the most suspenseful climaxes I’ve encountered in a long time. The killer, his latest victim, several cops, a deaf woman, and a witness are all trying to contact/avoid/chase one another with a long series of missed connections that at times takes the reader’s breath away.
McBain is not to everyone’s taste. His books are very macho, and the earlier volumes carry racial stereotypes that in today’s world hit the reader as thoughtless and insensitive. The crimes he depicts are often bordering on the gruesome or at the very least cruel. What does make him palatable is the people he populates his books with; some likeable, some despicable, some comical, some pitiful, all extremely believable, and creativity of the crimes and the pursuits.
©2015 M. Romeo LaFlamme
https://secondpot.wordpress.com/2015/01/28/ed-mcbain-and-the-87th-precinct-the-journey-of-100-books-makes-a-stop-in-the-fictional-city-of-isola-new-york/
leethepea's review against another edition
5.0
Love, love, LOVE Ed McBain books. Started reading them and collecting them when i was about 12, but i've not read any for a long time, so it is a real pleasure to rediscover the 87th Precinct. Starting to find some of the books from the list that i've never managed to get, Cop Hater being one of them. His books are funny, witty, clever and have great characters. I particularly love the descriptiveness of the seasons, the cities and the people. Can't wait to read the next find!
whatmeworry's review against another edition
4.0
There are a couple of sequences that feel a little like padding, but only really in comparison to McBain's usual taut storytelling, the climax though is incredible. Complicated without being confusing and utterly gripping.
francomega's review
3.0
A bit dated/stilted (1957), but not as much as you'd think. Some very nicely written passages and a well-woven dual plot involving a murderer and a pair of con men. McBain takes the con man theme and runs with it, drawing analogies all over the place.
guiltyfeat's review
3.0
Another solid 87th Precinct book. Good to see Teddy Carella getting in on the action instead of just sitting at home looking pretty.
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