Hark!: A Novel of the 87th Precinct

by Ed McBain

Book Overview

I'm a Fathead, Men I Am the Deaf Man Unscrambling the cryptic messages -- anagrams, Detective Carella called them -- delivered to the 87th Precinct confirmed that the master criminal who has eluded... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743250354
• Release Date: July 2004
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.8" x 1.5" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

A worthy adversary!

With the possible exception of Hannibal Lecter, no modern villain can hold a candle to McBain's Deaf Man, and with HARK!, he is back to torment Carella and the boys. This time he is sending them anagrams and Shakespearean quotes, seemingly pointing toward his next caper. Ultimately they determine it has something to do with a violin concert or the theft of a first edition of the Shakespearean Folio, but neither pertains to the 87th and the messages seem to imply that the crime will go down on their turf. Meanwhile, McBain juggles several other plotlines that flow naturally into each other. Carella is preparing for the double marriage of his mother and his sister and he's not happy about it. Two of the other detectives, Cotton Hawes and Bert Kling, have woman problems, and Ollie Weeks is still looking for his missing manuscript, along with helping out with the Deaf Man. Since his style is so different from other mystery writers, McBain takes some getting used to. He seems to revel in breaking all of the rules. Throughout this one, he has the detectives gather around Carella's desk, trying to figure out the various messages. At least a half dozen of them contribute and their various contributions can be irrelevant and annoying; they act a whole lot like the Keystone Kops, and I suppose that's the point; McBain is teasing his own characters. Something else I find remarkable is how well McBain mixes elements from the fifties (the first item in the 87th series appeared in 1956) with modernisms. His homicide detectives wear fedoras, for instance, and the apartments of some of the characters are anachronistic as well, but he also incorporates some modern political commentary and the use of modern technology. For instance, Carella's son helps him "Google" the Shakesperian quotes. No other author since John D. McDonald has been able to balance mystery writing, social commentary and fun as well as McBain.

Hark! to this

A murderer obsessed with anagrams uses Shakespearean sonnets and plays to lead on the detectives of the 87th precinct. Who is the man known as the "Death Man," or "Adam Fen?" In this terse, tense book, Ed McBain takes his rider on an unequaled wild journey of crime and deception, through the streets of "the city" to find a killer. McBain's stark prose is sometimes difficult to understand, however, as the reader sometimes does not know who is speaking. But it is a well-written novel nonetheless. Ed McBain is the pen name for Evan Hunter, a man who penned the script for the classic Hitchcock movie, The Birds. Here the author uses his knowledge of crime to craft another perfectly- executed story which is action-packed and a lot of fun.

Turbo McBain

Once again : Masterpiece-adventures from 'The fine Boys from Grover Avenue and beyond'. With speed and wit. With character and soul. With love and mayhem. This time an 'Ellery Queen puzzle' and an 'Alfred Hitchcock plot'. Watch out : All of this comes turbo-fast and in pairs!!! As the ending of this one is just the beginning and an open start of a new one.

excellent police procedural

"Sonny Sanson", an alias he used for this job to mean "I am without sound" has the gun pointed at the heart of his former associate Gloria. He demands she give to him whatever is left from the illegal drug sale. Gloria apologizes for her betrayal of him and cooperates, but Sanson is disinterested. Quoting Macbeth he shoots her twice in the chest before tying her to her bed just as she did to him. The Deaf Man is back and has begun his quest for vengeance. Next target is the 87th Precinct specially Steve Carella, but others will do. This time he taunts his opponents with Shakespearean citations or anagrams that have the cops struggling to decipher. Steve knows that this cat and mouse game is going bad for the police who do not know whether their dangerously brilliant opponent is even deaf. If he only had to stop a delusional homicidal genius Steve would be okay, but he also must pay for the double weddings of mom and sis, which is why he is in a panic. The latest Ed McBain police procedural is the usual delightful tale that mixes the personal troubles of the members of the 87th with minor cases and a major investigation. The story line is fast-paced as the cops misinterpret many of the Deaf Man's clues and there are many personal insights into the characters as the audience observes goings on such as Steve having cardiac arrest over weddings more so than his deadly chess opponent and the continuation of Fat Ollie's book as well as other wonderful subplots that fit perfect together in Mr. McBain's latest winning police procedural. Harriet Klausner

The Deaf Man is back -- and in very good company

I've been reading Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series for three decades, although they have been around for almost 50 years. And the amazing thing is that they hold their quality. "Hark!" is no exception and is particularly enticing because the Deaf Man, the favorite villain of the 87th Precinct, is back with another bewildering puzzler of a complex crime design to befuddle and humiliate the boys (and one woman) of the 87th Precinct. When we last saw the Deaf Man quite a few volumes ago, it seemed as if he might have met his end, but not to worry. He is as devious and merciless as ever. And virtually the entire regular cast of the 87th Precinct (and friends) is back, too. Although the mystery of what the Deaf Man plans forms the basic skeleton of the story, the personal stories of the various detectives are carried another step forward also, as Steve Carella unhappily faces the double marriages of his mother and sister, and Bert Kling and Cotton Hawes deal with problems in their relationships with their women of the moment. And Fat Ollie is back. Plenty of action, plenty of puzzles ... it is classic 87th Precinct. Two warnings: "Hark!" is NOT the place for a reader new to the 87th Precinct to start; there are too many back stories involved, without knowledge of which a reader will miss half of what is going on. And second, there are a couple of silly bloopers that good copyediting should have caught. In the very first chapter there is a careless math error that turns a conversation with the Deaf Man into gibberish, and later there is a misstatement that cartridges are not ejected from an automatic pistol (this statement should apply to a revolver). But those small quibbles aside, "Hark!" is a treat.