Books by Ed McBain

Ed McBain takes a break from his 87th Precinct series with this standalone thriller. Alice Glendenning is going through a decidedly rough patch. Her beloved husband Eddie drowned eight months ago in a boating accident. She's nearly broke, and the insurance company has so far failed to pay up the double indemnity claim of $250,000 on her husband's policy. But her difficult situation becomes impossible when Alice's two children are abducted and the kidnappers demand the insurance money she still hasn't received as ransom. Soon Alice's house is swarming with cops, the FBI, and various well- and poorly-intentioned people interested in both the case and the money. When the combined (and somewhat conflicting) efforts of this crowd do nothing to recover Alice's children, Alice decides to take matters into her own hands.

A peaceful Christmas Eve turns riotous when the members of the 87th Precinct bring in a kid who has stolen a sheep from the zoo to give to his sister, a pawnshop robber with a bag of gold, and a pregnant woman who promptly gives birth behind the filing cabinets.

New York Police Detective Reardon uncovers the links connecting the murder of a Little Italy restaurateur, the financial manipulations of a Madison Avenue art dealer, and the fluctuations in the international markets for crude oil, fine art, and precious.

One of the modern masters of crime fiction (Ed McBain) puts on his alter ego's hat in this collection of mysterious tales.

When beautiful Michelle Harper is found brutally murdered and her husband is charged with the crime, lawyer Matthew Hope becomes involved in the case, which leads him into the tawdry world of Gulf Coast "social clubs"

Bestselling suspense novelist Ed McBain has chosen 20 outstanding tales by such literary luminaries as John Updike, Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, Jeffrey Deaver, and Lawrence Block, in a spectacular showcase for the high quality and broad diversity of the year's finest suspense, crime, and mystery writing.

While Meyer and King investigate the murder of a girl found dead just a few blocks from the precinct house, the Cookie Boy thief strikes again, and a detective is stalked by the man who killed his father. Reprint. PW.

Rick Dadier encounters insolence and violence as a new teacher at a New York City vocational school as he tries to reach a group of violent, rebellious New York City teenagers, in a fiftieth anniversary edition of the classic novel. Reprint.

As Detective Steve Carella and Cotton Hawes investigate the burning of a warehouse filled with carved wooden figures, their case of arson is quickly complicated by murder.

While investigating a questionable suicide, Detective Bert Kling begins to buckle under from the stresses of his personal life--fearing his wife is having an affair and being hunted by a psychopathic ex-convict.

The first part of this novel, authored by "Evan Hunter" (Ed McBain's pseudonym), details one night in the life of businessman and sex addict Ben Thorpe. On the last night of a business trip in Manhattan, Ben chats up women in a bar, has phone sex, and patronizes a brothel, from which he is ejected by an irate bouncer. The second part of the novel, authored by McBain, concerns detective Emma Boyle and fellow members of the NYPD. It's the day after Thorpe's night on the town, and a prostitute has been murdered. Thorpe is one of several suspects. The reader follows Boyle as she attempts to find the killer.

Set in Florida, this mystery novel involves a hooker who swindles a drug dealer out of four kilos of cocaine, and the murder of a middle-aged private investigator who was working for Matthew Hope.

The members of the 87th Precinct go into action to stop a con man with a bloodthirsty taste for money--and murder. Reissue.

The first book in Ed McBain's renowned 87th Precinct series, COP HATER revolutionized the traditional police procedural format by focusing on an ensemble cast of heroes, as opposed to a lone gumshoe assigned to crack the case.

Pursuing a secret relationship, lovers Sarah and Andrew are unaware that their trysts are being recorded by a New York City prosecutor who believes that Andrew is at the head of the biggest crime family networks in the country. Reprint. NYT.

Detective Steve Carella is called upon to investigate the grisly stabbing death of beautiful fashion model Tinka Sachs, murdered in front of her young daughter.

Alex Hardy, a top burglar, agrees to steal a thirty thousand dollar ring for the dealer, secretly a fence for stolen jewels, who had originally sold it.

Edgar Award-winning editor Otto Penzler presents Sounds Like Murder original, unabridged mysteries available on audio1 cassette / 110 minutes Unabridged Read by Barbara Rosenblat "This is old-fashioned story-telling at its best. Interesting and involving tales from some of the masters of mysteries."-Michael Connelly, author of Blood Work When a student driver and her teacher hit and kill a woman crossing the street, it seems like a terrible accident. But when blood tests show that the teacher was under the influence of a sedative, and the woman killed turns out to be the teachers wife, things get complicated. An apparent accident turns into a crime, and Detective Karen Logan's discoveries hit a little too close to home. Other titles in the SOUNDS LIKE MURDER series include:The Case of the Scottish Tragedy by June Thompson Clean American Fun by Christopher Newman The Poster Boy by Stephen Solomita The Sedgemoor Stranger by Peter Lovesey A Tale About a Tiger by S.J. Rozan

Meyer Meyer and Steve Carella, detectives at the 87th Precinct, investigate the mysterious poisoning of Stan Gifford, a popular television comedian.

A story about fathers and sons focuses on the relationships between David Weber, a successful middle-aged New Yorker, and his dying father, Morris, and the other people in their lives.

After finishing a murder investigation, Fat Ollie Weeks, the lovably cranky and rude star of the 87th Precinct novels, discovers that his car has been broken into and the manuscript--his only copy--for his new crime novel stolen, sending him on a mission of vengeance to catch the culprit. Reprint.

Ed McBain's famously long-running 87th precinct series comes to a rousing close with this posthumously published police procedural. The cops at the 87th struggle to stem the rapidly growing body count of a serial killer who shoots all of his victims in the face. Finding clues to the killer and his or her motivations is particularly tough because the only obvious element shared by the deceased is that they're all over 50 years of age.

The disappearance of singer Tamar Valparaiso, a young woman on the verge of launching a successful career in hip hop music, draws Steve Carella into the middle of a kidnapping case as he searches for the missing woman as well as for someone who wants to destroy her chances for a bright future. Reprint.

Twice outfoxed by a brilliant maniac, the men of the 87th attempt to uncover the master criminal known as the Deaf Man who shot the commissioner dead on the steps of Philharmonic Hall. Reprint.

When Detective Steve Carella, investigating two baffling murders, discovers that his major leads are coming from a beautiful psychic, he abandons standard police procedures for the eerie world of the occult.

Steve Carella, Cotton Hawes, and the folks of the 87th Precinct search for a black-cloaked killer with a penchant for leaving blood-red severed hands all over the city. By the author of Kiss. Reissue.

The twelfth novel in the immensely popular series featuring Matthew Hope follows the Florida detective on a case of murder, pornography, and high-seas piracy off the Gulf Coast that begins as a simple case of copyright infringement.

Soft-hearted attorney Matthew Hope has never been known for taking easy cases, and this is no exception. A mother and her two little girls are brutally murdered on Florida's steamy west coast, and the only person who doesn't have a motive is confessing--and insists that Hope defend him. Add a blonde with criminal motives to the mix, and the result is a classic Matthew Hope fairy tale, complete with a macabre twist.

Small-time liquor store robber Colley Donato gets reclassified on his thirteenth job by killing a policeman, and spends twenty-four hours dodging, hiding, conning, improvising, and remembering the locations and stages of his exhilarating acquisition of gun power.

Drowning his sorrows of the past in cheap alcohol, former detective-turned-Bowery bum Matt Cordell finds himself back on the job when he is asked to investigate a double murder involving an old enemy. Reprint.

Detectives Steve Carella and Burt Kling set out to end the racial warfare that caused the deaths of six teenagers.

Detective Steve Carella attempts to find out who killed a nude dancer, bombed a ghetto church, murdered a local resident, and shot Detective Andy Parker. Reprint.

Setting out to avenge himself after being left for dead in Mischief, the Deaf Man plants a string of clues taken from the plays of Shakespeare, daring the detectives of the 87th Precinct to prevent a seemingly perfect crime. By the author of The Heckler and Eight Black Horses. Reprint.

While he investigates a questionable suicide, Detective Bert Kling begins to buckle under from the stresses of his personal life--he is afraid his wife is having an affair and he is being hunted by a psychopathic ex-convict.

When Ralph, a loving older brother upset by his brother's gay lifestyle, is accused of his murder and the evidence points to his guilt, Matthew Hope must work with a few fleeting but crucial clues to prove Ralph's innocence.

A maniacal killer and rapist is stalking the ice-glazed streets of Isola, and it's up to Steve Carella and the rest of the 87th Precinct cops to stop him.

Takes the teacher step-by-step through a series of graded improvisation exercises. This work also contains a set of 96 Improvisation Cards. Drawn at random, these cards determine Character and Scenario.

After making a down-payment on a derelict snapbean farm and promising the remaining thirty-six thousand dollars in cash, twenty-year-old Jack McKinney is found dead, his plush condo ransacked, and Attorney Matthew Hope has to find the money and the murderer.

Detective Arthur Brown discovers that the odd-shaped snapshot found clutched in the dead man's hand holds a clue to a deadly puzzle worth a suitcase of stolen cash, the haul from a six-year-old bank robbery. Reprint.

Determined to kill Steve Carella, Virginia Dodge takes hostages at the 87th Precinct by threatening to explode a homemade bomb. Reissue.

Welcome to the most popular. realistic series of police procedurals ever written -- and the man and woman who live on the streets of the 87th Precinct.

From the nationally best-selling author of Vespers and Widows comes a masterfully plotted, razor-sharp suspense novel. Detective Steve Carella is faced with a wealthy blonde sporting a beautiful body and two attempts on her life. Her stockbroker husband has hired protection for her, but nothing is as it seems in this thriller.

When beautiful Michelle Harper is found brutally murdered and her husband is charged with the crime, lawyer Matthew Hope becomes involved in the case, which leads him into the tawdry world of Gulf Coast "social clubs"

Rick Dadier encounters insolence, violence, despair, and indifference as a new teacher at a New York City vocational school.

When Jill Callahan hires Florida attorney Matthew Hope to locate her missing husband, she has two things on her mind: divorce and plenty of alimony. Unfortunately, Hope finds out that Jack Callahan is dead. Or is he? If he is still alive, then who is the stiff in Jack's bed? And why are some Northern cops so very interested in poor old Jack's disappearance? As Hope delves deeper, he finds this case has a little of everything. In fact, it could be the best case of his career--and quite possibly, his last.

When Carella, Meyer, and their team investigate the supposed suicide by hanging of a man with no apparent enemies, they uncover a murderous conspiracy that takes them into the glamorous and passionate world of the theater, in the fiftieth 87th Precinct novel. Reprint.

This collection of 25 short crime-fiction stories represents the best of Ed McBain--before he was Ed McBain. Consisting entirely of works written between 1952 and 1957, almost all of which were published in the magazine Manhunt, LEARNING TO KILL contains stories by Evan Hunter (once McBain's legal name) and Richard Marsten (a pseudonym derived from the names of McBain's sons). They run the gamut of crime fiction categories, from "Women in Jeopardy" to "Cops and Robbers," and are conveniently grouped that way. Each story comes with a short introduction by McBain, placing it in the context of his development as a writer.

While the boys at the 87th Precinct search for an elusive cat burglar, Detective Steve Carella searches for the Deaf Man--the killer who sends clues to the police station. Reprint.

Two women are found murdered, several other young women are raped two or three times by the same man, and the men and women of the 87th precinct have their professional skills tested to the limit.

It was obviously a lovers' double suicide, yet it seemed too neat. A routine check turns up three suspects--but how do the boys of the 87th Precinct catch a cold-blooded killer and make him confess when they can't prove the victims were actually murdered?

A fictional account of the 1892 double-murder case of Lizzie Borden, a prisoner of her appetites in conflict with her times.

A blind man is found with his throat cut and his widow is murdered the next day, and 87th-Precinct detectives Steve Carella and Meyer Meyer search for leads in squadroom files, army bases, and massage parlors.

A young woman leaves home during the turbulent early '70s seeking freedom and self-expression yet, on her return, she cannot accept her father's pursuit of self-fulfillment through his divorce and remarriage.

At the New Year, the men and women of the 87th Precinct face the threat of gang warfare, a burned-out policewoman swears off sex and undercover work, and Detectives Meyer and Carilla search for the killer of an infant and the infant's teenage babysitter. Reprint.

In a trio of classic crime novels, the detectives of the 87th Precinct confront gang warfare and murder at the New Year in Lullaby, investigate the murder of an unpopular Catholic priest in a racially divided parish in Vespers, and confront a sensitive case involving the slaying of an elderly lawyer and his mistress in Widows. Reprint.

Florida criminal attorney Matthew Hope defends Mary Barton, a retired schoolteacher accused of mutilating and killing three girls and then burying them in her garden. 50,000 first printing. Mystery Guild Main. Lit Guild & Doubleday Alt. Tour.

Here are excerpts from more than 30 years of Grand Master Ed McBain's bestselling 87th Precinct series of police procedurals, featuring some of his most lovable female characters. "If you are already a fan, here is a reunion of some old friends".--St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The detectives and police officers of the 87th precinct find themselves up to their necks in trouble due to the activities of some dangerous femmes fatales--ranging from a pregnant prostitute and a psychic to the local queen of the drug trade.

Renowned for his bestselling novels such as "The Blackboard Jungle" and the popular "85th Precinct" series (written under the name Ed McBain), Evan Hunter also worked with the famous Alfred Hitchcock, writing film scripts for "The Birds" and "Marnie". In telling about working with Hitchcock, Hunter is as frank as he is entertaining.

After her parents' divorce Abby has conflicting emotions about the likeable Mr. Stenner, the man her mother plans to marry.

Investigating a series of cryptic murders in the worst section of the city, detective Steve Carella of the 87th Precinct uncovers the trail of the returned Deaf Man, an elusive stalker of vandals and other mischievous outlaws. Reprint.

When his free-spirited sister, Annie, goes missing, Andrew Gulliver learns he has twenty-four hours to find her before she harms herself or somebody else, a situation that causes him to realize truths about his own life. By the author of The Blackboard Jungle.

Fat Ollie Weeks, Steve Carella, and the rest of the officers of the 87th Precinct investigate a high-stakes conterfeiting conspiracy.

The 87th Precinct patrolmen aggressively pursue a mugger who preys on women after he puts one victim in the hospital and another in the morgue, but patrolman Bert Kling has a personal reason for stalking the criminal.

Detectives Carella and Hawes of the 87th Precinct investigate the murder of an elderly woman, once one of the greatest concert pianists of the century, while 88th Precinct cop Fat Ollie Weeks trails three prep-school boys and a crack dealer responsible for a vicious attack on a prostitute.

Detective Hal Willis, investigating the deaths of two of Marilyn Hollis's former boyfriends, finds himself falling in love with the woman and uncovers a trail of deception and danger.

Three never before published novellas from some of our very best crime writers, compiled and edited by Ed McBain.

Merely Hate by Ed McBain
When a string of Muslim cabdrivers are killed, and the evidence points to another ethnic group, the detectives of the 87th Precinct must hunt down a killer before the city explodes in violence.

Hostages by Anne Perry
In their eternal struggle for freedom, there is about to be a changing of the guard in the Irish Republican Army. Yet for some, old habits, and honor, die hard.

Walking Around Money by Donald E. Westlake
If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is, and the hapless crook, John Dortmunder, must get to the bottom of this slam-dunk caper before he's left holding the bag.

While his wife and children vacation on Martha's Vineyard, New York psychiatrist David Chapman is swept into a wild affair with a gorgeous young Broadway dancer, but the romance soon turns deadly as David is drawn into the horrifying secrets hidden in her subconscious mind. Tour.

Detective Carella, Lieutenant Byrnes, and the officers of the 87th Precinct investigate the hanging of a young dope peddler who died from an overdose of heroin. Reissue.

When a filmmaker is killed, Matthew Hope believes her murder had more to do with the film Prudence was shooting then with her marital problems.

A visionary director, a greedy producer, and an ambitious agent are suspects when a Broadway play about an actress who is stabbed leads to the real thing, prompting Detective Bert Kling of the 87th to investigate. National ad/promo. Tour.

A fling with a rock star turns sour for Matthew Hope when she is murdered in her home a day after their last liaison.

Detective Steve Carella investigates the death of the unmourned Sarah Fletcher, relying mainly on her little black book and its record of her sexual adventures to solve the crime. Reprint.

A hurricane is bearing down on South Florida, as is a storm of fanaticism and violence. Though the small Florida Key known as Ocho Puerto lies in the path of destruction, ground zero is some 100s mile to its south. It's all part of a scheme engineered by a rogue right-winger--a freedom fighter with his own private army. It's up to a courageous few to stop him.

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. Reprint.

Attorney Matthew Hope takes on the case of beautiful heiress Sarah Whitaker, who is fighting court-ordered and family-supported commitment as a paranoid schizophrenic, and enters a world of delusion and murder.

Detective Bert Kling's wedding night is ruined when his beautiful bride is kidnapped by a psychopathic killer.

Fourteen spine-tingling stories of suspense include P. D. James's "The Victim," in which a gorgeous celebrity uses her infatuated ex-husband as a murder weapon, and tales by Ruth Rendell, Patricia Highsmith, and other authors. Original.

Here is the 87th Precinct in all its gritty, glory--rough cops, arrogant criminals and the unrelenting pressure of a city of murder and deceit. An expanded republishing program provides the best of the McBain backlist repackaged.

Everyone's favorite hit man meanders across the country in "Keller's Adjustment" by Lawrence Block; a young and beautiful artist is first flattered, then terrified, by a new modeling contract in "The Ransome Women" by John Farris; and one man comes to terms with the aftermath of the Twin Towers until he discovers "The Things They Left Behind", by Stephen King.

As Matthew Hope sinks into a coma after getting shot, his friends follow a trail of clues into the shadowy underworld of the local circus--complete with sex, drugs, blackmail, murder, and in the center of it all--a little girl.

Matthew Hope takes on the case of a wealthy Calusa farmer, accused of the murder and mutilation of three Vietnamese immigrants who had been acquitted in court of the brutal rape of the farmer's wife.

Hours before his sister's wedding, Steve Carella of the 87th Precinct learns that a killer is stalking the groom, and in order to learn the would-be murderer's identity, Steve must search through hundreds of wedding guests. Reissue.

A new collection of ten previously unpublished novellas includes pieces by some of today's top writers and features such works as Lawrence Block's "Keller's Adjustment," Stephen King's "The Things They Left Behind," and Joyce Carol Oates's "The Corn Maiden," as well as works by Anne Perry, Walter Mosley, and Jeffery Deaver.

Two never before published novellas from some of our very best crime writers, compiled and edited by Ed McBain.

Forever by Jeffery Deaver
Talbot Simms is an unusual cop, a statistician with the Westbrook County Sheriff Department. When two wealthy couples commit suicide one right after the other, he suspects it isn't suicide, but murder. He must find out who was behind it, and how they did it.

The Resurrection Man by Sharyn McCrumb
During America's first century, doctors used any means necessary to advance their craft, including dissecting corpses. Sharyn McCrumb brings the pre-Civil War South to life in this story of a man who is assigned to dig up bodies to help those that are still alive.

Dirk Pitt finds himself once more up against international plots to rule the world, this time taking on a band of deadly anarchists who see nothing standing between themselves and global domination. Only one man can stop them and preserve peace: the invincible Dirk Pitt!

An unpopular Catholic priest in a racially divided section of town is found brutally murdered, a crime that produces two suspects--a nearby Satanic cult and someone from St. Catherine's Church.

Ex-cop Ben Smoke has never run into a case he couldn't unravel. But when someone starts swiping bodies from a funeral home, Ben follows the trail of a psychopath--who might just wreck Ben's record.

Benjamin Smoke, a retired police detective turned private investigator, finally realizes his dream, the investigation of a perfect crime--one involving two disappearing and reappearing corpses, no motives or leads, and an assortment of off-beat characters.

When a married lawyer in his sixties and his beautiful twenty-two-year-old lover are found murdered, the man's wife, ex-wife, and two daughters become suspects in the crime, while Detective Carella pursues the killer responsible for his own father's death in a bakery holdup. Reprint.