Calypso

George Chadderton is a musician who bills himself as the “Calypso King.” Late one rainy September night, he leaves a gig with his manager and as the two are walking down the street someone comes up from behind them and shoots George to death. The killer also wounds George’s manager in the shoulder. The manager falls to the ground and the killer stands over him and fires directly at his head. But the gun is empty and the killer is forced to flee, leaving the manager still alive.

A few hours later, it’s still pouring rain, and a hooker who’s looking for one last trick is shot to death with the same gun that killed Chadderton. Chadderton’s murder took place in Isola’s 87th Precinct and the case falls to veteran detectives Steve Carella and Meyer Meyer. They wake up the newly-widowed Mrs. Chadderton to give her the bad news while surreptitiously checking to see if she might have been the shooter herself. (They don’t yet know that there is a second victim because the hooker was killed in another precinct and it will take a while before anyone realizes that the ballistics match.)

Mrs. Chadderton is a very attractive woman who works at a topless club. She appears to be devastated by her husband’s death and has no idea who might have wanted to kill him. Sadly, there appear to be no leads at all, and in investigating the victim’s background, the detectives discover nothing of interest save for the fact that Chadderton’s brother, Santo, seems to have disappeared into thin air seven years earlier.

That’s neither here nor there, and the case presents one of the toughest challenges to confront Carella and friends in any of the first thirty-three books in this series. This is also one of the best books in the series, and it first appeared in 1979. By then, McBain had really hit his stride and this is one that any fan of the series will not want to miss.

I usually love Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct series. I generally have at least two on my e-reader when I travel because the stories are fun, easy to read and enjoyable. I couldn’t even finish this one, which is a rarity for me. I can usually slog through to the end even if I’m not crazy about a book. I just couldn’t do it with Calypso. There was something so perverse and dark about the storyline that I really had no desire to get to the end. I didn’t even care about how it ended. I’ll still try another book in the series since I’ve enjoyed so many others, but I would not recommend this one to anyone.

I’ve been reading books by Ed McBain (and those written under his various other noms de plume) for half a century. This is the only one which I hated. In fact, I found it ultimately repulsive and can’t recommend it because of the gruesome aspects. Other than this, I’d recommend his 87th Precinct series whole-heartedly. He began writing it in the late 1950s and it continued for half a century, with more than 50 books. This entry, from 1979, is the only anomalous dud. Skip it!

In Calypso, the king of calypso is murdered as he headed home after a performance. His manager is also shot but survives. A few hours later, a prostitute is also killed with the same gun. Detectives Carello and Meyer, assigned to these 2 cases, are later able to connect the murders.

This book was a page turner for me. I love how the story enfolds The book was a bit dark and gruesome at the end. However, there are lots of twists and turns to the plot and the book was thoroughly enjoyable. This book was a page turner for me.

I don’t necessarily love all of the 87th precinct stories, but this one was fully engaging. It picked up momentum toward the end as the full effect of the bizarre elements unfolded without being gratuitous. I also liked the element of rain and it’s metaphor for the case. Unlike a lot of police procedurals, McBain’s literary style is on a higher level leaving me to appreciate the time it takes to incorporate style in a story. Other authors might be pressured by time constraints dictated by their editors, but Calypso gives a reminder of how excellent writing can elevate a novel regardless of the plot and when both story and style come together well, you have an extraordinary novel.

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