Hark!: A Novel of the 87th Precinct

Ed McBain is a prolific author and also a very entertaining one. In this book about the 87th Precinct, The Deaf Man” has returned. I am of the opinion that a book should stand on it’s own and you shouldn’t have had to have read a prior novel which dealt with the same people to understand what is going on. I don’t think this one measures up on that basis. The first chapter is a bit of a grabber and perhaps promises more than the book eventually delievers. The Deaf Man spends most of the book sending Shakespearean clues to the 87th Precinct which are supposed to help them figure out his next crime. Why he goes through that exercise is not clear to me and if I were you I would not get too bogged down in trying to figure out the clues. The rest of the cast of characters are in various stages of “being in heat” which is mildly entertaining. The Deaf Man’s “sidekick” somewhat steals the show and is as memorable as any character in the book. If you have a plane ride in your future or plan to spend some time by the fire, this will keep you company quite nicely.

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! is one of the later books in the 87th Precinct series. I had read it a long time ago and reread it on Kindle now that the series is available on Kindle. This is one of the better books and the master is in fine form. For those who are new to the series it would be better to read the earlier books before coming to this one as a lot of the characters have allusions to events that happened in previous books. I read mainly non fiction these days, but Ed Mcbain is still something that I enjoy enormously. Recommended for fans of crime fiction and great dialogue

This may have been Ed McBain’s last story before his death. It was easily up to his usual standard – very well written with a lot of understated humor thrown in. All my favorite 87th Precinct characters were present, along with Fat Ollie Weeks too.

Love Ed McBain and was happy to find this “bargain.” Unfortunately, this used, but allegedly in good condition, cd was unusable. The first disk was very scratched and several chapters skipped so badly that you just had to fast forward. I had no idea what happened in the beginning of the story, so I didn’t try to listen to the rest of the disks. However, when I complained they quickly refunded my money. That counts for something so I increased the rating to two stars.

Galaxyaudiobook Member Benefit

- Able to comment

- List watched audiobooks

- List favorite audiobooks

- Bookmark will only available for Galaxyaudiobook member