Killer’s Payoff

Even though this book was written in the 1940’s it is still a very good book. Some things are dated of course, like forensic science but in a way that is what makes these books so good, the police detectives have to solve the crimes using their minds. Through interviews, hunches and looking for motives the 87th solve the crimes they are faced with. In this book a blackmailer is shot while walking down a street. Carella and Hawes start tracking down the people who were being blackmailed in order to find the killer. Another very good book in this series.

I have never read an Ed McBain book that I have not thoroughly enjoyed reading, including the Blackboard Jungle, and that is saying a lot about this author. With most other authors, I get tired of their characters after a while. They either don’t grow, start to do the same thing over and over again or get irritating with their apparent perfection. You will never get that with McBain, especially with his 87th precinct books. This is a team of characters with distinct personalities and roles and its a delight to read each and every one of his many books.

his time most of the action is handled by Cotton Hawes, working in concert with Steve Carella. I read the Kindle version with an introduction by McBain that explains how unnamed editor wanted him to create a more ‘macho’ detective and he tries a bit with Hawes in this version — Hawes generally interviews several of the suspects in this mysterious murder and if they are pretty women, ends up bedding them. That in itself if a bit humorous as its described that he is falling ‘in love’ with each until after the bedding.

This is a solid mystery with solid police work in action. A very good read and one that I stuck to until the very end. Another winner!

I didn’t like this book. I have about 20? McBain books, but they are later books, and are of much better quality. This book is a reprint of his earlier work from the 1950s, and I thought it was pretty bad in comparison.

The writing style is the biggest shortcoming. Very choppy. WAY too much dialog–sometimes it goes on for multiple pages on my Kindle, little one liners (sometimes one “worders”) from the characters, back and forth and back and forth. Very tedious, because these little quips don’t advance the story in any meaningful way. So the book is a tedious read. I was glad to get to the end of it.

I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone. The publisher is bringing out these reprints from the 1950s since McBain died, and they are not worth your time or money (in my opinion).

Killer’s Payoff was published in 1958, so much of the police work of the 87th Precinct is arcane. McBain acknowledged that this book and two others with the word Killer in the title were written to “sex up” the series through Cotton Hawes character, who gets laid several times in this book. Still McBain is an excellent writer and his 87th Precinct series is a must read for those readers who enjoy police procedurals.

Some people complain that these early McBain novels don’t hold up because of their age, but I believe the early procedurals are more interesting. The detectives aren’t sitting in some antiseptic office entering data into a computer. They’re on the mean streets without benefit of cell phones and hignore tech gadgets. They don’t have bullet proof vests and there is nothing PC about them. There is a gritty jeopardy in their daily pursuit of bad guys in the big city. Get in the right frame of mind and enjoy the ride.

Galaxyaudiobook Member Benefit

- Able to comment

- List watched audiobooks

- List favorite audiobooks

- Bookmark will only available for Galaxyaudiobook member