Lightning

When you see an entry in the 87th Precinct series whose title is a single word, be prepared for riffs and sub-plots based upon it. In this novel, #37 out of 55, which spanned nearly half a century in writing but is always taking place in the present, at least two villains are at work and challenging the detectives of the 87th (and Fat Ollie Weeks, who isn’t one of the regulars but adds quite a bit of pungency to the cast). If only they can figure out the motives, things would be easier…but do the bad guys even have a clear understanding of their own motives? Several female track stars are killed and publicly displayed, hanging from lamp posts. A dozen women are raped multiple times. These are grim crimes, with likeable victims, so there’s much less humor in this book than in other, more rollicking, entries to the series. The author held strong political views, which sometimes come through in his books, and this is one of them. If you agree with his views, you will have no problem with it; if you don’t, you may find this novel distasteful.

In this installment of the 87th Precinct series, the precinct’s male detectives spend their days and nights hunting someone who is killing young women and then hanging their bodies from lampposts around the city. They are assisted in their investigation by Fat Ollie Weeks of the 83rd Precinct and, as always, this is something of a mixed blessing.

Meanwhile, Eileen Burke of the Rape Squad is undercover, attempting to catch a particularly sadistic rapist who continues to attack the same few women over and over again. Burke is acting as a stand-in for one of the victims, hoping that she will be able to decoy the rapist into attacking her and that this will give her the opportunity to arrest him.

As always, the story is well-written; the police procedures are interesting and the by-play among the detectives is entertaining. But there’s a certain creepiness factor involved with both storylines that kept me from enjoying the book as much as I otherwise would have. I’m not normally overly sensitive to this sort of thing, but in this case McBain is so good at creating truly repulsive situations that I found myself wanting to cover my eyes at some points. Thus three stars for me rather than four.

Though I have been a fan of this series for some time occasionally one really stands out from the rest. This is one of those. This has two separate crime waves occurring at the same time. Therefore nearly all of the regular characters make an appearance. Including Fat Ollie Weeks. This book also touches on some very delicate topics and therefore may not be for everyone. They are hangings, rape, and abortion. Keep in mind Ed McBain never shrank from writing in the manner of the time. Brilliant work as always. I consider Ed McBain a master of the craft

While this is not one of my favorite books by Ed.McBain, it is a good book. Characters were well developed, story line well written. Without giving away a spoiler to this title, one of the main characters receives a letter on the last page of the book, which left me wanting to know what happens in the next book, Eight Black Horses.
Timothy Glass author of Just This Side of Heaven and Dog Knows Best

When I read a Ed McBain book, I know what to expect, most of the time. This one followed most of his books in that he had more than one plot line. One dealt with a serial rapist and was a little too cliche and predictable for my liking, but the one involving the murderer of young runners was good. This was more like the earlier books where McBain gives the reader insight into the lives of the policemen of the 87th precinct. I always love reading about Teddy, Carella’s wife. She is strong willed and stands up for herself. I didn’t care for the interaction between policeman Kling and policewoman Eileen. Other than that, I think this book, which lies somewhere around the middle of the 87th precinct books, is more like the first books. That is saying, I liked it much better than the latter books.

Galaxyaudiobook Member Benefit

- Able to comment

- List watched audiobooks

- List favorite audiobooks

- Bookmark will only available for Galaxyaudiobook member