HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

Loading...

Driving Lessons

by Ed McBain

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
854318,294 (3.17)2
This tragic tale of adolescent obsession from the bestselling author of the 87th Precinct novels and the creator of the Matthew Hope detective series turns a sunny, quiet, perfectly ordinary autumnal school day suddenly dark when the sixteen-year-old Rebecca Patton runs down and kills a pedestrian during a driving lesson. It all happens so quickly, so inexplicably, like an accident. The victim -- a woman carrying a red handbag -- had been stepping off the curb at the corner, and then she was lying in the street, in critical condition.On her arrival at the station house, detective Katie Logan finds a distraught but cooperative Rebecca. Her driving instructor, Andrew Newell, is totally out of it, however. He appears to be drunk. Or on drugs. He's obviously incompetent, and certainly, what has now become a case of negligent homicide warrants his arrest. The situation grows far more sinister, though, when Logan learns that the victim's handbag has been retrieved. It identifies the dead woman as Newell's wife.With the narrative drive of such popular McBain novels as Romance, Kiss, and The Last Best Hope, as well as such classics as Blackboard Jungle, which McBain wrote under the name of Evan Hunter, this new work by a master at the top of his form nurtures its tension with taut drama, terse dialogue, and unsparing humor.… (more)
None
Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 2 mentions

English (3)  German (1)  All languages (4)
Showing 3 of 3
This short novella by Ed McBain is a fantastic read. Only 72 pages in length, it can easily be read in one sitting. It is so engrossing you will not want to put it down until you finish the book.

The story revolves around Rebecca Patton, a 16 year old girl taking driving lessons from Andrew Newell. During one of the lessons, Rebecca strikes and kills Mary Beth Newell, Andrew Newell’s wife. As the police investigate the homicide, the story takes an ironic twist, one you won’t see coming. Revealing any additional details would spoil the ending, but suffice it to say, it was a twist well done.

This is a fantastic story by McBain, the author of the famous 87th Precinct novels. I highly recommend this not only to fans of McBain, but to those who have never read McBain. You won’t be disappointed. ( )
  dwcofer | Jan 23, 2023 |
A teacher giving a driving lesson to a bright young coed hits a woman and kills her. That she's his wife complicates matters. That he doesn't remember the event and appears to have been plastered out of his skill makes things worse. Everyone, including the coed, swears the teacher is blameless and that he didn't imbibe. Yet his system contains a huge dose of Seconal. But why was the wife seeking counsel from a priest outside her parish twice a week. What happened to the second cup that had McDonald's Coke in it? Why did the driver, Andy, not want to have children, and why was his wife, the dead woman, trying so hard to have one?

Kate, the lead detective with problems at home of her own, keeps stumbling over odd little discrepancies. I'm going to downgrade this book because it was too short. It's barely a novella and would be a nice outline for a fine McBain novel, but the ending was too predictable, the investigation should have been fleshed out, and the suspense built better. ( )
  ecw0647 | Nov 6, 2013 |
just what i needed - an easy, quick read. fine, but not one of his best, and a little predictable. ( )
  overlycriticalelisa | Apr 2, 2013 |
Showing 3 of 3
no reviews | add a review
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Dedication
First words
Das Mädchen war blond und sah aus wie sechzehn, und der Mann war etwa zweiunddreißig und sah aus, als wäre er völlig benommen.
Quotations
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English

None

This tragic tale of adolescent obsession from the bestselling author of the 87th Precinct novels and the creator of the Matthew Hope detective series turns a sunny, quiet, perfectly ordinary autumnal school day suddenly dark when the sixteen-year-old Rebecca Patton runs down and kills a pedestrian during a driving lesson. It all happens so quickly, so inexplicably, like an accident. The victim -- a woman carrying a red handbag -- had been stepping off the curb at the corner, and then she was lying in the street, in critical condition.On her arrival at the station house, detective Katie Logan finds a distraught but cooperative Rebecca. Her driving instructor, Andrew Newell, is totally out of it, however. He appears to be drunk. Or on drugs. He's obviously incompetent, and certainly, what has now become a case of negligent homicide warrants his arrest. The situation grows far more sinister, though, when Logan learns that the victim's handbag has been retrieved. It identifies the dead woman as Newell's wife.With the narrative drive of such popular McBain novels as Romance, Kiss, and The Last Best Hope, as well as such classics as Blackboard Jungle, which McBain wrote under the name of Evan Hunter, this new work by a master at the top of his form nurtures its tension with taut drama, terse dialogue, and unsparing humor.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Haiku summary

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (3.17)
0.5
1
1.5
2 4
2.5
3 3
3.5
4 4
4.5
5 1

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 205,877,145 books! | Top bar: Always visible