There Was a Little Girl

This is Ed McBain at his very best. Since protagonist Matthew Hope is in a shooting-induced come for virtually the entire book, the tale is told from multiple perspectives which are expertly interwoven into a gripping narrative.

Interestingly, this is a Mathew Hope novel but he is shot on the first page and is still in a partial coma on the last page. The search for the shooter is conducted by PI's who work for Mathew plus friend, Detective Morris Bloom. As the suspects are identified, they are all connected in some way to the circus world. They are also heavy into drug smuggling.

McBain tells us much about life on the road with a circus from the dangers of the high wire to the way the large cat trainer achieves the trust of the lions and tigers. I learned how the order of the performers entering the big top at the start of the circus performance is decided.

Ed McBain exhibits technical virtuosity in this tale that's entirely told while the protagonist is in a coma. With the perspective constantly shifting from the police detective investigating Matthew Hope's shooter to Hope's private detective friends to flashbacks of his own involvement in the circumstance that led up to the shooting to Hope's own jumbled thoughts as he claws toward consciousness, the plot keeps moving forward.

I am, first last and always, a fan of the 87th Precinct novels by Ed McBain; however I have enjoyed this series of novels featuring Matthew Hope which are set in Florida. The titles are always taken from nursery rhymes or children's nursery stories.

I think I mostly liked this book for the circus folk. I've tried to read McBain since then and couldn't get into it.

Jag har två invändningar mot "Det var en gång en liten flicka".
Den utspelar sig i cirkusmiljö, vilket inte är det minsta intressant, tycker jag. De långa beskrivningar av cirkusnummer som romanfigurerna bevittnar är ändlöst tråkiga. Den andra invändningen är att ploten inte är tillräckligt bra. Tidigt får man klart för sig vad som eftersöks... men aldrig blir man nyfiken på hur det ska gå. Det måste väl anses som ett kapitalt misslyckande vad det gäller en roman i denna genre.

Men allt är inte kass. McBains berättande är verkligt intressant. Han har lagt ett pussel där vi får följa fyra olika utredare i deras jobb mot det gemensamma målet. Utredningara är dessutom skilda i tid, men författaren väver mycket show more snyggt ihop dem. Detta driver på berättelsen, och gör att man trots allt fortsätter läsa. Dessutom, får jag säga, är upplösningen ganska rafflande ändå. Det räddar McBain från att inhösta lägsta betyg. show less

Bellssima e serrata indagine degli amici di Matthew Hope, mentre l'avvocato è in ospedale dopo l'attentato subito.
Sempre inconfondibile lo stile di McBain.
Da leggere!