Eighty Million Eyes

Ed McBain has always been one of those crime fiction writers that I said I'd get around to reading "one of these days." Well, the day finally came, and now I know what everyone's been talking about. Eighty Million Eyes (forty million viewers times two eyes each...) is a lean, mean fighting machine. No fluff. No lengthy descriptive passages. No character contemplating his or her navel. Two major plots. No subplots. This could be the recipe for something excruciatingly boring for a reader like me who likes character-driven plots and strong settings, but it most certainly isn't because Ed McBain was a master of his craft.

Written in 1966, there are no gun-toting CSI folks spraying everything down in luminol or running DNA tests, but you'd show more be amazed at the amount of evidence that can be found by good, dedicated detectives with sharp eyes-- detectives who have to track down a payphone in order to call the precinct. I do enjoy the science in modern crime fiction, but reading something like this from back in "the Stone Age" can be quite refreshing.

This is around the twentieth book in this series, and although it's the first I've read, I didn't feel as though I'd been dropped on my head in the middle of the story. McBain's lean prose style brought this big city to life, I got to know some first-rate detectives, and I read a couple of scenes where my blood ran cold. This author pulls you right into the story. I want to thank the person who finally nudged me through the door of the 87th Precinct. As Arnie would say, "I'll be back!" show less

“In ten minutes’ time, in twenty million homes, forty million people would turn eighty million eyes on a smiling Stan Gifford who would look out at the world and say, “Back for more, huh?””

And then, he dies. That's one case the men of the 87th are working on. The second is they mystery of who is stocking Cindy, a character from a previous novel in the series. So, we are back to the two cases in one book format!

I liked both stories, they were page turners and kept me so interested that I finished this in one day. My only disappointment was that the author didn't address Carella's recovery from the previous book, which I thought he would do. Well, at least poor Steve didn't take a beating in this one - finally!

80M eyes
OK what does the title mean, "80M eyes"? Plot: A TV comedy star dies live on-air in front of his usual weekly audience of 40 million. Plot#2: a young hood walks into a small business office demanding to see his "girlfriend", then beats up a cop who responds to the owner's call for help. Yes, two plots, no sub-plot. That's not the only thing that's unusual about the structure of this series' 55 or so books - there is no protagonist, at least no one, single person. If you must have a protagonist, I suppose it is the precinct of cops. The reader meets a number of them, some continue into future books, some don't, others pop up six books later...

80M was written in 1966 and it gives a very interesting picture of big city life in show more those days with cops calling into the station from payphones wherever they can find them. Have to arrange an interview with a suspect? - one of your fellow officers down at the station can make calls every thirty minutes until the call is eventually answered. Remember? - no 1966 answering machines ! You might be thinking no CSI either. And no SOCO. Wrong, wrong. I've only read two books in this series so far, both very good, and I'm amazed at the bits of evidence discovered at the crime scene, not by glow lamps, but by two eyeballs. And there were crime labs to an extent back in that stone age.

The "87th" books ar a lot of fun. This one is 189 pages and can be zipped through in a little more than 2 hours. Great for a short flight ...The prose, and observations, are very good. As is the pace, and level of tension. The endings might be a bit predictable but they are still done well. Ed McBain is really Evan Hunter, very good writer. show less

Really fun 87th mystery with the Carella and Meyer investigating the on screen death of a TV star and a decent side story involving Kling and a character from an earlier book. The denouement isn’t brilliant, but the ride is a lot of fun.

I borrowed most of the 87th Precinct books from the library when I was a teenager and I'm fairly certain that I have read this one before, but it was an enjoyable re-read.

Carella and Meyer are investigating the poisoning of a comedian on a live television show, and it is the 40 million strong TV audience who give the book its title. Meanwhile, Kling is assigned to protect a young woman from the two eyes of a violent stalker, although I think this book must have been written before the term stalker was invented, since the word is never used.

I really liked it. There are two cases in the book: an assault on a girl by a stalker investigated by Bert Kling, and the murder of the host of a variety show on live television investigated by Steve Carella and Meyer Meyer (what a name!). In neither case are there the typical hysterical movie cop types of things going on. Just plain methodical police work.

(Full review at my blog)

One of the better 87th Street Precinct books: a comedian drops dead during his weekly variety show and Steve Carella has to track down his killer, who uses a very clever method to cloak his/her involvement. Naturally, there are many suspects from the cast, crew, and advertisers. The other plot involves a psycho who shows up and the workplace of a character from an earlier book and claims a relationship with her. Bert Kling, who she dislikes from her prior dealings, is assigned to protect her and, in fact, pretends to be her new beau to help capture the maniac.