Long Time No See

If there is a sun that illuminates the police procedural, there is nothing new under it, because Ed McBain has already done it. This one, a highly entertaining post-Vietnam War puzzler, explores the psychology of wartime PTSD, manifested in dreams, memories, and in this case, murder and revenge. Every television cop show from Dragnet to The Sopranos to the one that I saw just a week ago (and can't remember what it is; such is age) bears a direct lineage to this simple yet compelling plot. Along the way is a wry exploration of "sex and the married man" featuring detective Carella. Then there's Stanley, the fiercely loyal seeing-eye Labrador retriever, who may just show up in future books.

Jimmy Harris, a Vietnam veteran who was blinded by a grenade is walking his dog when an unknown assailant chloroforms his service dog and then cuts Harris' throat. Detectives Stephen Carella and Meyer Meyer get the call. Disturbed that anyone would attack and kill a blind man, they visit his wife to see if she knows of any enemies.
The detectives suspect she isn't being entirely candit, but when she is killed later in the same evening in the same brutal manner and the apartment is torn apart, the detectives know Harris was hiding something of value to someone. Another first rate 87th Precinct tale.

Jimmy Harris is a Vietnam vet, having been blinded in action. His untimely demise at the hands of an unknown assailant, followed shortly thereafter by his wife, who is also blind, horrifies the members of the Eight-Seven. What lurks in Jimmy's past to make him such a target? Or is there a serial killer on the loose targeting those who cannot see?

Despite existing for only one chapter, Jimmy quickly becomes a likeable character, making you read on to see whether justice will be done. The story makes some unusual twists and turns, and the final reveal of the solution was artful indeed. I nearly exclaimed aloud on the plane when Carella finally figured it out. The other hallmarks of a good 87th Precinct mystery are also present: facsimiles show more of arrest reports and notes between the squad members, overlapping and frequently chuckle-worthy dialogue, and running gags throughout the book (Genero is the butt of a couple of these), not to mention a couple of brief appearances by Teddy, Carella's wife, who might be my favourite character. The pace is consistent, not overly fast but not unnecessarily slow either: the whole story takes place over the space of about four days. This makes it a very good book to read on a plane or in a mildly distracting environment: it's absorbing but can also be put down. Just try to get one with fairly big print, because one of the arrest sheets was rather hard to read with uncorrected vision.

Verdict: definitely recommended for fans of the series. show less

A blind man is murdered on his way home, his throat cut open. His seeing eye dog is chloroformed so it can’t protect him. Then his wife, who is also blind, is murdered in their home.

“So why are you wasting time with all this Army business?” Byrnes asked. I asked myself that question several times while reading this. I think this is the longest 87th Precinct book so far, and at times, it felt like it. Interesting and well written, but long for just the one case. I did like how Carella used dream analysis to help figure out who-done-it! A new method, I believe, in this series!

Also, I believe that the Carella family now has a new dog. No rabies.

This is the first Ed McBain story I've read.

This story reminded me often of the Law & Order series. Not so much in terms of the courtroom drama, but in the "Law" portion. You follow detectives in their investigation. Carella is like a dog with a bone - he keeps pushing and pushing until he solves the case. So, you get to witness police investigation - the frustrations, the waits, and the pay offs, in a very personal fashion.

The book is well-written with an engaging plot. The characters are engaging. McBain does a good job of putting enough clues out there, but not making it obvious who committed the crime.

I would recommend this book and plan to read others by this author.

This entry in the 87th precinct series feels a bit more of a detective novel and a bit less of a procedural, with Carrella piecing together the solution to the mystery through conversations with conversations with shrinks and witnesses. It still has many of the trademarks of the series though, and sees narrators McBain in particularly playful form.

Longer than previous entries, but just as engaging. This is prototypical procedural stuff with Carella chasing down all available leads until he has enough to crack the case. There's an odd bit in the middle that relies on a bit of psychoanalysis, some dream interpretation, some transposition, but mostly there is just good police work leading to an arrest and confession. Wholly satisfying.