The Con Man

The fourth book in the 87th Precinct series, the title says it all as the members of the 87th attempt to track down various con men preying on the weak and naive members of The City, as well as involving themselves in a few cons of their own.

Written in 1957, my favorite dated aspects of the narrative:

*When talking about pretty girls, it is noted that no one cares if you are smart "so long as you have a beautiful phizz."

*Pointing out the absurdity of something, it is stated that it "takes the brass bologna" and "wins the fur-lined bathtub."

Main man Steve Carella (freshly recovered from his nearly fatal shooting in The Pusher) and his deaf/mute wife Teddy (who is yet again involved in a crime relating to Carella's investigations) show more track down the deadly Lonely Hearts killer, rookie Detective Kling assists while helping his college student fiancee Claire con her school into granting her an early vacation, and newly introduced Brown (the 87th's first Black Detective) attempts to stop a pair of street smart confidence men. The mischievous Meyer Meyer and violent Havilland take to the background in this short entry into the series.

As always, McBain's characters are all three dimensional and compelling, and he manages to explore the emotional and philosophical aspects of crimes, victims of crimes, and their protectors in a way that few ever match. The theme of The Con is present in every layer of the novel, from the obvious and dangerous to the subtle and benign. As his opening states and story demonstrates, life itself is a con, and to some degree we are all Con Men. show less

The year turns and another 87th Precinct book breezes through. It's April in Isola. The cruellest month? Cruel enough anyway as the con is well and truly on. McBain relishes in his chosen theme. The con and the conmen themselves get a thorough going over by McBain's philosophically edged examination. The detectives of the 87th are trying to reel in a couple of tricksters who are working their way through the confidence trick handbook, fleecing the rich and poor for a fortune or a dime. Arthur Brown and newly promoted Bert Kling are hitting the streets trying to luck out for a lead on the pair. But it's Steve Carella who discovers a far more sinister and deadly conman at work. The river deals him a woman, dead for some time, a tattoo of show more a heart encircling the word MAC almost hidden on the flesh of her hand and a mysteriously emptied bank account. As ever the characters are great and becoming more familiar by the book. With the investigations waiting for that one killer lead, McBain revels in dangling them in front of the wrong eyes at the wrong time. Some of it gets dangled by our eyes too through print outs of missing persons reports, Criminal identity cards and, somewhat indecipherably, dental records. Carella is recently back from his honeymoon with new wife Teddy who is deaf-mute. This one works up to a particularly suspenseful finale with Teddy aiding in the investigation. show less

The Con Man by Ed Mcbain is the 4th book in his 87th Precinct series. In this outing the detectives of the 87th Precinct are hunting Con men. Steve Carella is investigating a serial murderer who lures women to the city, gets them to fall in love with him and once they sign their money over to him, he poisons them and throws their bodies into the river. Meanwhile Detectives Bert Kling and Arthur Brown are trying to track down a couple of con men who are fleecing people out of their ready cash.

Slow and steady wins the race and the detectives work through the evidence and eventually get their men. This was a very good police procedural with excellent writing. The book was originally published in 1957 and although dated in a few places, show more especially in regards to women, the plot holds up well.

This 4th volume allows us to get to know some of these detectives a little more. Steve Carella and his wife, Teddy play an important role. We also get to know Bert Kling a little better as well. I am enjoying my read of this series and look forward to continuing on. show less

Having failed to kill off Detective Steve Carella in the previous book, the 4th book in the long-running 87th Precinct series has him playing a star role. As in many of McBain’s novels, there are a number of story lines which in some cases intersect with one another, though others are loose ends. Though this story mainly focusses on con men, one of them is also a murderer and McBain’s descriptions of how that murderer wins the confidence (and indeed love) of lonely women makes for painful reading. He contrasts this with the true love felt by Carella for his wife Teddy — who in a surprising turn of events plays a central role in the story. Like in his earlier books, McBain the author is both a product of his time, but also ahead of show more his time. The cop who busts two particularly vicious (and skilled) con men is Black. Teddy Carella is hearing-impaired. A Chinese man plays a central role in helping the police. The cast of characters for a book written in 1957 is truly diverse — and this pattern will continue throughout the series over the next several decades. show less

“Life, if you take a somewhat dim and cynical view of it, is something like a big con game.”

Another good book about the men of the 87th! This one has con men, some just taking money, and some taking lives. And in this book Carella's wife Teddy gets to detect too! This edition of the book also has an afterword by the author which reveals a mistake he made in the first edition of "The Con Man", a pretty big one! I think it's pretty dang cool that he points that out to us! Just another reason I like McBain so much!

There are a couple of sequences that feel a little like padding, but only really in comparison to McBain's usual taut storytelling, the climax though is incredible. Complicated without being confusing and utterly gripping.

This book is so incredibly dated. The end relies on three things:

1. Detective Carella's wife is deaf (and apparently there's no sign language yet)
2. Tattoos are rare on women
3. Detective Carella is not at the office and it takes forever to realize they should try him at home.

This would be much more difficult now since pretty much every woman has tattoos it seems like, but the end would be easier because we have cell phones and even special phones for deaf people if she couldn't just text him.

On top of it the author gives away the killer at around 60%. And for a story called "The Con Man" I was hoping for more of a good grifter story. The part where Detective Brown out-cons the two petty con men is the best part of the book.

Anyway, show more Elmore Leonard or Lawrence Block are a lot better.

That is all. show less