Killer's Payoff

Killer's Payoff veers from the ensemble feel of the previous novels by adhering strictly to one crime, in this case the murder of a blackmailer. The lack of any secondary criminal investigations taking place in the background doesn't take away from McBain's usual layered narrative, as extra time is well spent exploring all of the different paths an investigation can take simultaneously, especially in a case complicated by victims that are as secretive than the criminals themselves. How do you track down and interrogate suspects to a blackmailer's murder, when even the innocent ones have something to hide?

The drama isn't as intense as in previous novels, which might explain the novel's absence of side stories to lighten the mood. Since show more the victim of the case is a criminal himself, the lack of sympathy allows for a lighter approach to the narrative that keeps the mood hovering between serious and humorous. The overall effect is that this installment comes off more like a straight Mystery novel, which can either be viewed as a welcome break in the series format or an unfortunate lapse in the author's recognized style.

Carella and Hawes take up the main brunt of the detective work, with Kling and Meyer doing their fair share, while Willis and Brown pull backup duty with minor roles such as stakeouts and wiretaps. Hawes actually spends a good portion of the novel flying solo, making up for earlier transgressions while gaining a reputation as a rather effective ladies man by bedding a series of beautiful witnesses and strangers, offering a welcome change of pace from the serious love lives of Kling and Carella. McBain's stable of characters also grows beyond the precinct, as sympathetic informant Danny Gimp and the ex-husband of the previous novel's murder victim each lend a hand. show less

Another great procedural from McBain, great characters, excellent mystery, juicy procedural detail and his trademark humour. Holds up remarkably well for a 60 year old book.

“Kramer died in a gutter,” Hawes said flatly.
“But he lived in a penthouse,” Nancy answered.

Detective Cotton Hawes falls in love a lot in this book, but only for one day each! And at the end of each of those days, the same thing happens - “And so to bed.” Hilarious!

This book only has one case (usually there are two!) - who killed the blackmailer named Sy Kramer? This particular case is led by the above mentioned Detective Hawes, when he's between bedding, and falling in love with, beautiful women! It's a short read, but a good one, with a good twist as to who actually killed Kramer! And so...

To quote from the blurb on Goodreads: “It’s like an old-time gangster movie: a speeding car, a blazing gun… and suddenly a guy walking down the street without a care in the world is lying in the gutter without a head on his shoulders. But who pulled the high-powered trigger that turned Sy Kramer from a blackmailer into a chalk outline?”

This book, originally published in the mid-1950s, is a solid early installment in the series and is the second to feature Cotton Hawes, the handsome redhead with the streak of white in his hair where he was knifed. According to McBain’s introduction to this edition of Killer’s Payoff, Hawes was introduced at the request of someone at the publisher’s, who thought that the main hero of the show more 87th, Detective Steve Carella, was too boring a hero because he was married (even though his wife, Teddy, is totally awesome). Never mind that the idea behind the 87th Precinct series was to have a rotating ensemble cast of heroes… but anyway, Hawes was introduced, and he’s more of a private eye type than a detective, but he seems to have worked out OK.

This is a fast-paced installment in the series, and it’s light on the gore. It’s mostly blackmail with just a little bit of murder, and of course lots of realistic police legwork. The Thomas and Mercer edition I read this in reproduces the police forms and photostats clearly and legibly, which is more than I can say for some of the earlier mass-market paperback editions of 87th Precinct novels.

Because of when it was published, this book does contain a fair amount of eye-roll-inducing commentary about women’s appearances (and supreme eye-roll-inducing antics on Hawes’ part, sleeping with women he encounters in the course of the job), but in relative terms it’s not as terrible as it could be. So I consider this one of the better books in the series for that reason. show less

The sixth book of the 87th Precinct series continues the focus on the new detective, Cotton Hawes, who — at least from a 21st century point of view — is turning out to be rather unlikeable, as he “falls in love” every few pages and winds up in bed with a whole range of passing, forgettable female characters. In an earlier book, McBain had created a strong woman character (though she was being used as bait), but there’s little sign of that here. The book feels, in that sense, more of its time, with voluptuous women seducing or being seduced by tall, powerful men. Nevertheless, McBain continues to show off his liberal values, having already introduced Jewish, Black and disabled characters. This book features a memorable scene in show more a gay bar in which the only people the author detests are the suburban tourists who’ve come in to stare at the queers. Not McBain’s finest work, but still a key part of the emerging story. show less

It's been a while since I last read any of this series - I had forgotten what quick reads these books are!

I wasn't favorably impressed by Cotton Hawes, though there wasn't any specific reason for my feeling. He did do a good job of figuring out much of the mystery surrounding the death of Sy Kramer.

A 1950's drive-by with a high-powered rifle shot to the face is assigned to Steve Carella and partner Cotton Hawes. They quickly discover the victim is a blackmailer, and start investigating his monthly marks, which devolve into deadends; however, Cotton's dogged determination eventually unveils a thread, which almost get him killed but solve the crime.