Heat in Isola

I know I'm blogging a lot about Ed McBain's 87th Precinct crime novel series these days, as I am reading the books in order of publication (as much as possible). But it struck me that one novel would be very fitting for this summer, either this heatwave or the next. I blogged about Heat back in July 2024, more specifically about a grossly lying cover on its French translation. I hate heatwaves, but they are more bearable when I read seasonal crime fiction. It makes me hate the heat more, ironically enough. But hey, it's not the only novel of McBain set in summertime. He seemed to consider sunshine as evil as I do (see this post). But hey, if you are looking for summertime crime fiction, you can't go wrong with Ed McBain.

Introducing Cotton Hawes (87th Precinct)

As you know, this year I have been reading Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series, as much as possible in order of publication. So I recently read Killer's Choice, the fifth entry of the series. The novel is significant in the series for a number of reasons: one of the detectives of the 87th gets murdered, for one, and it's also the debut of Detective Cotton Hawes in the series. Cotton Hawes was invented by McBain at the request of his publishers to provide the series with a ladies' man (the other cops are rather monogamous). Hawes is tall, muscular, redheaded except for a shock of white hair (caused by a knife wound) and of course handsome. I hadn't paid all that much attention to Hawes in the past. I'm not sure if it's because most of the series' entries I read often did not feature him prominently or just that others caught my attention. But now that I have read his debut, I will see the character in a new light.

Lying Book Cover (87th Precinct)

My year in crime fiction reading has been marked by the return of Ed McBain's 87th Precinct in my to be read list. It had been long overdue and I intend to read some more before the end of the year. And, as much as possible, in order of publication. Anyway, one funny little thing I noticed on the cover of The Con Man, is that the cover shows a man holding a gun, which is misleading: this man is definitely not the antagonist of the novel. Because the main villain does not use a gun: he's a swindler who murders his victims by poisoning them with arsenic. He may be one of the Detectives, but S&W revolvers were the service weapons at the time the story was written. So this cover is lying. Well, covers always lie, and it did not stop me for enjoying The Con Man. But I thought it was funny all the same.

Crime and Cognac (87th Precinct)

So I am in a binge reading streak these days, more specifically reconnecting with Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series. And you may remember, if this post's title looks familiar, that I blogged last year about one of The Mugger's characters' fondness of cognac. It was to be more specific the hero's romantic interest. Well, after reading The Con Man, fourth book of the series, it seems that criminals can be also fond of cognac. I will not spoil anything, but the main villain (a very sinister one, by the way) drinks Remy Martin. He even pronounces the name properly, except when he mocks the waiter who brought the drink to him. I'm not sure what to think of it, but I can say that, while I am curious about cognac, which as far as I can remember I never drank, I don't think I'm eager to try Remy Martin. It's probably out of my price range anyway.

Upcoming Return: 87th Precinct

It has been a while since I read something from Ed McBain's 87th Precinct crime fiction series. So I decided to get back to my old 2025 plan of reading the novels in order, among the ones I have yet to read. I bought not one two 87th Precinct books, among them The Con Man, which is next on my reading list. I know I have a rather large TBR list already, but I'm really in the mood for some McBain and like I said, this has been long overdue. It's one of the earlier entries of the series, its fourth book in fact. So yeah, I should be back to Isola soon.

An Axe for January

 We are getting through the month very quickly, but I thought I would give you a reading suggestion. As you may know, I read "seasonally", by this I mean I try as much as possible to read books set during the time of year I am reading them. It's a method like any other to get through my reading list. Anyway, you probably know I love Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series. I try to read a novel of the series at least once every year. There is at least one of its novels set in January, titled Ax or Axe. Because someone gets murdered with an axe. If you think you need to fight gloom and doom with gloom and doom, as a sort of literary vaccine, this is for you. It's suitably dark and it's a short, gripping read.

Time for Christmascrimes

 'Tis the season to be reading, and, in my case, to read crime fiction. Especially crime fiction set during Christmas.  We had #Noirvember last month, I think there should be a #Christmascrime. But I am currently stuck when it comes to crime fiction: I am a bit bored with the novel I am reading, as I feared I would be, and it's not in season enough. So I am wondering if I should take a break from it and reread one Christmas crime novel I already read. Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series has a few titlesset in the Season, including The Pusher. Just for the very first sentence, "Winter came in like an anarchist with a bomb", I think I want to get back to it. But there are so many others to rediscover. And I could check in my TBR list if there isn't one set during Christmas, or at least in winter.

The 87th Precinct for #Noirvember

As we are getting near the end of November, I thought I would make another reading suggestion for #Noirvember. It is one of the novels from Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series. It is a personal favourite of mine, Lady, Lady I Did It!. I read it more than twenty years ago, when I stumbled upon a second-hand copy of it,on a cold November day, when I was in a forced convalescence. So it had a Noirvember feel to me before the term and the hashtag even existed. It starts on an Indian summer day, when a massacre is committed in a local bookshop. There are multiple (random?) victims, among them Detective Bert Kling's fiancée. So yeah, it's Noir all right.

Crime and Cognac

One of the things I like about reading Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series, is that I end up learning a lot of trivial things. McBain is really good at giving inocuous details that may not be relevant to the plot, but just give layers to the characters and their life. So in The Mugger, the protagonist's (who in this novel is Bert Kling) romantic interest is fond of cognac. So she gives him a crash course that is short but enthusiastic and I am now more knowledgeable thanks to it. I don't think I ever drank cognac, except maybe in cocktails, but even then that's a big maybe. I am now curious about it.

Isola in Autumn

 I am currently The Mugger, the second novel of Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series. It's great to be back to it and I cannot stress how much I missed the 87th Precinct and Isola. There is another reason why reading this specific novel is particularly pleasant: it's set in autumn. I generally read seasonal, or at least try to, so I tend to read novels set during the time of year where I am reading them. That said, because I read horror stories from August until October inclusively, for obvious reasons, and because autumn is my favourite time of year, I vary things by reading "autumnal" novels that are not horror ones. It makes me get into the seasonal atmosphere by proxy. And McBain sure knows how to bring the seasonal atmosphere: he romanticises it without making it soppy. I'm also glad that he knows autumn starts with September and not the equinox.

Return to Isola

I mentioned it back in February: I had not read a book from Ed McBain's 87th Precinct serie for a while. And that was a shame, given that it's a great crime fiction series which made me discover the police procedural subgenre. And it's also almost a family tradition on my wife's side. So I decided to buy be The Mugger, the second novel. I will try to read the books in order of publication. Everytime I read the foreword, which you can see here, I have a shiver of pleasure. I'm glad to return to Isola. It's been a long time.

87th Precinct: a new generation?

No, no, I'm not saying there will be continuations novels of Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series written by other writers. Although I'm sure there's fanfics somewhere. You may remember that back in 2020, I said that reading McBain was almost a sort of family tradition, as both my wife's parents liked to read him. Well, a few days ago, Wolfie, who likes to check my bookshelves from time to time, stumbled upon The Heckler. It's the novel that introduces the Deaf Man, mastermind criminal and the 87th Precinct nemesis. He got curious about it for some reason and asked me a few questions. So reading McBain might become an official family tradition after all, if one day we can have a new generation who enjoys it.

The 87th Precinct, in order

I blogged about a month ago about my wish to continue reading Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series, which I haven't done in a long while. Even though my TBR list is quite long. Be that as it may, I thought it would be nice to read more McBain, especially since it has been a long time and the books tend to be quick reads anyway. And it struck me: I should read them (as much as possible) in chronological order. Something I haven't really done so far. So it means my next entry would be The Mugger, the second novel of the series, as I already read the first one. So I am very tempted to buy it. And if my wife thinks it's too many books, I can give it to her mother once I am done with it, as it is a sort of family tradition to read McBain.

To revisit Isola

 "The city in these pages is imaginary. The people, the places are all fictitious. Only the police routine is based on established investigatory technique."

 No, no, this post's title is not referring to our next holiday destination. I'm referring to the setting of Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series. Isola is imaginary, but it's a stand-in for Manhattan, the imaginary city being a thinly disguised New York. In August last year, I was lamenting that I hadn't read McBain since 2021. It hasn't changed, in fact I didn't even buy a new book from the crime fiction series. I want 2025 to be different, but I have a lot of books on my TBR list and I am reading very slowly. That said, I still hope to find time to slip one title or two from the 87th somewhere in the coming months, after I finish the next two or three unread  books on my shelves. I mostly read crime fiction until August anyway, so I think I can find the opportunity.

The 87th Precinct and Me

Yesterday, I was flicking through a novel from Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series when two things struck me. The first one is anecdotal, even trivial, the second one a little bit more important. First, is that at least two very minor, cameo characters in the series share the same name with people I know (or, in one case, I know of) in real life. Second, I haven't read a McBain novel since the end of 2021. That is way too long, especially since I haven't read the whole series. Now, until November, I am strictly reading reading spooky stories (more on that in another post), that said, I will need to correct this. I intend to make a 87th Precinct reading marathon one day, trying to read the ones I haven't read yet, in order. That's going to be fun. Once I am done, I will read more, in original English. Oh, and I am still thinking of turning it into a family tradition, but this may take some time.

87th Precinct, Isola

 "The city in these pages is imaginary. The people, the places are all fictitious. Only the police routine is based on established investigatory technique."

 Amateurs of crime fiction identified this quote easily: it is the disclaimer placed before the start of every novel from Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series. I first discovered them translated in French, before switching to original English. Heat was the last one I read translated, suring the summer of 2006. Fittingly enough, I read it all during a heatwave, just like in the book. Before I go any further, I recommend it for a summer read, especially when it's hot outside. I still have my copy, this copy. And you can find on it a glaring mistake: the promotional paper slip says: "N.Y.P.D 87e District". I mean... what? It says in the book that the unnamed city is imaginary. Yes, it is a thinly disguised New York, Isola being Manhattan, but it's sitll not New York. I don't want to be pedantic, but surely every fan of the series worth his salt knows that by now.

The Wisdom of Steve Carella

You know I love the work of Ed McBain, especially the 87th Precinct. I wlove it in the smallest anecdotal details, which I was reminded again recently, when I saw this quote from Cop Hater, the very first novel of the series. I have nothing more to say, except that Detective Steve Carella is extremely wise.

Money, Money, Money (#Christmascrimes)

'Tis the season to be reading, falala lala, and so on. For today's (and this year's) first Christmas reading suggestion (and sorry if I have been late this year to kickstart the tradition): Money, Money, Money by Ed McBain. Because I always read some crime fiction during Christmastime, there's just something about blood on snow. This is one of his later novels, featuring the team at the 87th Precinct, especially Steve Carella, and Fat Ollie Weeks. It has cocain, phoney dollar bills, Mexican druglords, a woman eaten by lions, a duo of sexy blonde hitwomen, the Secret Services and Islamic terrorism. Did I say that this was published days before 9/11? Both chilling and very entertaining, albeit at times a bit far fetched. All set between Christmas and New Year.

Ed McBain for #Noirvember

 "The city in these pages is imaginary. The people, the places are all fictitious. Only the police routine is based on established investigatory technique."

This is of course the start of every novel from Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series. It always gives me shivers when I read this. November is almost over and it struck me that I haven't blogged all that much about #Noirvember. It is kind of ironic, come to think of it: I used to dislike that month and could not wait until it was over and start getting properly into a Christmas mood, now I think it's going too fast and I barely had time to read and share any crime fiction on this blog. Anyway, I have started reading Money, Money, Money by Ed McBain. The novel also fits my Christmas reading list, but I digress (more on that next month, obviously). I wanted to mention that any McBain is very fitting for #Noirvember, especially if you like police procedurals. Once I am finished with this 87th Precinct's story, I will probably hand it to my parents-in-laws, who both are avid readers of McBain, as I mentioned here. Heck, maybe I can hand them one or two McBains before the end of this month and in the meantime introduce them to #Noirvember!

January Crimes

I've been reading very slowly since te beginning of the year, something I want to change. Maybe it is because I don't commute anymore and has thus less occasions to read. But anyway, I have also decided to start the year on a good note by reading crime fiction, starting with Nocturne by Ed McBain. It of couse features the detectives of the 87th Precinct. I decided to start the year with it because it is set in January, a good reason as any, but also because you cannot go wrong with Ed McBain. In any case, January being in many ways a dreary month, crime fiction is the perfect genre for it.