87th Precinct

[Nearly Sane]

A chance tweet from a friend lead 3 of us to discover that we are big fans of Ed McBain's 87th Precinct novels. That discussion was in turn picked up by the person running the page below which is a set of podcasts on the books. Looking forward to listening to these,



http://hark87podcast.blogspot.com/

[Owlswing]

B****y Hell!

I really don't want to think about how many years it has ben since I last read an Ed McBain!

[Nearly Sane]

A couple of years ago, I went back and read them in order. I think they do lose a bit of quality in the later books but overall it's an extraordinary series. The set up was hugely influential in huge numbers of police shows.

[The Accountant, OBE, KC]

I read 87th Precinct when I was a teen - they were great! I was thinking about those books the other day as I went into the same library I used to go into after school to hunt for another book in the series . Going to the library seems like such a special event for me these days as it so rarely happens.

[Nearly Sane]

I never go these days, but I remember the excitement when I was old enough to join the junior library and then the adult library. I too first read them from the library and then as the new ones came out would buy them. The stories are excellently plotted and I think I fell a little in love with Steve and Teddy Carella.

[The Accountant, OBE, KC]

I actually went to the library to get a Maths GCSE text book for my younger daughter. I figured some practice at home before school starts would make Maths easier and therefore more enjoyable. But the first thing I thought of when I looked through the library window was the 87th Precinct books and Steve Carella.

The characters really opened my eyes to adult life and relationships through my teens- though not sure how realistic they were.  I sometimes catch the odd re-run of Cagney and Lacey, which were on around the same time I read 87th Precinct books and not sure how realistic that was either.

Teddy was deaf right? That reminds me - the Deaf Man was a criminal mastermind who kept showing up. And Bert Kling had some good story lines. I still remember the story where Carella was kept prisoner and forcibly injected with heroin, though I don't think that was anything to do with the Deaf Man. Wonder what I would think of it all if I read the books now.

[Nearly Sane]

For when they were written the books stand up quite well in dealing with adult relationships/ And yep Teddy and the Deaf Man as being mirrors is important in the books. The Deaf Man is also hugely influential for villains in books. Hannibal Lector owes something to the Deaf Man. The book with Carella being injected with heroin is Doll

[Owlswing]

I never go these days, but I remember the excitement when I was old enough to join the junior library and then the adult library. I too first read them from the library and then as the new ones came out would buy them. The stories are excellently plotted and I think I fell a little in love with Steve and Teddy Carella.

Teddy, a lovely lady, sadly deaf (or was it blind? Curse my lousy memory!).

The lady with the beautiful butterfly tattoo on her shoulder.