I’m back in the world of the 87th Precinct after several years’ absence. Regular readers may remember that I have a vague plan to read all 55 books in the order they were published, but said plan was hatched in 2012 and – nearly 12 years later – I’m not even a third done. What was that John Lennon said? ‘Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.’
No matter. Try again, fail again, fail better. I’m kickstarting my re-entry into the McBain Paperback Universe (MPU) with a solid entry in the canon: Ten Plus One sees a sniper target a diverse range of victims, from the Assistant District Attorney to shopkeepers, businessmen and a sex worker. I enjoyed how tightly plotted it was, and how the victims seem to come out of nowhere, and with nothing seemingly connecting them. Not for the first time the boys of the Eight-Seven are baffled and confused – but solid police procedure sees a pattern emerge, and a perpetrator identified.
McBain is very sure of his terrain, switching between characters and locations with ease and confidence. McBain once described the police squadroom being his real protagonist, and this ‘conglomerate hero’ is shown to excellent effect in Ten Plus One. The focus moves naturally from character to character, comedy to tragedy, with effortless skill.
Next up is Axe, a 1964 entry in the series which I feel sure I read as a teenager, doubtless attracted by its bullshit-free title and lurid cover photograph of a blood-spattered axe. Even at that age, I knew where this book was headed.
whatareyoureadingfor.wordpress.com 