Third in the 87th Precinct books, and we’re still in the territory of this being written before I was born! It reads like a tough-guy detective novel, which at times made me chuckle, because the wording and euphemisms now seem rather clichéd, though at the time were probably very in vogue. This story deals with heroin usage in one area of the city, and ties the Lieutenants’s son into the case of a dead junkie/pusher found in his apartment. But his killer made a very poor attempt to make his murder look like a suicide. Why bother? And why leave incriminating evidence all over the place? Was he trying to frame someone else? A very quick read, but with newlywed detective Steve Carella and his wife Teddy featured, and they become my favorites in later books. Interesting afterword by McBain, too, about the series and Carella’s storyline. ( )

The third book in the 87th Precinct series is a more standard entry into the police procedural genre. But at the same time, it manages to reach an emotional depth somewhat unusual for the time period.

The plot is pretty straight forward. A pair of patrolmen stumble upon a apparent junkie suicide. But sometimes things aren't as easy as they seem, and the suicide squeal quickly turns into a multiple homicide investigation that threatens to become blackmail when Lt. Byrnes son becomes linked to the drug scene. The bulls at the 87th are relegated mainly to the footwork, as most of the behind the scenes action involves Byrnes as he struggles with his son's involvement. Byrnes goes as far as to fill Carella in on the situation, a decision that almost proves to be fatal.

Apart from some of the dated aspects one would expect from a well-reserched police drama from the fifties, the bulk of the novel is your typical expose on the brutal world of the street level drug trade. But as usual, McBain delves into the emotional causes and ramifications of the Heroin users and dealers. The most revealing of these is the personal and professional termoil faced by Lt. Byrnes with the revelation that his son is a Heroin addict. Adding to the emotional doubt of where he has gone wrong with his son, and the constant battle between anger and compassion, is the dilemma of whether or not to cover up his son's possible involvement in a crime, especially when a mysterious third party with knowledge of his son's connection attempts to blackmail him for police protection.

McBain doesn't just focus on the 87th detectives. Glimpses into the lives of low key players in the drug scene shows the many facets of human frailty and desperation and prevents the broad generalizations that many crime dramas easily fall into. Even the closer look at Carella's relationship with stoolie Danny the Gimp is both touching and revealing. But to McBain's credit, none of this detailed attention to the human element detracts from the gritty realism that is typical of this series. ( )

A book to read and re-read.

One of the strengths of much of Ed McBain`s work is that he gave his detectives personal lives.

Prior to that, as with Sexton Blake or Sherlock Holmes, there were occasional references to the fictional sleuth`s tastes, but rarely if ever to their personal circumstances.

One might argue that Chandler`s Marlowe was revealed by a series of hints and references (the fact that he lived alone, his past career at the DAs office and dismissal for insubordination, his knowledge of literature,etc), but Chandler himself said he would never write a book with a married Marlowe - when he broke his own rule, one could see why.

Anyway, this tale of a newly-married Carella and a Byrnes worried by his son`s involvement with drugs, and possible involvement in a murder, is one of McBain`s best.

A tense but compassionate look at life. ( )

I like series books and these are such quick reads. I also like the quick dialog and the simpleness of the time that these are set in. ( )