Rating: 
Summary: The Most Difficult Review I've Ever Composed
Review: I have been a great fan of the award winning author Ed McBain/Evan Hunter ever since discovering his talent for police procedurals in THE BIG BAD CITY. I have read all the books published since then in the 87th Precinct series, as well as several of the earlier ones and various other works by him including one of the Matthew Hope series. And recently I was delighted to find a first edition of ANOTHER PART OF THE CITY while browsing in a used book store. While anyone as successful and prolific as McBain has certain formulaic elements in his work, I have enjoyed all of his novels that I have read and have been intrigued by the character development that both provides continuity and creates the interest of familiarity for his readers. In this context, THE FRUMIOUS BANDERSNATCH is in many ways THE BEST OF ALL OF HIS WORKS THAT I HAVE READ. (It certainly has the most distinctive and enigmatic title.) As always in this series, the outline of the story is very simple; it is the author's execution of the storyline that makes these police procedurals so enjoyable. THE FRUMIOUS BANDERSNATCH is a new song to be released by Bison records featuring an unknown but incredibly talented and gorgeous new artist, Tamar Valparaiso. The lyrics are straight from Lewis Carroll, and as with much of what he wrote they are subject to many levels of interpretation. In an attempt to gain the maximum amount of publicity, Barney Loomis, the impresario owner of the Bison label, has decided to launch the debut of the album and incredibly suggestive video with a celebrity cruise to be covered by Honey Blair of Channel Four news (familiar to readers of McBain's previous books). However, Tamar's performance is interrupted by two AK-47 toting masked men wearing Saddam Hussein and Yassir Arafat masks who abduct her and disappear in a waiting motor launch. Through a twist of fate, Steve Carella of the 87th gets the case, but is soon forced to coordinate with an FBI task force when the kidnapping becomes incredibly high profile due a combination of the power of Tamar's video performance and the fact that Channel Four actually is continually broadcasting their footage of the actual abduction. We know who the kidnappers are, it is a question of whether their ransom demands will be met, what Tamar's fate will be, and how the police and joint task force will proceed. Several of the familiar members of the force play a role as the investigation proceeds, including among others Kling, Andy Parker and Lieutenant Brynes. And there are several references to previous cases and even a cameo appearance by the Reverend Gabriel Foster when a suggestion of racism with regard to the case rears its ugly head. Most importantly, there is a parallel track in the story regarding Ollie Weeks (featured in FAT OLLIE'S BOOK) and his relationship with Patricia Gomez. While this element seems superfluous or at best background, it is is used by McBain in an incredibly clever fashion to comment on his craft and the story that is unfolding in this book. I can't discuss this at length without spoiling the plot, but Ollie finds that in some ways he has been the victim of misdirection just as Carella and the readers have been. The other element that was somewhat unique to this book was how McBain used the lyrics of the video and Tamar's performance to examine and implicitly criticize the current nature of the music industry. Usually his plots are much more local, individual and often prosaic. Once I got involved in the story (which took me a few chapters), I understood the reason that he spent so much time analyzing the lyrics of the song. This has more universal themes than the fictional island of Isola (which as readers know bears a striking resemblance to Manhattan). The story is interesting and has several very clever elements, it is a fast read, I really admired the juxtaposition of Ollie's discussions with Patricia with Carella's progress on the kidnapping case, there was sufficient misdirection to keep me interested, and the stuff about the music industry is brilliant. So why was this review so difficult to write? Because there are two points that I feel need to be made that are very difficult to state without including a spoiler. I will try to make them in as general a way as possible, but warn readers that they might not want to read the next paragraph. For reasons that I explain below, these points also made me hesitate before giving this book a five star rating, but in the end I decided the author deserved one since it was a wonderful read and he certainly accomplished his objectives. BEWARE: this paragraph contains some general comments that might be regarded as spoilers. My first criticism is that in some ways the outcome here is totally predictable, in a general sense it is actually what I expected and many readers will guess after the first few chapters, but the misdirection was good enough and the story engaging enough so that I kept reading and enjoyed most of the book. My second criticism is much more personal. My enjoyment of the book was severely set back by the outcome of the case. (The story ending itself was totally in keeping with McBain's usual style.) Perhaps I was more affected than usual by the death during the conclusion of the case of someone that McBain had caused me to know and respect because I finished the story on Christmas Night and certainly did not feel good about the ending. But I think that it was more than that; in most police procedurals the victims have alredy been murdered and while we gradually become acquainted with them we know that they are already dead; this is supposedly a kidnapping case, and the tragedy occurs near the end. While I knew that it was inevitable that someone would die (guns everywhere) I was very shocked by the suddenness and nature of the death. Still five stars and high praise! But if the characters in a novel come alive for you as they do for me, you will mourn the deceased.
Rating: 
Summary: Frumious Waste of Money
Review: I have been an avid reader of Ed McBain for many years, but his last two books are terrible reads; weak characterizations, inconsistent and wandering plots, long rambling pages of inane and boring conversations between the main characters, etc..... This newest novel, is simply horrendously written. I can't believe McBain wrote this novel...It has a gratuitously violent ending, which is unlike McBain, but worse than that, this kind of ending leaves the book without a plot! Furthermore, Carella comes off limp wristed, and weak, and the kidnappers, (what ever happened to the notion of fully developing your characters?) came off as bland pudding with an occasional "give me the money or she dies", (like a B line from a B movie), sprinkled throughout. This pretty much sums up the kidnappers conversation with Carella and boys.... Awful book! The only mystery about this book, is why it was written...and does McBain not like female rockstars? The ending leads you to believe so. My advice to McBain is,,,take up another job, or go back and reread your previous novels to figure out what you're doing wrong. Until then, I won't pay anymore money to read your novels.
Rating: 
Summary: A Masterwork by a Grand Master --- Very Highly Recommended
Review: I've been on a bit of a television-viewing jag recently, watching marathon showings of police ensemble series such as NYPD Blue, Homicide and Hill Street Blues. While these programs have their high points --- many high points, actually ---- they are at once a tribute to, and beholden to, Ed McBain. All of them, unconsciously or otherwise, use his 87th Precinct series as a template. The different personalities of the detectives bouncing off each other, the multiple subplots that carry over for several episodes and the snappy dialogue all started with COP KILLER. COP KILLER was published in 1956, about the time I was learning to hold a pencil properly and before my wife was even born. 48 years later, McBain, as demonstrated in THE FRUMIOUS BANDERSNATCH, is still demonstrating how to get the job done. I have in the twilight of my middle age grown jaded and cynical, so my initial impression of this new 87th Precinct installment was that it was a short story on steroids, an idea that couldn't carry a novel so was accordingly pumped a bit with filler. The beginning seemed to go on for just a bit too long at first, regarding the hows and whys and wherefores of the music business, as McBain puts his readers on the deck of a yacht in the middle of a party celebrating the release of a new CD entitled "Bandersnatch" by a new pop star named Tamar Valparaiso. However, it turns out that McBain was just taking his time, setting up his blocks. My complaint is somewhat akin to the snot-nosed brat on the roller coaster who, as his car rises slowly and inexorably high above the rest of the amusement park, whines that nothing is happening. Matters in THE FRUMIOUS BANDERSNATCH kick into high gear soon enough; Valparaiso, in the middle of lip-synching and dancing her way through a reenactment of her controversial new video, is kidnapped in full view of the horrified partygoers. Enter Steve Carella of the 87th, who catches the squeal. His first act is to interview Barney Loomis, President of Bison Records, Valparaiso's label. Carella promptly has jurisdiction yanked out from under him by a joint Federal-Local Task Force called "The Squad," but he soon finds himself actively involved in the investigation at the insistence of Loomis, who reiterates his confidence in Carella and resists any attempt to relegate Carella to errand-boy status. When Valparaiso's kidnappers demand a ransom, Carella finds himself caught between The Squad, which wants the kidnappers, and Loomis, who just wants Valparaiso back. In the meantime, "Bandersnatch" is flying off the shelves, courtesy of the attendant publicity. The three kidnappers, as unlikely a team as you'll ever find, get their money. When they discover that their captive is an instant star, however, they hold out for more. McBain's narrative burns up the pages. It's not just the suspense he infuses into the storyline, though that would be more than enough. It's that he continues to write so well. In what would otherwise be the twilight of a brilliant career, McBain once again tests his own considerable boundaries and conquers them. May I give you one example? There is an interlude involving Detective Cotton Hawes, who is out on a first date with an extremely lovely lady. The dialogue between them as they verbally dip and dance as a prelude to what they both know and hope is coming later in the evening is so riveting that one has to stop and read the sequence over a few times just to revel in the reality of it all. It's a simple scene but so hard to do correctly. McBain's execution is perfect, a prelude to a conclusion that contains not just one, but two, surprise endings. THE FRUMIOUS BANDERSNATCH is a masterwork by a grand master. Does it get any better than this? No --- at least not until McBain's next work. Very highly recommended. --- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
Rating:
Summary: ALICE IN TIN PAN ALLEY
Review: In THE FRUMIOUS BANDERSNATCH, Ed McBain weaves biting satire and police procedural into pure gold. His prime target is the 21st century record business and some of the evils wrought by monopoly of the airwaves, but along the way he manages to skewer other media foibles. (like the panels of "expert" talking heads that proliferate on television) The warp of McBain's loom is the good old 87th Precinct. The detectives of the 87th duel an FBI task force to solve a high profile kidnapping. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: McBain is the Energizer Bunny of Mystery Writers
Review: It had been a while since I indulged myself in one of Mr. McBain's novels about the 87th Precinct, but the lapse of time has done nothing to dull his writing skills. This is a story that grabs the reader right from the first and never loosens it's grip until the story has played out. The title, which seems to be a mystery in and of itself comes from Lewis Carrol and is part of a new music video which is being released by Bison Records. A performed preview of the video for selected viewers is interrupted by the forceful kidnapping of the video's female star and she is held for ransom by the bad guys. In the book one of the characters is an author and he describes to an associate that the way to keep people's attention when writing a book is to have a ticking clock. Taking his own advice, McBain creates a loudly ticking clock in this book as the police and the FBI search for the hostage and deal with the ransom demands that are forthcoming. This is a fine piece of writing with clear and believeable characters, an interesting plot line and several unexpected twists and turns, all of which keep the pages turning.
Ed McBain is still one of the best at this genre.
Rating:
Summary: McBain does it again!
Review: It's hard to believe that the 87th Precinct series has been around for over forty years, and covers fifty-three novels. The Frumious Bandersnatch (incidentally taken from Lewis Carroll's "Jabberwocky") is classic McBain.
Young, beautiful and talented, Tamar Valparasio is about to make her breakout debut when she is abducted from her performance by "Yassir Arafat" and "Sadaam Hussein". Steve Carella and Cotton Hawes work inspite of lack of clues and the complex tangle of investigating Tamar's abduction in cooperation and in competition with "The Squad", the joint Isola PD/FBI Task Force, in order to bring the criminals to justice and rescue the sexy young star before it is too late. As can be expected in an Ed McBain novel, there is the twists and turns and the humor. albeit dark at times, with the usual cast of the detectives of the 8-7. As an interesting sideline(Or is it subplot?), we begin to see another dimension of "Fat Ollie" Weeks as his relationship with Officer Patricia Gomez go another level. Will the boys get to Tamar? And who is behind her kidnapping? I won't disclose the ending. Listen to the audiobook to find out.
Rating:
Summary: A frumious foray with friends and foes, old and new
Review: Look out Cher, Madonna, J Lo & Brittney! Tamar Valparaiso is young and beautiful and poised to be Pop's Next Diva. To celebrate and promote the release of her debut cd/video/title cut single "The Frumious Bandersnatch," a version of Lewis Carroll's "Jabberwocky" poem in "Alice in Wonderland," the fine folks at Tamar's label have rented a yacht and are merrily cruisin down the River Dix when Tamar is snatched while performing a tamer version of her Bandersnatch video. Whatever shall we do? The men and woman from Ed McBain's 87th Precinct of The not-so-fictitious City are on the case along with some feral Feebies and duplicitous dudes from their own Department. Steve Carella is turning 50! His mother and sister are marrying men not to his liking. And Fat Ollie is romancing a fellow officer and learning to play "Spanish Eyes" - the Al Martino version - not Backstreet Boys - for her on the piano. It's a fun visit with old friends, some ascerbic social commentary and some surprises along the way. Like Louis said:
Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the jujub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch! /TundraVision, Amazon reviewer
Rating:
Summary: A frumious foray with friends and foes, old and new
Review: Look out Cher, Madonna, J Lo & Brittney! Tamar Valparaiso is young and beautiful and poised to be Pop's Next Diva. To celebrate and promote the release of her debut cd/video/title cut single "The Frumious Bandersnatch," a version of Lewis Carroll's "Jabberwocky" poem in "Alice in Wonderland," the fine folks at Tamar's label have rented a yacht and are merrily cruisin down the River Dix when Tamar is snatched while performing a tamer version of her Bandersnatch video. Whatever shall we do? The men and woman from Ed McBain's 87th Precinct of The not-so-fictitious City are on the case along with some feral Feebies and duplicitous dudes from their own Department. Steve Carella is turning 50! His mother and sister are marrying men not to his liking. And Fat Ollie is romancing a fellow officer and learning to play "Spanish Eyes" - the Al Martino version - not Backstreet Boys - for her on the piano. It's a fun visit with old friends, some ascerbic social commentary and some surprises along the way. Like Louis said:
Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the jujub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch! /TundraVision, Amazon reviewer
Rating: 
Summary: Classic McBain, with a disappointing ending
Review: Masked kidnappers steal the show - and the budding pop-star - at talented, ambitious Tamar Valparaiso's launch party. Steve Carella lands the case, but he and his fellow cops at the 87th precinct expect the FBI to snatch it away any second. Though none of them have heard of Tamar, it's clearly a glitzy case. The feds get into it, albeit late, but Carella stays on, thanks to Barney Loomis, Tamar's big-shot producer. McBain has fun with the posturing and politics of the FBI and the posturing and glamor of the music industry. The Lewis Carroll theme and distortions-on-a-theme are clever and amusing. He's up to his own high standards of crisp, humorous dialogue and dry observation as the procedural story unfolds at a page-turning clip. Point of view switches among the cops, and with scenes from Tamar's viewpoint, showing her to be a gutsy, determined and observant 20-year old. Everything about this story is just right, in fact, except the climax, which is as jarring as it is predictable. An ending which spoils the mood of the whole. McBain hasn't lost his touch, but this time it packs an unpleasant punch.
Rating:
Summary: Fiften minutes of fame.
Review: Musical entrepreneur Barney Loomis discovers Tamar, a gorgeous looking Mexican-Russian girl with the voice of an angel and a body that would stop men in their tracks. He plans a spectacular introduction of her first hit song accompanied by a controversial video of her being mock raped by a black dancer, dressed as a mythical beast, on a luxury motor launch on the river. Three masked figures appear and drag Tamar away to a waiting speed boat in front of a stunned audience. A phone call demanding $250,000 in ransom is made to Loomis's office and so the local police from the 87th precinct and the FBI are called in. The pace is cracking and the dialogue is authentic sounding as plots are laid by the baddies and plans are made for Tamar's rescue by the cops. It's a fast read, using characters that Mr.McBain has introduced before and, even though I've never before seen some of the words used by the author, most readers would enjoy it.
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