Rating: 
Summary: Another Outstanding Police Procedural
Review: Tara Valparaiso is about to make it big as a pop diva, at least, that's what Barney Loomis, head of Bison Records hopes. He's hosting the launch of her new CD titled Bandersnatch and the hard sell is being made to attending media and important guests. Partway through the performance of the song that should launch Tara to super-stardom, the party is rudely interrupted by a couple of masked men carrying guns. They boldly stride in and kidnap the budding songstress from under the noses of over 100 onlookers. The part of the river that the kidnapping took place happens to fall under the jurisdiction of the 87th Precinct and the detective who happens to catch the call is Steve Carella. Long time readers of this series would probably agree that Carella is the best and brightest of the 87th Precinct detectives, certainly he's the central character in most of the books and he takes the lead again here. The case is only in the 87th Precinct's hands for a short time before the FBI become involved and takes over. Carella however is enlisted to help on the task force at the request of Barney Loomis. As can be imagined neither the FBI nor Carella are thrilled at the prospect of working together and it isn't terribly long before Carella walks out on the team turning the investigation into a head to head race between the FBI and the 87th Precinct to catch the kidnappers and find the girl. It's only when Carella leaves the FBI task force and begins investigating using the tried and true methods that have made the series so popular and long-lived, that the pace picks up. That's not to say the first half of the book was terribly slow, but it does seem to spend a good deal of time in setting up the adversarial atmosphere between the kidnappers and the law enforcement agencies. One tiny annoyance was the portrayal of the FBI in this book. Painting FBI agents as egotistical fools has been done many times before, particularly when the police are the heroes, and so it happens again in this case. While I thought that this was a rather clichéd scenario which led to an obvious outcome, McBain has overcome it somewhat by giving the book a rather shocking ending by throwing in a touch of the unexpected.
There is a curious side story involving a semi-regular character named Oliver "Ollie" Weeks, a police detective who works at the 88th Precinct. Ollie is in the early stages of a new romance with a uniformed officer and the story constantly flashes to the progress of their various dates. I kept expecting Ollie's story to somehow be linked to the case but it never happened. It appears that the Ollie Weeks story was just meant to simmer and may perhaps be continued in a later book. This is just pure speculation on my part, though. There were also signs that Ed McBain was poking a bit of fun at his series, particularly when it comes to the agelessness of his characters. In one scene, Cotton Hawes was entering a building and noticed some elderly people drinking cups of coffee and wondered what it must be like to grow older, to reach your fifties or sixties. Given that the series is bearing down on its 50th year and Cotton Hawes has barely aged a year in all that time, it's no wonder he's starting to grow curious about the elderly. Meanwhile, the detectives now have the benefit of the latest technology such as mobile phones and the Internet to assist them. It's a fascinating paradox of time and technological advancement clashing with the timelessness of the characters. And I'm sure Ed McBain is having a chuckle in this book. For fans of the 87th Precinct series and also for newcomers, I recommend THE FRUMIOUS BANDERSNATCH as a terrific example of a police procedural, written by the master of the sub-genre.
Rating:
Summary: A gritty tale by a master of the genre
Review: The latest 87th precinct novel finds Steve Carella and company trying to locate the kidnapped pop singer, Tamar Valparaiso. Tamar was kidnapped in the middle of a publicity appearance on a boat. Time appears to be running out.
There have been better and there have been worse novels of the 87th precinct. However, any book by Ed McBain is a welcome sight and this one proves no exception. It is unclear whether we are dealing with a more humorous book or one a bit grittier. The ending proves the later is the case. Well worth the read.
Rating: 
Summary: Not to be missed.
Review: The lavish release party aboard the yacht was supposed to launch Bison Records' new pop artist, Tamar Valparaiso. Instead, the diva-to-be is kidnapped (while channel 4's cameras are rolling)---and the chase is on in Ed McBain's latest 87th Precinct novel, "The Frumious Bandersnatch." A joint task force in set up to solve the high profile case as Tamar's CD goes to #1. Representing the 87th is Detective Steve Carella. Put the FBI, the music industry types, the scoop seeking press, the usual assortment of the big bad city's criminal element and a dollop of misdirection in the mix and you have yet another highly entertaining 87th Precinct read. As usual in this series, the plot is fairly uncomplicated. It is the familiar galaxy of characters surrounding Carella, and Mr. McBain's deft implementation of the story line that makes this police procedural resonate. The interplay between the characters and crackling dialogue is priceless. The subplot features Ollie Weeks and his burgeoning relationship with fellow cop, Patricia Gomez. Carella's good old-fashioned police work cracks the case. The FBI and all their high tech toys fail to deliver. Big fun!!!
Rating:
Summary: Frabjous
Review: The major plot elements have been discussed elsewhere, as have the wonderful characters. The seamless continuity with earlier (and expected) 87th-series novels has been mentioned too, although that doesn't matter so much, as this novel is very capable of standing on its own two feet. I shan't re-hash these points here. Everything is in place, as expected, as usual. This review, then, could legitimately be just an additional 931 adjectives, (there's a maximum 1,000 words in a review, darn it), describing how good this book is.
It's that good.
It's so beyond 'up to snuff' it's 'Class-A drug' level. So pure you could sit down and snort it. Beyond all the usual asides, funny references, 'in-jokes' and flat-out vicious ironies - the McBain-isms - it reflects the Lewis Carroll theme in ways which can't fail to make you hoot, including at one point some wonderful playful new 'Carrolls' all of its own.
It's rare.
Patricia Cornwell would chew off one of her own arms if it meant writing this well. Ever. No disrespect to her - who wouldn't?
Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: As good as ever.
Review: The story, the plot, the surprises, the style, the FUN, the easy readings, the fine structure....were even better than ever.
(It's a pity the audio- cd and cassettes - is abridged, but I'm lucky to have the book to compare).
But the finest reason why You have to buy the book/audio is:
"That touch of GENIUS": The way Carella admits in the end, how he's being used as.....
A splended opening for the next 87th-precinct to come: "HARK". So save Your money, once more....
Rating:
Summary: Yet Another Great 87th Precinct Novel
Review: Through over fifty volumes over nearly fifty years, Ed McBain has been crafting his tales of the 87th Precinct. And far from running out of steam, the series just gets better. In "The Frumious Bandersnatch" (a rising pop diva is launching a new song based, improbably enough, on Lewis Carroll's "Jabberwocky" poem) Detective Steve Carella is back on center stage to solve a high profile kidnapping. But we also get to see some of the other regulars -- Cotton Hawes, Bert Kling, Fat Ollie Weeks (showing his new gentle, sensitive side), and Andy Parker (who shows us his old rough, insensitive nature). Throw in the FBI, music industry people, and the usual selection of criminals and you have another winning 87th Precinct story. There are some suprises here and there, backed with a narrative showcasing good solid police work. And McBain has a little fun skewering pundits who insist on reading their own obsessions into the Bandersnatch song.
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