Rating: 
Summary: A Major disappointment
Review: Having been away from both McBain and Hunter for a while, I thought this would be a good way to renew my reading relationship. Not exactly. Too graphic for its own good, it titilates instead of involves. Also, it should have been edited better. On several occasions it keeps referring to November 23, 1963 as the day JFK was shot. While not critical to the story, it is evidence that all involved were asleep at the switch on this one. Spend your time better elsewhere.
Rating: 
Summary: This was awful; a complete waste of time
Review: I have previously been very satisfied reading books by Evan Hunter; so I thought I would be pleased reading the combo novel. What a disappointment. I couldn't wait to finish; even thought of just stopping. Stories seem too disjointed; could tell that there were two different writers. I wondered if it was even the same story. I figured it might be a "Law & Order" type breakout but was sadly disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Boring disappointment
Review: I have read with enjoyment dozens of his books, so I was shocked to find this one boring and disgusting.I don't think anyone would have published it if it were by any less well regarded author. I suppose porno could be interesting, but this one isn't.
Rating: 
Summary: Candyland
Review: I must say how much I enjoyed this book. The first half (the Evan Hunter section) moves like a runaway train! I literally couldn't stop reading until I'd finished the whole piece in one sitting. Hunters' insight into the world of the sexually obsessed is so REAL you can feel empathy with what is really a rather loathsome persona. The McBain section is more conventional but never less than excellent. There is a palpable relaxation in pace, but this suits the unfolding nature of the plot. I've read a lot of McBain before but never dipped into his Evan Hunter books. This book has convinced me to try some.
Rating:
Summary: Major Disappointment
Review: I read Evan Hunter's "Mothers and Daughters" when I was a child, became a fan, and have since read every book he's written as Hunter or Ed McBain. I've loved the 87th Precinct books as the characters remained consistant and the storylines good, though Hunter/McBain is unfortunately less enjoyable with each book. I still find myself somewhat excited to read each new release and Candyland was no exception. However, this book was awful! I'm as open-minded as anyone, but it seemed he used the over abundance of sex and profanity as the core of the book and the storyline as an afterthought. The ending was predictable and the characters completely boring. I had no sympathy for Benjamin Thorpe, and found myself wanting him to be killed off to add some substance to the book. This may have been my last book by Evan Hunter/Ed McBain after forty years of faithful readership.
Rating:
Summary: Two Times The Crime!
Review: I thought nothing could be better than a new Ed McBain book, but I was wrong...a new book by Ed McBain AND Evan Hunter! They share the same body and the same mind but the two writers have differing styles. Both are fantastic! I applaud them both and so will you when you finish Candyland. Like Law & Order, the book is a cleanly divided story and like Law & Order, things are not always what they appear. Buy it, read it and thank heavens for Ed and Evan.
Rating:
Summary: ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Review: I tried very hard to read this turkey.......basically it amounts to pages and pages of soft core porn and Thorpe's fat ego......I could not get any further than 60 pages before BOOOOOOORRRRRRREEEEEEDDDDDOOOOMMMM began to set in.....this guy's ego knows no bounds......and the part about his little black book being so encrypted that sometimes he could not figure it out was laughable......he is God's gift to the poor women of this world who just cannot seem to get enough of him?????? and yet Hunter describes him as apparently not a head turner.... I normally enjoy mysteries and thrillers but this one had neither.....I did not get into the McBain part of the book because by page 60 I could care less what happened to Thorpe.....or anything else that pertained to this book.......it is voyeurism at its worst.....
Rating:
Summary: Two?of the best mystery authors??
Review: I was under the impression that Evan Hunter IS Ed McBain???NO??
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I'm a great fan of Ed McBain's 87th Precinct and Matthew Hope novels, but I really didn't enjoy this at all. I kept reading, hoping something exciting would happen but it didn't. There was too much sex and I guessed 'who dunnit' which was unusual for an Ed McBain book and really annoying.Really not worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: Second half ruins novel. Good concept, bad execution.
Review: I've never read McBain before, but I have read three Hunter novels. So the first half of this book, the part by Hunter, is just what I expected and quite interesting...The first half of the book ends with us realizing how obsessed Thorpe is and wondering what steps he will take to satify his desires and also wondering if he will ever get caught. Then the second half begins and the book is ruined. Several detectives are investigating the murder of a prostitute. Thorpe turns out to be one of a few suspects. The detectives research more of Thorpe, and the two worlds connect a little but never collide. I kept waiting for Thorpe to be a significant player in the second half of the book. But he never is, and thus the first half of the book is a waste. And so is the second half and its own extremely weak conclusion.
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