Rating: 
Summary: Pleasantly surprised
Review: I have never read anything by Ed McBain before so I read this book with no expectations, except the fact the length of the book meant I would finish it in an afternoon. By page 52 I was telling myself that I was convinced I knew what happened, how the instructor was impaired, etc. But, I was wrong in the end. I don't want to give anything about this book away, except for the fact that you shouldn't expect it to be like other Ed McBain books, as it isn't. But, in my opinion, you will definently enjoy reading it.
Rating:
Summary: Pleasantly surprised
Review: I have never read anything by Ed McBain before so I read this book with no expectations, except the fact the length of the book meant I would finish it in an afternoon. By page 52 I was telling myself that I was convinced I knew what happened, how the instructor was impaired, etc. But, I was wrong in the end. I don't want to give anything about this book away, except for the fact that you shouldn't expect it to be like other Ed McBain books, as it isn't. But, in my opinion, you will definently enjoy reading it.
Rating: 
Summary: Another Contractual Obligation Out of the Way!
Review: I'm not sure where the idea for this novella came from, but I suspect that McBain noted he still had another book on his contract with Carroll & Graf, and needed to kick something out that would free him to pursue other, more profitable handshakes. McBain writes so very much better than this book shows; please don't let this be your first Ed McBain read. Here's the premise: a female high school sophomore, out on a driving lesson with her driving instructor (who is primarily her art teacher) runs over and fatally injures a young woman leaving a church. Several nifty Mystery Writer's Almanac elements are thrown in - the driving instructor gets out of the car, stumbling and acting drunk or high (in spite of his student's protests that he hadn't been drinking, and she hadn't seen him take any drugs); the church the woman was coming out of was NOT the one she frequented on Sundays; and, the show-stopper, the woman who was killed by the impact of the car turns out to be the instructor's wife. Sounds like an excellent start to what should have been a great read. However, the red herrings that are obligatory to even the best mystery writer were so blatantly obvious, you'll be able to sniff out the ending by page 20 (which, I will admit, is almost a third of the way through this 72-pager...yeah, 72 pages). McBain didn't seem to know where to draw the line at character exploration - he spends more time defining the character, inside and out, who finds the dead woman's purse (and leads to her identity) than two of the main characters in the police station. The further I read the book, the more frustrated I became. The narrative is sparse, as a novella's narrative should be. At times, however, it appears as though McBain isn't even aware that he's writing a novella; there are passages that seem to be well-fleshed out for what would have been the "final product," vice what now appears to merely be an outline, not a complete story. External to the story itself, I was somewhat puzzled by the choice of English (vice American) spellings and grammar usage ("spoilt" and "an habitual..." are the ones that immediately pop to mind). This, married with the fact that the printed page surrounds dialogue with the apostrophe, rather than quotation marks (a tool used almost exclusively in British printing since the mid 1860s) made me look twice to see where the book was published. I know: Big deal, Misha; you didn't like the publishing run, either. Well, it IS a big deal when all you have to work with are 72 shabby pages of what you know could have and should have been a much better book.
Rating:
Summary: Short and Disappointing
Review: I've been reading 'Ed McBain' (really: Evan Hunter, of course) novels for at least fifteen years, and I've never been disappointed -- until now. At 72 pages, "Driving Lessons" is barely more than a short story. The characters are flat, and if you've been an 87th Precinct fan, you've read the dialogue before. I'm surprised and *very* disappointed than Evan Hunter would allow something like this to be published under the 'Ed McBain' name. Don't bother with it. Buy a reprint of an'87th Precinct' novel that you haven't read in 10 years and re-read that instead. You'll enjoy it a *lot* more.
Rating:
Summary: A Tale by the Master
Review: Rebecca Patton, 16, runs down a pedestrian during a driving lesson. The victim is a woman, who is in critical condition, and later dies. The driving instructor, Andrew Newell, is stoned; he should have applied his brake, but because of his condition, he is arrested for negligent homicide. The victim is discovered to be Newell's wife, Mary Beth. This is a short novel that is certainly not up to par with the 87th Precinct novels, but it was never intended to be. Ed McBain is a master is suspense, and that suspense is evident in "Driving Lessons".
Rating:
Summary: A Tale by the Master
Review: Rebecca Patton, 16, runs down a pedestrian during a driving lesson. The victim is a woman, who is in critical condition, and later dies. The driving instructor, Andrew Newell, is stoned; he should have applied his brake, but because of his condition, he is arrested for negligent homicide. The victim is discovered to be Newell's wife, Mary Beth. This is a short novel that is certainly not up to par with the 87th Precinct novels, but it was never intended to be. Ed McBain is a master is suspense, and that suspense is evident in "Driving Lessons".
Rating:
Summary: Short and Sweet
Review: Sixteen year old Rebecca Patton strikes and kills a female pedestrian, during her driving lesson. When the police arrive, they find her instructor, Andrew Newell, stumbling and totally disoriented. At first the police believe he's drunk. But he passes the breathalyzer test. Then they figure he must have taken drugs, but Rebecca insists that he didn't take or drink anything, during her lesson. The police become even more suspicious, when the identity of the dead woman is discovered. It's Mary Beth Newell, Andrew's wife. Ed McBain is always a master of mystery and suspense and never disappoints. This well written, short novella is very tense, with smart, crisp dialogue, interesting characters, that subtle feeling that everything isn't as it seems and an unexpected twist at the end. Driving Lessons is a fast read and pure enjoyment. What else could you ask for?
Rating:
Summary: Short and Sweet
Review: Sixteen year old Rebecca Patton strikes and kills a female pedestrian, during her driving lesson. When the police arrive, they find her instructor, Andrew Newell, stumbling and totally disoriented. At first the police believe he's drunk. But he passes the breathalyzer test. Then they figure he must have taken drugs, but Rebecca insists that he didn't take or drink anything, during her lesson. The police become even more suspicious, when the identity of the dead woman is discovered. It's Mary Beth Newell, Andrew's wife. Ed McBain is always a master of mystery and suspense and never disappoints. This well written, short novella is very tense, with smart, crisp dialogue, interesting characters, that subtle feeling that everything isn't as it seems and an unexpected twist at the end. Driving Lessons is a fast read and pure enjoyment. What else could you ask for?
Rating:
Summary: Flunking your 'Driving Lesson'
Review: The idea for this story is intriguing, but the result is as shallow and unconvincing as a 30-minute written-for-TV plot rather than what might have been an interesting story. The plot hinges on the victim stepping into the path of a car at the precise moment necessary to be struck and killed. Half-a-second early, or half-a-second late, and the opportunity is lost by a car length. Yet, McBain suggests the car driver knows the precise instant the victim will step without a glance for oncoming traffic or other hazards into the path of a car moving at 44 feet per second. Sorry, that just doesn't cut it. Granted, life is sometimes inexplicably strange. But, the plot in this story -- homicide by car-pedestrian accident -- asks too much. It could have been a great story, the delusion of two people who fear their dreams may be impossible and desperately grasp each other in the vain hope of making something come true, but McBain asks too much of the reader by using an basically implausible plot. McBain is an obviously talented writer, his 87th Precinct saga is the most celebrated police stories in the history of crime fiction. But, it sometimes takes more talent and ability to write a good 72-page short story than a competent full-length work. It would be grossly unfair to judge his work on the basis of this book. And, unless you are addicted to the "reality" of tv-plots, it would be a waste of time to read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Flunking your 'Driving Lesson'
Review: The idea for this story is intriguing, but the result is as shallow and unconvincing as a 30-minute written-for-TV plot rather than what might have been an interesting story. The plot hinges on the victim stepping into the path of a car at the precise moment necessary to be struck and killed. Half-a-second early, or half-a-second late, and the opportunity is lost by a car length. Yet, McBain suggests the car driver knows the precise instant the victim will step without a glance for oncoming traffic or other hazards into the path of a car moving at 44 feet per second. Sorry, that just doesn't cut it. Granted, life is sometimes inexplicably strange. But, the plot in this story -- homicide by car-pedestrian accident -- asks too much. It could have been a great story, the delusion of two people who fear their dreams may be impossible and desperately grasp each other in the vain hope of making something come true, but McBain asks too much of the reader by using an basically implausible plot. McBain is an obviously talented writer, his 87th Precinct saga is the most celebrated police stories in the history of crime fiction. But, it sometimes takes more talent and ability to write a good 72-page short story than a competent full-length work. It would be grossly unfair to judge his work on the basis of this book. And, unless you are addicted to the "reality" of tv-plots, it would be a waste of time to read this book.
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