Candyland : A Novel In Two Parts

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Summary: Two Stories, One Murder
Review: "Candyland" is not so much a novel as a concept piece, the idea of two authors, both the same man, writing separate novellas that intersect at a specific event. Evan Hunter wrote "The Blackboard Jungle," the screenplay for Hitchcock's "The Birds," and a slew of serious novels. Ed McBain, Hunter's best-known pseudonym, is the author of the 87th Precinct crime novels. "Candyland" is a McBain crime novel, too, about the murder of a hooker. But it is also a Hunter portrait, of a man suspected of killing her.

Ed McBain novels are especially interesting when they stray from the 87th Precinct. "Downtown," a dark comedy of a man lost in the big bad city a la "After Hours" but with a body count and better jokes, was up there with Elmore Leonard's finest. "The Sentries" was a bizarre Cold War paranoia tale with a remarkably downbeat and unpleasant tone for airport fiction. "Candyland" is a brilliant and clever detour from the fictional environs of the 87th Precinct's Isola to the reality of New York City, and one of his best crime stories yet.

The tone is the same as in the 87th Precinct novels, dark and funny and acutely sensitive to how police officers operate. In the second half of the novel, the criminal investigation part written by "McBain," two detectives have a problem questioning a witness. The guy turns to the woman after they are done:

" 'We ought to arrange some signals we can use. If we are going to be working together any amount of time. Like if I touch my nose, for example, it'll mean you're Good Cop, I'm Bad Cop. Or if I call you Em instead of Emma...'

" 'I told you I don't like being called Em.'

" 'That's just what I'm saying. If I call you Em in front of somebody we're questioning, that'll mean Don't go there. Same as if you call me James. Don't go there, leave it be, shift the topic to something else.'"

The female detective here, Emma Boyle, is an interesting creation. She's not the typical gorgeous McBain dame with a positive mental outlook on life and love, but somewhat squirrelly and resentful. She's had a hard time with her brother officers, and she's having a hard time with her ex-husband, a rich philanderer keeping her child from her on a shabby pretext. She blames him for "raping" her during the last two years of their marriage, because his affair meant their marriage sex took place under false pretenses.

Sex is what it's about for these vice cops, and that's what the initial half of the novel, or the first novella, written by Hunter, is all about, too; a profile of a day in the life of a man with a problem he is unwilling to control. This is Benjamin Thorpe, successful architect who becomes a murder suspect in the second half of the book. Again, the writing here is subtle, detailing in matter-of-fact prose just how far gone this forty-something architect named Benjamin Thorpe has gone in pursuit of orgasms. Some reviewers here say Hunter's descriptions of Thorpe's activities cross the line into porn. It is certainly intense writing, but more cautionary than erotic, more ugly than graphic, designed to make Thorpe's desires read as the sickness-inspired impulses rather than vicariously thrilling to the reader.

Some people claim they knew how this was going to turn out, but I was fooled. Does the dual nature of "Candyland" work? Better than expected. The two-novella conjunction plays off very well, the two-author format even more so. The different approaches of the writer (just-the-facts McBain versus the deeper and more psychological territory of Hunter) dovetail nicely. In the end, you have a story with but one central character, that being Eros Unbound, and what it does to distend the mind and distort the character. It's dark and heavy, but never dull, and the story stays with you after it's over.

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Summary: Loved the McBain/Hunter Contrast
Review: As a long-time fan of the 87th precinct novels by McBain, I was interested in seeing what the contrast would be like between McBain and Hunter. I really enjoyed this novel; surprisingly, I actually enjoyed the Hunter half at least as much as the McBain section. In fact, this novel led me to other Hunter books that I had been missing out on; I thoroughly enjoyed his "The Moment She Was Gone" novel, as well.

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Summary: A Powerful Story in the Hands of a Master
Review: Candlyland, is a story told in two parts by Evan Hunter and Ed McBain. In Part I, Benjamin Thorpe, a married father and grandfather and successful Los Angeles architect is in New York City overnight on business. What his family and associates don't know, is that he is a sex addict. Now alone and at loose ends in Manhattan, he seeks female companionship, first in the hotel bar, then on the phone and finally at a "massage parlor". His trip to the bordello ends badly and we last see him, beaten and bloody, hailing a taxi. As Part II opens, we find police detectives working on the homicide of a call girl, found beaten, strangled and brutally raped. As they begin gathering information, they find she had some trouble last night with a John and that John turns out to be Benjamin Thorpe....As many know and as the jacket flap reveals, Evan Hunter and Ed McBain are the same author. In Candyland, he begins Part I as Evan Hunter, drawing you into the story and building the suspense. Then he smoothly turns the plot over to Ed McBain in Part II, as the case is investigated and the tension increases. Together, these two voices create a compelling, riveting novel, full of strong characters, powerful scenes and a shocking, unexpected twist at the end. His writing is crisp, spare and gritty, with an unrivaled ear for dialogue. Candyland is Evan Hunter and Ed McBain at their very best. This is a well written, tense page turner, easily read in one sitting and a book mystery/suspense thriller fans shouldn't miss.

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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.

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Summary: Good book from the master
Review: In part one we meet Benjamin Thorpe, a successful LA architect in New York for a short business trip. Benjamin Thorpe is also obsessed with sex. The night before he's due to return to LA he goes on the prowl. However things don't work out well and he finds himself beaten, robbed, and thrown into the gutter. But someone comes along to help him and Benjamin Thorpe finds out something about himself. Something that he's suppressed ever since he was seven years old.

In part two we meet NY Detective Emma Boyle. Emma is a rape squad detective who's been assigned a rape/murder case of a young prostitute. A prostitute who had dealings with Benjamin Thorpe the same night of the murder.

Even though this book is written by the same man, Evan Hunter, he uses both of his writing personas. Part 1 is written in "Evan Hunter" mode, which is more introspective and literary, and Part 2 is written in "Ed McBain" mode which is more nuts-and-bolts police procedural. However in both parts the characterization is vivid, the dialog crisp, and writing well done. Mr. Hunter seems to be exploring sexual obsession lately as can be seen in his books "Criminal Conversations" and "Privileged Conversations" and now this one. I'd like to see him move away from this area since I think he's explored it enough but that doesn't make this book any less good. It's not an 87th Precinct and shouldn't be approached in that light but it is a very good read. I'd recommend it.

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Summary: Wow! He really has two styles of writing
Review: Part 1: The Rain May Never Fall Till After Sundown by Evan Hunter. Los Angeles architect Benjamin Thorpe visits New York on business. However, he wants a bite of the Big Apple desiring wild sex, which he cannot obtain except by phone from his prim spouse. He picks up a trio of beauties in Manhattan, but instead of the orgy he has dreamed of having, Benjamin finds himself humiliatingly awaking on the streets of New York.

Part 2: By Eight, the Morning Fog Must Disappear by Ed McBain. Special Victims NYPD detective Emma Boyle may have personal problems, but dives head first into the murder-rape case of a prostitute. The preliminary evidence points toward a middle aged John, who turns out to be Benjamin. As the case against Benjamin turns stronger, someone, perhaps an obsessed Benjamin, breaks into the hooker?s apartment, leaving Emma to wonder if another mark killed the victim.

CANDYLAND is an incredible two-part novel that combines the superb, but widely diverse styles of ?two? great authors, Ed McBain and Evan Hunter. The story line is superb as the classic Hunter story line easily feeds into a classic McBain plot. The different writing styles appear so precisely clear and well-written, readers will wonder if the author(s) suffers from multiple personality disorder. Beyond the terrific thriller aspects is a gritty look at a person whose sexual proclivities take him over the edge. A Hunter-McBain book by any other name is simply a triumph for fans of either author.

Harriet Klausner