The Pusher : A Novel of the 87th Precinct

Rating:
Summary: YOU SHOULD PUSH TO READ "PUSHER"!!!!!
Review: Another great book by Ed McBain. Have just started reading this series and have a long way to go, but I am really looking forward to it if they are all like this one. Steve Carella and Bert Kling are back. They make a great team. They are trying to find who killed a young man, then others are killed to cover up the first killing. I don't want to name names as would take away from the book. The ending is good. McBain can make you feel like you are there. You can nearly feel the the thoughts and actions as they take place. A fairly short book that is quick to read. A very good mystery.

Rating:
Summary: He Who Hesitates
Review: Of McBain's 70 to 80 books, this is without a doubt his best. This is what storytelling is all about. Simple characters, doing simple things and making it impossible to put the book down . I'm curious to know whether Evan Hunter is still alive or just retired from writing.

Rating:
Summary: He Who Hesitates
Review: Of McBain's 70 to 80 books, this is without a doubt his best. This is what storytelling is all about. Simple characters, doing simple things and making it impossible to put the book down . I'm curious to know whether Evan Hunter is still alive or just retired from writing.

Rating:
Summary: 'Pusher'--another McBain winner!
Review: Published in 1956, "Pusher" by Ed McBain, one of the author's famed 87th Precinct mysteries,
may be a bit dated, but the sheer power of writing and the abilitiy of the author makes this one a
worthy read. McBain's legions of fans (most of whom have, no doubt, already read this one)
certainly found this to be a choice selection.

This time we find Steve Carella and Lieutenant Peter Byrnes again up to their precinct necks in
crime. As the title suggests, they're investigating the death of a drug dealer. The autopsy had said
suicide, but Carella and Byrnes know better.

And with the speed of some sound writing style and
excellent plot development, Mc Bain carries his readers full tilt. There's no resting; the pace is
terrific! Aided by first-class dialogue development "Pusher" is quick and easy to read. One doesn't
have to be totally dedicated to McBain to enjoy this one. Remember: it's quick and easy. And good.
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Rating:
Summary: A quick read that is enjoyable, slightly informative
Review: This text is a mere 158 pages and it is easily consumable in one sitting. This, of course, is an 87th precinct mystery, and McBain follows Detective Carella as he investigates a murder that was poorly diguised as a suicide (a noose had been placed around the victim's neck). The negative thing about reviewing a mystery novel is that I can say very little without giving away major portions of the plot. Anyway, what I liked about this text was my reading of it as if it were a historical text. And, to me, it was. I was able, through McBain's direction, to enter into the seedy side of life in NYC during the fifties. I enjoyed reading the dialogue about heroin because all of the slang terms for heroin and needles, that are utilized in interrogations in the text, are familiar to me (thus still in some usage). As a writer, I really love some of McBain's descriptions and narrative technique, while at times his texts can seem highly rushed (gotta make those greenbacks).

I'll end this review with a passage that I especially enjoyed: "Oh sure, a corpse breaks up the dull monotony of the midnight tour; and it's nice to renew acquaintances with old friends from Homicide South; and maybe the photographer has a few choice samples of French postcard art to pass around; but all in all, nobody has much heartfelt enthusiasm for a suicide at 2:11. Especially when it's cold," (McBain: 13).