Murder Room
8 total works
Irritating though he was, Lester Henderson had it all when he strode up to rehearse his keynote address in the darkness of a downtown theatre. Widely tipped to be the next mayor and possessing a nice line in catalogue-casual daywear, Henderson stood four-square facing his glorious future. But five shots later and his lifeblood was seeping away. He had been gunned down by persons unknown from stage-right...At that point he became Ollie Weeks' problem. But this savage crime is suddenly overshadowed by a deed even more repugnant. Ollie's life work is his novel. Honed by countless rejection letters, it is finally ready to be released to the general populace. But then the one and only manuscript disappears, leaving Ollie to head off in pursuit of the thief. A thief who is convinced that Ollie's work contains the secret location of a hoard of hidden diamonds...
Diva disappeared...This was supposed to be the night that launched a new pop idol into the firmament. Tamar Valparaiso has it all: young and beautiful with the body and voice of an angel. And just as importantly she is going to hit all the right demographics. With a Mexican father she's going to walk the Hispanic market and her Russian mother ensured that her blonde hair will not be scaring off the Britney fans. So, tonight, she is going to make debut performance of her first single on a luxury motor-launch in the heart of the city. But this is when she becomes Detective Steve Carella's problem. Halfway through her performance - and watched by millions of fans - masked men drag Tamar off the stage and into the bowels of a waiting speedboat. Now the city is in uproar and the responsibility of getting her back safely lies on Carella's shoulders..."The Frumious Bandersnatch" once again demonstrates that when it comes to non-stop pace, wit and action, Ed McBain is still the master of the crime world.
It started with the blind violinist - shot twice through the head at point-blank range in the alley outside his dingy restaurant. But it's only when the omelette lady gets shot with the same gun in the same way twenty-four hours later that the police really start to take notice. But Steve Carella and the boys at the 87th Precinct always seem to be one step behind the killer, for while the gun is the same, none of the victims seem to be related in any way. And why is the killer heard to introduce himself as 'Chuck' before pumping bullets into their bodies? Fiddlers is Ed McBain at his best - a twisting, turning puzzle book where nothing is as it seems and the pace never lets up. It once again proves McBain to be one of the true greats of modern crime writing.
Cassandra Lee Ridley is an ex-air force pilot who now scrapes a living flying low-level contraband over the border to Mexico. But, Cassandra has a taste for the better things in life and when she gets offered a $200,000 contract to fly what she assumes are drugs, she takes a deep breath and agrees to do it. The job goes perfectly, the deliveries are made and the money paid to the Mexican drug lords. One problem though. All $1.9 million dollars of the payment are fake - and printed in Teheran, of all places. The Mexicans soon want their money - and Cassandra is their first stop and first fatality. And when her naked body is thrown to the lions in a zoo in the 87th Precinct, New York, it becomes Detective Steve Carella's problem. Soon, the whole world has gone mad, the Mexicans are on the rampage, two beautiful blond girls are killing to their own agenda, a New York drugs dealer gets sucked in - and spat out - and even Arab terrorists make their own play...
Gloria Stanford was very sexy, very rich and very, very dead. Found in her plush, city apartment, she had been shot twice in the heart. All her credit cards and i.d. were gone but apart from that there seemed no motive at all. It's only when the detective-in-charge, Steve Carella, starts to receive bizarre cryptic notes through the mail that he realises that something bigger than a simple homicide is going on. For it seems the 'Deaf Man' is back - a notorious crook and killer who has a morbid fascination with puzzles and anagrams. Long thought dead, he's back on the loose and wants his long-hidden millions back...Thus begins a roller-coaster ride of betrayal, double-bluff and violence with an enormous golden haul at the end of it...
Evan Hunter is known for his powerful novels and screenplays. Ed McBain is known for portraying the soul of the cop. They have distinct narrative voices, but both are bestselling storytellers who have received worldwide acclaim. Now, in Candyland, they join for the first time to write a single story -- a powerful novel of obsession. Benjamin Thorpe is married, a father, a successful Los Angeles architect -- and a man obsessed. Alone in New York City on business, he spends the empty hours of the night in a compulsive search for female companionship. His dizzying descent leads to an early morning confrontation in a midtown bordello and a searing self-revelation. Part I of Candyland is a fever-pitched search for identity, seen through Benjamin's obsessed eyes and told in classic Evan Hunter style. Part II opens in Ed McBain territory. Three detectives are discussing a homicide. The victim is a young prostitute whose path crossed Benjamin Thorpe's the night before. Emma Boyle of the Special Victims Unit is assigned to the case. As the foggy events of the previous night come into sharper focus, Thorpe becomes an ever more possible suspect. The detailed police investigation and excruciating suspense are classic Ed McBain. Shocking, bold, and compulsively readable, Candyland is a groundbreaking literary event.
ALICE IN JEOPARDY is the first novel in an exciting new series. Each novel is set in a different location featuring a contemporary woman whose life or children are suddenly endangered. The woman must find in herself the resources to save both her children and herself. Alice is a recently widowed young woman living in Florida with her two small children. She has been utterly devastated by her late husband's death in a boating accident, and is struggling to re-build her life. And as if life can't get any worse, her children are kidnapped. Surrounded by police fighting inter-departmental battles, Alice ultimately has to resort to finding and saving her children herself. ALICE IN JEOPARDY is a truly gripping book, absolutely jam-packed with twists and turns, culminating in a totally unexpected ending.
Tragedy strikes when 16-year-old Rebecca Patton fatally injures a woman while having a driving lesson. The driving instructor, Andrew Newley, appears to be drunk at the crime scene, but when the victim's handbag is recovered, it is discovered that she is Newley's wife.