The Con Man

Ed McBain wrote 55 "87th Precinct" novels between beginning in 1956 and going until his death in 2005. "The Con Man" is the 4th in the series and was written in 1957. There are many cons going on in the city ranging from a young girl being conned out of $5 to a businessman losing $600 in a con game. Steve Carella of the "87" is investigating the murders of 2 girls who have washed to shore and are termed floaters. They are part of an even more sinister con man who lures young women into marrying him, cleaning out their bank accounts, and them murdering them. Will Carella be able to nab this con man before he kills another girl? Carella's wife, Teddy, is instrumental in helping he husband solve the case. If you are familiar with the series you will know that Teddy is a deaf mute. Other detetives in this one include Arthur Brown, Meyer Meyer, and Bert Kling. This is another great early novel by the master of the police procedural, Ed McBain. "The Con Man" is highly recommended

McBain has done it again. Another great book. Steve Carella is investigating the murders of young women who are floating to shore. Can Steve catch him before he strikes again???? There are several different cons going on at the same time. The others involve money and not murders. A tattoo artist gets in the middle along with Mrs. Carella. A good, short read that will make you want to read very fast. I nearly just scanned thelast twenty or so pages because I wanted to find out what the ending was. I think you will enjoy this very much.

I confess, I've been in love with Teddy Carella for years which makes this book a special treat. Her presence is felt all through this book as the guys at the Precinct find themselves faced with all manners of con men. One of them is a serial killer who targets lonely women. When she recognizes the killer, Teddy follows him while trying to leave clues and messages to signal husband Steve. First published in '57, we get to see African American cop Arthur Brown facing off against a hotel clerk who won't serve blacks and we meet tattoo artist Charlie Chen who is not a Chinese detective but also has several worthless sons like the venerable Charlie Chan. This is another terrific entry in the best cop series around.

I first caught on to Ed Mcbain by accident with his Matthew Hope novels, I liked them so much I decided to find other works of his. That's when I found the 87th Precinct Series. I thought I'd never find the original because it was over 40 years old. Fortunately I was wrong. The description of an imaginary city is phenomenal, each character is slowly developed and revealed to you. I loved this first novel and look forward to reading the remainder of the series.