The Last Dance

As a young fan of the 87th, I must say that of all the books I have read, none have let me down. This book was no exception. There is nothing bad about this book and I wonder why some of the reviewers, even those that have been longer fans of series than I have, have said this is a stale and slow book. I enjoyed it immensely and think this is another winner. I will admit, however, that the plot isn't the greatest but this is easily overlooked once the reader falls into the book. The thing I liked the most is how the characters are more thouroughly described and presented. From the loud mouthed producer to the greedy and rude daughter of Andrew Hale. I was most impressed by how McBain made Fat Ollie Weeks more humanized and likable. Unfortunately, this probably wont be one of the most memorable and talked about of the books, but every fan of the series should at least read it and take it into consideration.

McBain writes about oranges, apples, mangoes and lotsa other fruits, but in a way that transcends the genre of fruit fiction. The 87th precinct is a place for all the people who don't want to just eat the watermelon, but rather want to pour a gallon of vodka in it and get drunk at the same time. This reading experience is even better than a drunken fruit frenzy. 50 novels and not a stinker in the bunch. All intelligently written, full of dark humor, and having all the precision of a scalpel. His books, and McBain himself, deserve all the praise they get.

Ed McBain has done it again. The book was entertaining. Unfortunately, it was too short, and left me wanting more. I suppose that's a good thing... Anyway, BRAVA.

I have been reading about the 87th Precinct, Steve Carella, Meyer Meyer et al. since my college years. I think I have read them all. I keep waiting for Ed MCBain to go stale, his plots become disorganized and the suspense to ebb. Well 40 plus years of reading and I have yet to be disappointed. "The Last Dance" has all the same characters, but I found the plot to be more intriguing and the suspense lasted until the end. Mr McBain's description of the City on page 91 is alone worth the price of the book. Ed McBain keep on writing, you keep me young.

Ed McBain (aka Evan Hunter) has done it really well this time. My favorite detectives, Carella and Meyer, are teamed up. But Kling, Hawes, Brown, Willis, et.al., make enough appearances to make the book quite satisfying. There's nothing really unusual about the plot or even about the writing. It's just that McBain always performs almost flawlessly. He's the absolute master of dialogue, whatever the subject. (And he writes better as McBain than he does as Hunter -- go figure!) I love reading all the 87th Precinct books; I've been through the whole series (starting with the forgettable Cop Hater) several times. The Last Dance is as good as any of the non-Deaf Man books up until now (with the possible exceptions of Lady, Lady, I Did It and Hail to the Chief). And at last Carella has turned 40! For someone who started reading these books when she was about 14 and now is 56, that's no small thing.If you're already an 87th fan, you're going to read this one no matter what I say. If you're not -- try it, you'll like it!