Friday, March 18, 2011

Books read in 2011: No. 12 - He Who Hesitates

by Ed McBain

Started: March 18
Finished: March 19

Notes: My reading has been kind of heavy of late, though interesting. Still, I wanted to shakes things up a bit with something short but also easy to read. To that end, I'd been thinking of picking up another Ed McBain police procedural. I first discovered McBain four or five years ago, then went through a phase where I read a dozen or so of his novels. The last year or two I've stayed away because I was beginning to tire a little bit of McBain after having read so much of his work, but when I saw this paperback in a used book store for only 50 cents, I knew I had to snag it up.

Mini review: This is one of the earlier 87th Precinct novels, I believe from 1965, and it's different from any of the others I've read. The story is entirely told from a criminal's point of view, quite possibly making it unique in this series of novels. In fact, this is barely an 87th Precinct story in many ways. The few familiar characters who appear only show up for very brief appearances, and none of the plot focuses around them. Interesting.

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