Started: April 1
Finished: April 2
Notes: I just finished an 87th Precinct novel and I didn't come away completely satisfied, so I thought I'd give another one a go. This is an older one, usually my favorites, from 1976. This novel centers around the wedding night of Detective Bert Kling and his bride, who goes missing.
Mini review: Now that's what I'm talking about! From beginning to end of this short novel, the action never lets up. Right in chapter one, things move along well, then continue through to the last page. And when I say "action," I don't mean there were constant fist fights and gun shootings and the like, but that the text flows so swiftly one can hardly keep up with it. This is the type of novel that makes me love McBain and the 87th Precinct all over again. It has to top my list of favorites.
so I'll keep in mind to have a look more at the earlier ones when I pick them up.
ReplyDeleteCharles, anything pre-1980 is usually top notch, but my absolute favorites are the ones from the late 1950s.
ReplyDeleteIt's kind of funny, read enough of these and you can see over time the influence of the publishers wanting larger and larger books. Until about 1980, most of the novels only have a single plot, but after that there are more and more plots within one book, and they become more and more complex. Maybe this one McBain trying to stretch himself, but personally I think it was publishers wanting longer works at the time.