A review of the complete 87th Precint series part1

Cop Hater begins, unapologetically, by committing one of the oldest cardinal sins in killing off the very same character the author has just spent time introducing us to in the very first chapter.

Mike Reardon is a cop, but we barely get a chance to know anything about him other than he is a family man, before he is cruelly treated to two bullets to the back of the head by an unknown assailant.

His death occurs in the 87th precinct, and it is this event that first introduces us to the good ol’ boys of the ‘87 that we will go on to know so well over the course of this series - amongst them, Detective Steve Carella, his partner for this adventure, Detective Hank Bush, and of course their boss, Lieutenant Byrnes.

Someone in the city has a grudge against cops and before the week is out, at least one more will end up lying in the morgue. With the clock ticking and time rapidly running out, it soon falls on the boys of the 87th to catch the killer before he, or she, can strike again, but with no clues and nothing to go on how do you track down a killer?

This first book in the 87th Precinct series is a worthy introduction to Ed McBain’s most famous series of novels and even after all these years, is still an absolute pleasure to read. Many of the elements that make this series so great are first introduced here - and there is even a cameo by rookie patrolman, Bert Kling, who, as long- time fans will know - will go on to play a major role in future novels in this series.

At its heart, the book is a murder mystery, a classic Whodunnit, all wrapped up in 

the guise of a police procedural, but it is also much more than that; it also serves not just as an introduction to the city itself in which all of these novels are set, but also to just a few of the main characters themselves who will go on to feature so prominently throughout this series.

I sometimes think the word, ‘timeless’, can often become a little over-used - especially when it comes to good writing - but the use of the word here perfectly describes and encapsulates this novel; one which hasn’t aged a bit in all the time that has elapsed since it was first released.

Reading this again, after so long, brought back so many memories, that I simply can’t wait to revisit the next book in the series. In the meantime though, Cop-hater scores a strong, solid 5/5 stars from me, and all I can say is bring on the next one...