THE LAST DANCE: A Novel of the 87th Precinct. - Hardcover

McBain, Ed.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0340728051 ISBN 13: 9780340728055

Publisher: Simon & Schuster (2000)., 2000

Synopsis

First Edition. A fine copy in a fine condition dust jacket. Review copy with publisher's folded letter laid in. An 87th Precinct Novel.

About this title

Review

Penzler Pick, January 2000: When it comes to the novels of big-city cop life revolving around a single station house's daily dramas, Ed McBain wrote the book--50 of them, in fact. And whatever one thinks of the virtues of NYPD Blue, Hill Street Blues, or even Law and Order, there's the undeniable truth that McBain was there first, with his wonderfully reimagined New York. (Fans know that Isola is the stand-in for the borough of Manhattan, Riverhead for the Bronx, Majesta for Queens, Calm's Point for Brooklyn, and Bethtown for Staten Island.)

Here, as one hopes and expects, a body turns up within the opening pages. And also, as is often the case, Detective Steve Carella is there to spar with the medical examiner.

But there are other bodies and other police personnel in a story that takes the typical McBain route--no short cuts--that amounts to a crook's tour of the city he loves. With a cast of characters that ranges from socialites to hookers, The Last Dance takes in theater world chicanery, police brutality, and a pizza-joint massacre.

Ed McBain, also known as Evan Hunter, is the only American ever to have won the British Crimewriters Association's Diamond Dagger; he is a grand master of the Mystery Writers of America; his books have sold over a hundred million copies around the world; and he wrote the screenplay for Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, the Matthew Hope series of mystery novels with fairy tale and nursery rhyme titles (Rumpelstiltskin, Goldilocks, etc.), as well as the classic The Blackboard Jungle.

Celebrating the publication of the 50th novel in a series that stays amazingly fresh and incredibly readable is no small thing. This much-loved and seminal writer is a national treasure. If you're a mystery reader, you've undoubtedly read Ed McBain. If you haven't read one for a while, try this one. It's so good it will immediately send you scurrying back for the ones you missed. --Otto Penzler

About the Author

Ed McBain is one of the most illustrious names in crime fiction. In 1998 he was the first non-British author to be awarded the Crime Writers' Association/Cartier Diamond Dagger Award and he is also a holder of the Mystery Writers of America's coveted Grand Master Award. He has written more than eighty works of fiction, including the heralded 87th Precinct series and the acclaimed Matthew Hope series. His real name is Evan Hunter and he lives in Connecticut.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (2000).
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0340728051
• ISBN 13: 9780340728055
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 279