Candyland - Softcover

Evan Hunter

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0752844105 ISBN 13: 9780752844107

Publisher: Orion Paperbacks, 2001

Synopsis

Benjamin Thorpe is married, a father, a successful Los Angeles architect - and a man obsessed. Alone in New York City on business, he spends the empty hours of the night in a compulsive search for female companionship. His dizzying descent leads to an early morning confrontation in a mid-town brothel, and a subsequent searing self-revelation. Cathy Frese - aka Heidi the 'teenage' hooker - finishes up for the night and walks back to her studio apartment. But she never arrives. Her strangled, used and mutilated body is found in an alleyway the next morning. These two lost souls had crossed briefly in the night, and as the foggy events of the night before come into sharper focus, Benjamin Thorpe becomes an ever more possible suspect...

About this title

Review

Two of the best mystery writers in America team up in this interesting Law and Order-type experiment. In the first half of the book, a sexually voracious architect prowls the dark corners of New York looking for some action before he heads back to his frigid L.A. wife. In the second half, a prostitute's grisly rape-murder engages the attention of the guys (and girl) in blue. What's the connection between the murdered woman and the obsession-ridden architect? A string of coincidences that make the reader expect a surprise ending, of course. But it doesn't happen, which makes one wonder why the two authors (who happen to be the same person) bothered with the gimmick. Still, both Ed McBain (author of the 87th Precinct novels) and Evan Hunter (his more literary and much sexier incarnation) are old pros, so the pacing, character development, and thorough knowledge of police procedure and human nature that mark this tidy little mystery make it a pleasant enough diversion. A new McBain or Hunter is always cause for celebration, and Candyland, which is a lot grittier than most police procedurals, will titillate their many fans until either (or both) comes through with a new thriller. The distinct narrative voices of the multitalented writer are on view here; although the writing styles aren't different enough to make it more than a parlor trick, the result is still twice as good as most of the season's new offerings. --Jane Adams

About the Author

Ed McBain (1926-2005) was born Salvatore Lombino in New York. He changed his name to Evan Hunter and under that name is known as the author of The Blackboard Jungle and as the writer of the screenplay for Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. The 87th Precinct series numbers over fifty novels. McBain was a Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America and was one of three American writers to be awarded the CWA Diamond Dagger for lifetime achievement. Evan Hunter was born in New York City in 1926. He was widely recognised as one of America's most popular novelists, as well as a successful writer for television and cinema whose credits include the screenplay for Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. As Ed McBain, Evan became one of the most illustrious names in crime fiction. He was a holder of the Mystery Writers of America's coveted Grand Master Award. Evan died in June 2005 at the age of 79.

About this edition

• Publisher: Orion Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0752844105
• ISBN 13: 9780752844107
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 368