Hark!

A Novel of the 87th Precinct

By: Ed McBain

Narrated by: Ron McLarty

Ed McBain concocts a brilliant and intricate thriller about a master criminal who haunts the city with cryptic passages from Shakespeare, directing the detectives of the 87th Precinct to a future crime -- if only they can figure out what he means.
The 87th Precinct gets a visit from one of the city's most accomplished criminals -- a thief known as the Deaf Man. Because he might be deaf. Or he might not. So little is known about the man who is harassing Detective Steve Carella with puzzling messages that it is hard to tell. But as soon as a pattern emerges, the detectives of the 87th are forced to hit the books and brush up on their Shakespeare -- because each new clue contains a line from one of his plays. Unless they can crack this complicated riddle and beat the Deaf Man at his own cat-and-mouse game, someone is going to end up hurt, or something will be stolen -- or both. It's always so hard to tell with the Deaf Man.
Ed McBain brings his most intelligent and devious criminal back to the 87th Precinct with a richly plotted and literary crime.©2004 HUI Corp.; (P)2004 Simon & Schuster Inc. AUDIOWORKS is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster Inc.

A disappointment

I've enjoyed most of the 87th precinct novels, but don't believe the publisher's hype on this one -- "brilliant and intricate" this is not. In fact, it's a one note tune that involves a series of messages sent to the precinct ad nauseum based on wordplay that taunts the detectives to solve a crime that is about to be committed, and it gets old fast. When the climax finally arrives, the commision of the crime is so simple as to be ludicrous and disappointing.