Now this, ladies and gentlemen, is what mystery and suspense is all about.
Ed McBain’s THE CON MAN is the fourth installment in his “87th Precinct” series of books, which follows a group of patrolmen and detectives who work in a fictionalized version of New York City. The story opens as the detectives are attempting to track down information on two separate crimes – one deals with two small-time con men who are swindling people out of their money, while the other concerns dead bodies that are washing up onshore.
Having never read McBain prior to this, I had no idea what to expect. What I found is a writer who was immensely talented. The book itself is only 160 pages in length, and yet I’m left amazed by how much story McBain was able to tell in such a small amount of space. There are no wasted words here, just a lean-and-mean noirish mystery that slowly lays out the cases the precinct is working and then ratchets up the suspense as the pages speed by. I cannot convey to you how tense the last third of this book is, as the points of view change between the police, the con men, the marks, and the killer. It really must be seen to be believed.
And there are many other noteworthy aspects of McBain’s writing. He really seems to have a knack for dialogue, which is showcased by long passages of characters’ conversations that just feel real, more so than other books I’ve read lately. McBain also incorporated humor throughout THE CON MAN, none of which seems forced or contrived. The reader can’t help but smile at some of the lines he slyly inserts here and there. And, as odd as this will sound for a mystery/suspense novel, the prose is almost lyrical in spots. It just sings. Here’s a passage that hit the right note in the context of the scene being described, in which a man is doing his best to con a woman:
…she leaned over and whispered the three most expensive words in the English language.
“I love you.”
And he looked at her with tender guile and answered with the three cheapest words in the English language.
“I love you.”
Another thing that made THE CON MAN interesting – a technique I haven’t seen before – is the use of “documentation” throughout the story. Police reports, dental records, medical charts, newspaper articles. All of these and more make an appearance, allowing the reader to look at the same information and clues the police are analyzing, in hopes of figuring out whodunit.
Two final items worth noting: first, early on (let’s say eight-to-ten pages toward the beginning) the story became entrenched in very detailed police procedure, so much so that I nearly put the book down. I offer this up so that those who track down THE CON MAN don’t get turned off to an otherwise outstanding book; and second, even though this is part of a “series,” I can honestly say that it works as a standalone novel and that I never felt like I was missing anything from the previous books.
Unfortunately, McBain’s THE CON MAN is out of print, but copies can be found for $1 at AbeBooks (which is a helluva deal considering you can’t even buy a candy bar for that much these days, and even if you could, it wouldn’t be as fulfilling as this book).
(9.5 out of 10)
Ed McBain’s THE CON MAN is the fourth installment in his “87th Precinct” series of books, which follows a group of patrolmen and detectives who work in a fictionalized version of New York City. The story opens as the detectives are attempting to track down information on two separate crimes – one deals with two small-time con men who are swindling people out of their money, while the other concerns dead bodies that are washing up onshore.
Having never read McBain prior to this, I had no idea what to expect. What I found is a writer who was immensely talented. The book itself is only 160 pages in length, and yet I’m left amazed by how much story McBain was able to tell in such a small amount of space. There are no wasted words here, just a lean-and-mean noirish mystery that slowly lays out the cases the precinct is working and then ratchets up the suspense as the pages speed by. I cannot convey to you how tense the last third of this book is, as the points of view change between the police, the con men, the marks, and the killer. It really must be seen to be believed.
And there are many other noteworthy aspects of McBain’s writing. He really seems to have a knack for dialogue, which is showcased by long passages of characters’ conversations that just feel real, more so than other books I’ve read lately. McBain also incorporated humor throughout THE CON MAN, none of which seems forced or contrived. The reader can’t help but smile at some of the lines he slyly inserts here and there. And, as odd as this will sound for a mystery/suspense novel, the prose is almost lyrical in spots. It just sings. Here’s a passage that hit the right note in the context of the scene being described, in which a man is doing his best to con a woman:
…she leaned over and whispered the three most expensive words in the English language.
“I love you.”
And he looked at her with tender guile and answered with the three cheapest words in the English language.
“I love you.”
Another thing that made THE CON MAN interesting – a technique I haven’t seen before – is the use of “documentation” throughout the story. Police reports, dental records, medical charts, newspaper articles. All of these and more make an appearance, allowing the reader to look at the same information and clues the police are analyzing, in hopes of figuring out whodunit.
Two final items worth noting: first, early on (let’s say eight-to-ten pages toward the beginning) the story became entrenched in very detailed police procedure, so much so that I nearly put the book down. I offer this up so that those who track down THE CON MAN don’t get turned off to an otherwise outstanding book; and second, even though this is part of a “series,” I can honestly say that it works as a standalone novel and that I never felt like I was missing anything from the previous books.
Unfortunately, McBain’s THE CON MAN is out of print, but copies can be found for $1 at AbeBooks (which is a helluva deal considering you can’t even buy a candy bar for that much these days, and even if you could, it wouldn’t be as fulfilling as this book).
(9.5 out of 10)
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