Ed McBain (1926–2005)

The Mugger by Ed McBain is the second book in his 87th Precinct series about the day-to-day job of detectives that work out of a distinct precinct in a large city. In this outing we mostly follow Patrolman Bert Kling and see how he got his promotion to detective.

The precinct has been plagued by a mugger who brutally targets women. The violence is escalating with each crime and now they have a murdered young woman who appears to be his latest victim. Bert Kling is a family friend of the victim and agrees to look into what happened. Meanwhile Detectives Willis and Hallivand are able to find and arrest the mugger but evidence shows that he did not commit the murder. Bert puts all the pieces together, earns his promotion and the precinct can put two cases to rest.

I know that I read many of these books when I was younger but I am really enjoying working my way through the series again. This unique series follows many different characters and certainly gives us a strong idea of how cops worked in the 1950s. We also get a glimpse of their home life and in Bert’s case it could be that he has met the love of his life. A short and satisfying read.… (mais)