Customer Reviews

Doll (87th Precinct)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Doll was the first book I've read so far and a short one. I'm experimenting with unread authors and McBain is one of them that I've really enjoyed. Although, I knew who was the killer, but the characters made the book exciting and the fast-paced action was overwhelming. I wasn't too keen on the drug use, but considering the time that this book was written--at the height of hardcore drug use, one couldn't expect a cleaner book.

I strongly recommend McBain. I had to buy several books the same day I bought 'Doll' because McBain was rated "top" comparing to those we already know about. My curiosity paid off.

This case for the detectives of the eighty-seventh precinct is more "concentrated "than usual as it centres on one case ,rather than having the multi-focus plot that is a feature of many series books.
It is a case of murder,the slaying by multiple stab wounds of the model "Tinka Sachs"in her luxury apartment while her terrified five year old daughter "Anna"is playing with "Charlotte" her favourite doll.Steve Carella the lead detective request the help of Bert Kiling still deeply traumatised over the death of his girl friend some five years earlier.
Carella discovers the identity of the killer but before he can divulge this and make an arrest he is attacked ,knocked unconscious and chained naked to a radiator kept alive by his abductor only so he can reveal how he came by the knowledge of the guilty party .
The key lies in the doll and before Kling can bring the case to a conclusion we are taken into the motives behind the killing (drug related)and are witness to the way the resolution of the case helps Kling in thre healing process.
Its tautly told and totally professional .Good police and forensic analysis scenes -as ever in the series;and McBain is always good on the strsses and strains that police work imposes on its practitioners.
As an example of detection its a bit thin-I found the plot device around the doll a little implausible-but a solid workmanlike book that maintains the high standards of this reliable series

In a previous book in this excellent procedural series, Detective Bert Kling lost his girl to a gunman. In this entry, he still is dealing with his grief and his attitude has him close to being transferred. In an effort to help his friend, Steve Carella volunteers to work with Kling on the case of a murdered model. Because of friction, Carella is taken (presumed dead) by a mystery woman who begins to hook him on heroin. This is a fine entry in the series, but I prefer those that focus on several cases and feature more of the 'gang'. But, hey, any McBain is hands down better than any procedural by anyone else!

A beautiful model, Tinka Sachs, is murdered, slashed repeatedly in a frenzy of killing, while her tiny daughter hides in the next room, talking to her doll. Detectives Steve Carella and Bert Kling of the 87th precinct, are in charge of the investigation and get a good description of the man who visited Tinka on the night of her murder, from a one eyed doorman, nicknamed Cyclops. Carella and Kling get into an argument about Kling's brusque interrogating technique, which results in Kling going off in a huff, leaving Carella to continue with the investigation alone for that night. Because of being on his own, Carella is captured, handcuffed to a radiator in the suspect's apartment and when an incinerated body, carrying Carella's police warrant card is discovered in a burned out car, his family and workmates are convinced that the body is his. It's a fast, good read, full of meticulous police work, without frills or fuss...a typical McBain book.

It would be nice if some cared enough to quote prof reviewers who actually cared to read the work unlike Ingram's stupid mistake of saying it was Bert Kling who disappears. It was Steve Carella. After 50 some books one would think they could get it right finally.

The work is classic McBain. It gives you the feel for police work. Slow where it should be and fast where it should be. He takes us into being part of the team not just a entertained reader. Perhaps that is why he has so many books published. We become a member of the 87th. It is spare writing designed for maxium impact. Never boring except when police work is indeed boring and that only briefly when emotions arise like "TELL US. Quit hedging around and tell us" rises in interviews with witnesses and perps.

Steve's disappears and is presumed dead but... well you read the book. I won't snitch.

Shame the original Ingram they quoted didn't bother to read it. It is worth it. Ah well their loss not mine or yours if you pick it up.

Tina Sachs has been killed. Who would do this to a pretty model? Carella is assigned to the case and asked for Kling who is mad at the world over the killing of his girl friend in a previous book. Carella finds out who the killer is and goes to arrest him. Instead he is taken prisoner and put through much punishment and herion shots. Who is the strange girl who keeps bringing Carella food and also giving him the shots? Kling is taken off the case and Myers is given command. They do find tthe killer but is it in time to keep Carella from becoming addicted? This is much better than book nineteen. At least this one involves some police work. I would have given it a five except for several pages of how a doctor treated Tinka Sachs for her drug addiction. I don't think it had anything to do with the case. You knew,in your mind, that Carella had to live to be in the next book but it did hold my attention and I did not want to quit reading.

'Doll' is one of the earlier entries in the 87th precinct series, and as such is shorter and more straightforward than some of McBain's later mutli-layered epics. Still, it's a good book; yet another solid entry in the long-running series. When model Tinka Sachs is found stabbed to death, the investigation quickly throws up a defensive employer, a one-eyed doorman, an ex-husband who still seems to love Tinka, mysterious contacts from the past, and obscure references to a personal "nightmare". The case is set against the backdrop of a brooding, on-edge Detective Kling still unable to get over Claire Townshend.

McBain employs an interesting twist in narrative here; the case is actually "solved" relatively early in the piece, and it is what happens after this that occupies large sections of the book. This is quite a clever ploy, with various other detectives in the 87th needing to follow Detective Carella's footsteps to work out who the killer is, and what has happened to Carella. The particular plot point involving the titular Doll is perhaps a bit clever and coincidental for its own good, although the remainder of the investigatory technique is well done.

For 87th fans, note that apart from Carella, the primary protagonists here are Detectives Meyer and Kling. Brown and Willis have smaller roles, and little is seen of Hawes and Parker. Obviously, in such a long-running series it is inevitable that spoilers from early books will be given away, so be aware that 'Doll' gives away a key development from the early books regarding Kling and Claire. Some 87th books can be read without knowing the backstory, but 'Doll' is not one of them.

In summary, another good crime novel from one of the best in the business.

The best thing you can say for "Doll" is that it is no less than you expect in opening an 87th Precinct novel: A ripping crime involving a scantily-clad woman, a title that comes to suggest several different meanings as the plot twists along, and a page-turner that never lets go.

Several books and years after 1961's "Lady, Lady, I Did It!" Det. Bert Kling is still mourning the loss of his girlfriend while getting on the nerves of his fellow detectives at the station house. His pal Steve Carella decides on some occupational therapy by bringing him along on his latest case, the murder of a high-priced fashion model, a "mannequin" as she is called by the strange agency she works for. Kling becomes the station goat when he leaves Carella after an argument and Carella subsequently disappears. Is he a burnt corpse or someone's prisoner?

Any 87th Precinct fan will know that "Doll," since it takes place in 1965, doesn't actually kill off Carella, the series's main character. But author Ed McBain (really Evan Hunter, who kept producing 87th Precinct thrillers for the next 40 years until his death in 2005) keeps you on tenterhooks anyway with a storyline stretched tauter than usual and suspension of the comfortable rules governing past 87th Precinct novels. Lt. Byrnes, the detective commander, tells Kling he blames him for Carella's loss, and will see him off the force for it. Carella may not be dead, but he is in serious danger of losing his mind and self-respect.

One nice aspect of Carella's disappearance is it gives the other detectives a chance to work on solving a case. Kling will have his shot at redemption, of course, but there's also some real work for Meyer Meyer for a change, while Art Brown and Hal Willis dig up a clue or two as well. Even Andy Parker, the department's rotten apple at this point in the series, has a nice moment where he philosophizes about Carella's loss. Being Parker, he shares the moment with a prostitute he is threatening with arrest if she doesn't come across with a freebie, but it's still somewhat out of character for him.

The main weakness in "Doll" is the problem of the victim. The motive behind her death, when revealed, doesn't really wash, and the central clue feels somewhat contrived. The book lacks the depth and humor of other entries, particularly later ones.

But that's something you think about after, when you have time to pause and reflect. The only thing you worry about when reading a solid McBain thriller like this for the first time is getting to the next page, especially with its array of sudden story shifts and clever red herrings flying at you. This is one "Doll" that plays with you. A fun read.

Doll was the first book I've read so far and a short one. I'm experimenting with unread authors and McBain is one of them that I've really enjoyed. Although, I knew who was the killer, but the characters made the book exciting and the fast-paced action was overwhelming. I wasn't too keen on the drug use, but considering the time that this book was written--at the height of hardcore drug use, one couldn't expect a cleaner book.

I strongly recommend McBain. I had to buy several books the same day I bought 'Doll' because McBain was rated "top" comparing to those we already know about. My curiosity paid off.

DOLL, by Ed McBain, is by far his best work that I have read so far. It left you guessing throughout the entire book. You never know who the killer is despite the fact that he has Carella locked up in his apartment. Also, McBain leaves you guessing as to the motive of the killer until the thrilling climax in which all is revealed. Man, you want to talk about nail-biting. The author also does a terrific job of illustrating both the inner and outer conflicts of Bert Kling, who is openly hostile after his girlfriend was gunned down (that incident doesn't occur in this book). I say again, DOLL is one of Ed McBain's finest works. Once you pick it up, you won't put it down until you're finished.