The Heckler [Paperback]

Ed McBain (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2, 1982

"There are crazy people all over, you know that, don't you?"

Spring was intoxicating the city air, but the harassing anonymous telephone calls planting seeds of fear around town were no April Fool's joke. Crank calls and crackpot threats reported to the 87th Precinct by a respected businessman were not exactly top priority for detectives Carella and Meyer -- until a brutal homicide hits the papers. Connections are getting made fast and furious, and there's a buzz in the air about the Deaf Man, a brilliant criminal mastermind. Now, the 87th Precinct is buying time to reveal the voice on the other end of the line -- as the level of danger rises from a whisper to a scream....

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The San Diego Union-Tribune McBain is one of the best mystery/suspense/thriller writers of our era. -- Review --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Ed McBain, a recipient of the Mystery Writers of America's coveted Grand Master Award, was also the first American to receive the Diamond Dagger, the British Crime Writers Association's highest award. His books have sold more than one hundred million copies, ranging from the more than fifty titles in the 87th Precinct series (including the Edgar Award-nominated Money, Money, Money) to the bestselling novels written under his own name, Evan Hunter -- including The Blackboard Jungle (now in a 50th anniversary edition from Pocket Books) and Criminal Conversation. Fiddlers, his final 87th Precinct novel, was recently published in hardcover. Writing as both Ed McBain and Evan Hunter, he broke new ground with Candyland, a novel in two parts. He also wrote the screenplay for Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. He died in 2005.

Visit www.edmcbain.com. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Signet (March 2, 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451114213
• ISBN-13: 978-0451114211
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,957,093 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ed McBain was one of the many pen names of the successful and prolific crime fiction author Evan Hunter (1926 - 2005). Born Salvatore Lambino in New York, McBain served aboard a destroyer in the US Navy during World War II and then earned a degree from Hunter College in English and Psychology. After a short stint teaching in a high school, McBain went to work for a literary agency in New York, working with authors such as Arthur C. Clarke and P.G. Wodehouse all the while working on his own writing on nights and weekends. He had his first breakthrough in 1954 with the novel The Blackboard Jungle, which was published under his newly legal name Evan Hunter and based on his time teaching in the Bronx.

Perhaps his most popular work, the 87th Precinct series (released mainly under the name Ed McBain) is one of the longest running crime series ever published, debuting in 1956 with Cop Hater and featuring over fifty novels. The series is set in a fictional locale called Isola and features a wide cast of detectives including the prevalent Detective Steve Carella.

McBain was also known as a screenwriter. Most famously he adapted a short story from Daphne Du Maurier into the screenplay for Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963). In addition to writing for the silver screen, he wrote for many television series, including Columbo and the NBC series 87th Precinct (1961-1962), based on his popular novels.

McBain was awarded the Grand Master Award for lifetime achievement in 1986 by the Mystery Writers of America and was the first American to receive the Cartier Diamond Dagger award from the Crime Writers Association of Great Britain. He passed away in 2005 in his home in Connecticut after a battle with larynx cancer.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First Bow for the Deaf Man, July 24, 2000

By 

Brian D. Rubendall (Oakton, VA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Heckler (Hardcover)

"The Heckler" is the 87th Precinct Mystery which features the first appearance of the elusive and recurrent McBain villian known only as the Deaf Man. In this installment, you learn why this mastermind of evil has a particular affinity for the "boys of the 87th," particularly Detective Steeve Carella, who excells at thwarting his nefarious schemes (but never quite catching him). This is one of the best examples of early 87th Precinct writing from McBain. For those who love police procedurals, there are none better.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Book, June 25, 2003

By 

E. Clinton (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Heckler (87th Precinct Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

As the other reviewers noted, this is the first appearance of the Deaf Man the infamous villian who haunts the 87th Precinct and Detective Steve Carella. This book has a very clever plot and keeps the reader on edge until the ending. The Deaf Man is one of the most interesting characters in McBain's books because he is such an enigma.
McBain gets right to the point. He does not waste any words at all on description. As a reader I have always found his books impossible to put down. Indeed, description would be superfluous.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The 87th Meets Its Moriarty, August 18, 2000

By 

Larry Eischen - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Heckler (Hardcover)

Someone is making threatening phone calls to various upright citizens. The 87th Precinct meets the Deaf Man for the 1st time in this exciting procedural. This mastermind always hatches a convulted scheme to pull off his crimes and the 87th is usually roped in. We also get Bert Kling trying to find the vicious thug behind the brutal beating of a beautiful woman. This is among the tops in the early entries in the series.