Kiss [Paperback]

Ed McBain (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1992

Certain that someone is trying to kill her, Emma Bowles turns to another killer for protection, and only a dedicated cop trapped in a defective legal system can save her. Reprint. NYT.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Stephen King and Nelson DeMille on Ed McBain

I think Evan Hunter, known by that name or as Ed McBain, was one of the most influential writers of the postwar generation. He was the first writer to successfully merge realism with genre fiction, and by so doing I think he may actually have created the kind of popular fiction that drove the best-seller lists and lit up the American imagination in the years 1960 to 2000. Books as disparate as The New Centurions, The Friends of Eddie Coyle, The Godfather, Black Sunday, and The Shining all owe a debt to Evan Hunter, who taught a whole generation of baby boomers how to write stories that were not only entertaining but that truthfully reflected the times and the culture. He will be remembered for bringing the so-called "police procedural" into the modern age, but he did so much more than that. And he was one hell of a nice man. --Stephen King

Way back in the mid-1970s, when I was a new writer and police series were very big, my editor asked me to do a series called Joe Ryker, NYPD. I had no idea how to write a police detective novel, but the editor handed me a stack of books and said, “These are the 87th Precinct novels by Ed McBain. Read them and you’ll know everything you need to know about police novels.” After I read the first book--which I think was Let’s Hear It for the Deaf Man--I was hooked, and I read every Ed McBain I could get my hands on. Then I sat down and wrote my own detective novel, The Sniper, featuring Joe Ryker. My series never reached the heights of the 87th Precinct series, but by reading those classic masterpieces, I learned all I needed to know about urban crime and how detectives think and act. And I had a hell of a time learning from the master. Years later, when I actually got to meet Ed McBain/Evan Hunter, I told him this story, and he said, “I would have liked it better if my books inspired you to become a detective instead of becoming my competition.” Evan and I became friends, and I was privileged to know him and honored to be in his company. I remain indebted to him for his good advice over the years. But most of all, I thank him for hundreds of hours of great reading. --Nelson DeMille

To read about how Ed McBain influenced other mystery and thriller writers, visit our Perspectives on McBain page.

For a complete selection of 87th Precinct novels available for Kindle (paperbacks coming in February 2012), visit our Ed McBain's 87th Precinct Booklist.

---

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From Kirkus Reviews

McBain's new 87th Precinct installment, less ambitiously multi-plotted than some recent entries, has just two very different narratives, delivered in alternating chunks. Plot One, picking up where Widows (1991) left off, is the trial of the psychopath-punk who killed Detective Steve Carella's old baker-father in a brutal holdup. Although not completely convincing in some of its courtroom details, and a bit crude in its attempt to echo recent news events involving racial tension, this is solid, plain, streetwise McBain--familiar but effective in dramatizing law-and-order issues. Plot Two is a sex-triangle melodrama, initially intriguing but ultimately irritating and artificial in the made-for-cable-TV (not HBO) manner. Someone is trying to kill rich, beautiful Emma Bowles. Is it her stockbroker- husband? And can she trust the handsome private eye her husband has hired to ``protect'' her? The outcome, which involves sleazy, illicit romance and a contrived twist, is neither surprising nor satisfying. In sum: so-so McBain, with too much attempted glitz and not enough old-fashioned personality and legwork. (Book-of-the-Month Dual Selection for April) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Avon Books (Mm) (November 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380713829
• ISBN-13: 978-0380713820
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,619,353 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

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ed McBain - Kiss, August 31, 2000

By 

"lmnorthrup" (Fort Morgan, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kiss: A Novel of the 87th Precinct (87th Precinct Mysteries) (Audio Cassette)

A riveting addition in the 87th Precinct series by Ed McBain. This story is a great intertwining of two very strong and emotional storylines. The author does a fantastic job of moving between the two without disrupting the flow of the other. The stories are tied together by the main character Detective Steve Carella. One story is very personal, dealing with the brutal murder of his father and the highly visible trial of the accused murderer. During this same time, Carella is working on a police investigation of the attempted murder of a wealthy and beautiful woman. This story is filled with murder, hired killers, marital betrayel, and the dark side of the legal system. Keeps the attention of the listener. Only negative I felt was that the language could have been tempered without losing the momentum. All in all, a very enjoyable experience.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars With Carella and Meyer in charge it's usually a good one., November 10, 2005

By 

J. Carroll "Jack" (Island Heights,NJ) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kiss (Penguin Crime Fiction series) (Hardcover)

In KISS, McBain takes a look at the wonderful world of cheating husbands who decide murder is better than divorce. The situation gets confused when one of the husband's chosen assassins is murdered and when another is brought in, things don't turn out the way anyone (Ok, one person) planned. The ending, while not entirely realistic, (I think there is a case for the prosecution here.) has a nice twist, not really surprising but satisfying. In a subplot, the trial of one of the killers of Carella's father takes place; a situation that is written unevenly, played more for melodrama than realism and with an ending that is as predictable as it is disappointing. Despite these flaws, KISS is a solid outing for McBain with my favorite team in the lead, Carella and Meyer, where the byplay between these two characters more than makes up for any problems I had with the plot.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars exciting, with a hard edge, December 17, 2002

By 

_tiresias_ (texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kiss Low Price (87th Precinct Mysteries) (Audio Cassette)

This book is surprisingly underrated here, where McBain generally gets high marks. It is a thrilling book, even if it is slightly dark and sexy (which apparently bothers some of the readers). This is the first McBain I read--not the last--and I intend to read many more.