Customer Reviews

The Last Dance: A Novel of the 87th Precinct

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Ed McBain has done it again. The book was entertaining. Unfortunately, it was too short, and left me wanting more. I suppose that's a good thing... Anyway, BRAVA.

Ed McBain is back at the 87th precinct with the whole gang...Carella, Kling, Brown, Meyer and my personal favorite, Fat Ollie Weeks. McBain uses his tried and true formula, moving the plot forward at a good pace from several directions, until he ties it all up neatly at the end. The writing is wonderful. The dialogue crisp and spare. And the story tight and compact. There's nothing extra in this novel. A truly enjoyable read. Let's hope McBain gives us many more from the 87th.

I have been reading about the 87th Precinct, Steve Carella, Meyer Meyer et al. since my college years. I think I have read them all. I keep waiting for Ed MCBain to go stale, his plots become disorganized and the suspense to ebb. Well 40 plus years of reading and I have yet to be disappointed. "The Last Dance" has all the same characters, but I found the plot to be more intriguing and the suspense lasted until the end. Mr McBain's description of the City on page 91 is alone worth the price of the book. Ed McBain keep on writing, you keep me young.

Let's hope that "The Last Dance," is not the last dance for the novels of the 87th precinct for Ed McBain's books retain the same great quality year after year after year. This is the 50th book in the series and all the usual suspects are here: Carella, Meyer, Brown, Fat Ollie Weeks and all the rest. Again the book is about the police solving a homocide (in this case two homocides) with all the twists and turns McBain is known for. If your a fan of the 87th precinct you will not be disapointed! A quick read at 269 one wishes the author would write even more to expand the story. And let's hope this isn't the end of the 87th precinct novels, that the whole crew will return (and bring back the Deafman as well!) for years to come! Bottom line: "The Last Dance" is a pleasure to read and leaves you wanting just one more dance!

Ed McBain (aka Evan Hunter) has done it really well this time. My favorite detectives, Carella and Meyer, are teamed up. But Kling, Hawes, Brown, Willis, et.al., make enough appearances to make the book quite satisfying. There's nothing really unusual about the plot or even about the writing. It's just that McBain always performs almost flawlessly. He's the absolute master of dialogue, whatever the subject. (And he writes better as McBain than he does as Hunter -- go figure!) I love reading all the 87th Precinct books; I've been through the whole series (starting with the forgettable Cop Hater) several times. The Last Dance is as good as any of the non-Deaf Man books up until now (with the possible exceptions of Lady, Lady, I Did It and Hail to the Chief). And at last Carella has turned 40! For someone who started reading these books when she was about 14 and now is 56, that's no small thing.

If you're already an 87th fan, you're going to read this one no matter what I say. If you're not -- try it, you'll like it!

I have been a fan of Ed McBain's for almost 20 years, and I thoroughly enjoy his writing style. As far as his style, he is the best and the master of the genre. However, this latest book in the outstanding 87th Precinct series falls a little short as a mystery. I have read and own all of the books in this series, and I would have to say that this is not one of the best. Due to the style of Mr. McBain, and the incredible dialogue and descriptions he fills the book with, I did find this book to be an enjoyable and fast read. The mystery isn't all that thrilling or complicated. However if you are a fan of the police procedural or a fan of Ed McBain's than this book is not to be missed. If you are new to the series, this book may not be the best to start with, since it doesn't show the author's true genius.

As I was born Oct.15,(birthdate of great men)I feel qualified to critique Ed Mcbain's latest 87th precint novel.It's great!You'd think after 50 books,the series would start to get a little stale,but they still hold you riveted to the last page.I read it in 2 days.Mcbain is still one of the best writers in the business.He refers to himself as a "cheap writer of detective fiction"in the book,but that is untrue.Ed,you're great!Since Mcbain called his latest Matthew Hope book"The Last Best Hope",and called this one"The Last Dance",I hope that doesn't mean he's planning on retiring.May the cops of the 87th precint go on detecting well into the new millenium!

The Last Dance, Ed McBain's 50th novel in the 87th precinct was actually the first one I have read. The whole crime-mystery genre thing is something I have never really explored. After reading The Last Dance, I don't know why. I really enjoyed the novel--it is a quick, engaging, almost addictive read. I found it to be the literary equivalent of Law and Order or CSI. There is a collection of crusty detectives in fictional city that reminded me much of NYC; there is an ever-growing collection of dead bodies, and an ever-growing collection of suspects. The story is well told, the dialogue is real, the characters are both amusing and believable. This series is definitely one I will return to when I am looking for a quick, engaging read. I also intend to share this series with the people in my life who don't read, but who enjoy Law and Order. Maybe this will make them readers.

In the latest case, Carella and Meyer are called to the apartment of Andrew Hale who, his daughter says, died of natural causes in bed. If so, the detectives wonder, why are there faint marks around the corpse's neck? And why are the hands and feet showing more lividity than the rest of the body. It's almost as if he's been hung.

I don't think anyone does the ensemble police procedural better than McBain. As is usual in the 87th mysteries, it takes various teams of detectives to finally put all the clues together. Even Fat Ollie Weeks from the 88th gets into the act and supplies important clues that lead to the final solution.

As always with McBain's 87th Precinct novels, the dialogue is crisp and tight, the characterization right on the money, and few words are wasted.

I'd recommend this book to current 87th Precinct fans and to anyone who wants to read a good police procedural.

The premise on which this crime novel is based is stated by one of the investigating officers. "When a stage musical is likely to make millions, there's always somebody who makes a claim of plagiarism." So Carella and his 87th Precinct fellow officers investigate several crimes here, and work their way through a large list of suspects whose motivation might be linked to the forthcoming production of a stage musical.

You'll find the usual McBain mix here: vivid description, tight dialogue, frequent changes of location. You'll never find a dull sentence, or a lifeless piece of dialogue. It was published in the year 2000. If the drama sags slightly and the imaginative force is not as strong as the punch that hits you in some of the earlier McBain crime novels, bear in mind that this is the fiftieth time McBain has worked with this highly successful formula.