Customer Reviews

Poison: An 87th Precinct Novel

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Ed McBain, who invented the police procedural, scores with POISON. A gut wrenching look at the underworld of prostitution and murder.
Marylin Hollis has lots of friends who keep being murdered. Who is this woman whom Detective Willis discovers has a deadly fascination for him? Which will Willis give his loyalty to--his job or the woman he loves?
Steve Carella and Willis are partners, but they travel in opposite directions to unravel a nasty series of murders. All of the victims have 'friendship' connections with the beautiful Marylin.
An excellent read from the pages of the past.
Nash Black, author of SINS OF THE FATHERS.

This was a good mystery book. TIhe last 1/4 of the book was fast paced and I couldn't put it down. The ending has 2 huge surprises, you'll never guess who the killer is, although mcbain gives hints for the motive. I don't like the way the end leaves you hanging. I figured he must pick it up with his next book, but from reading a description, it doesn't look like he does.

As always, McBain is entertaining. My only complaint is his changing of Willis's character. In the prior 38 87th precinct books to Poison, Willis was portrayed as a ladies man...tall women were always attracted to him. Also he was a judo expert from his military career. In Poison, he's only had a few girl friends, women don't like him because he's short. And he took judo lessons because he was self-conscious of his height. I liked Willis much better before this book.

The only shortcoming this novel has is its predictability. And at that, it still delivers a surprise in the end. The only reason I even say it is predictable is with all the evidence pointing to the lovely, if not pure, lady the reader has to know she will be proven innocent....or where is the mystery? McBain succeeds in pulling off a couple of surprises and the characters are developed enough to be interesting, if not always believable.

This novel is no longer in print but if you can find a copy of it somewhere, as long as the price is reasonable, it is worth the investment. It is a fast, fun read with enough twists and turns to keep you on your toes.

I heard the audio book, and it held my interest. The reader was generally good but his Spanish was really sorry (sorry!). There appeared to be at least one mis-translation from Spanish to English, but this is not the reader's fault, of course.

That aside, the plot line is pretty interesting, but it was reminiscent, to me at least, of Terry Southern's "Candy." This poor woman, a mere teenager when she first gets "turned out," ends up in a Mexican prison, goes from there to a "high-class" Brazilian brothel, where at least one of the so-called "gentlemen" gets turned on by defecating on the young lady's face.

Is that we they call "anal eroticism"? Or just sexual perversion?

Before all is said and done, according to the story, she's made carnal acquaintance with about 6,000 men (and had her uterus scraped in the process, leaving her barren).

Would a woman like this be capable of murder? It sure seems like it, as the story proceeds. In fact, she admits to murder, but in another country, and with just cause.

And another question, would any man, even a cop like Hal Willis, consider attempting to bond with this woman on a monogamous basis?

Well, these are the interesting, and sometimes titillating, questions that unfold in this little mystery.

This is the first McBain book I've read, and I understand that McBain is a pen name for Evan Hunter?

He's a craftsman, but this book may not become a classic, and, as I said, McBain seems to be recycling some of the plot lines, about the young and beautiful woman taken advantage of by countless men, who fights back (Thelma and Louise? How about Lorena Bobbitt?). She has her revenge, in a sense.

Nor does McBain endeavor to be a classic writer or particularly creative or original. He's good enough as he is.

Diximus.