Customer Reviews

Romance

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

 

 

A very nice, typical 87th Precinct book, and it is quite
entertaining. The basic story is about a play within a play,
where an actress is attacked with a knife, in both the play
and the mystery story here.
But it isn't that complicated, and the author does a nice job
of keeping the two mysteries straight. The characters are very
interesting, and there is enough conflict among the various
people to sustain reader interest.
The mystery deepens as the first obvious suspects are suddenly

crossed off the list, and the police have to begin exploring
other possibilities, and the author does a very nice job of
moving the action forward.
The only hitch in the story is the author's clumsy exploration
of a black-white romance, which doesn't ring true at all and
seems extremely dated.
But a very nice entry in this series.

I love the 87th Precinct series because of the variety from book to book. Some involve serial murders and have a very heavy atmosphere throughout the book while others have a more light-hearted approach to the crimes they are investigating. I also love learning more about the characters' personal lives as the series develops. Romance had me laughing out loud while still keeping me glued to each page and I find myself wishing that the fictional character of Bert Kling has finally found a life-long love interest.

This book is very interesting to read and keeps one glued to the book until the end of it. It is about a stage play actress who fakes a stabbing to be popular and manages to make it to the press and the media but unfortunately she gets stabbed in real too. She was an actress playing in a drama called Romance in which she was playing an actress and was playing in the drama called the Romance.So it is all very complicated about Romances¨.Everything is called Romance here but for the 87th Preceint it is to solve the murder of the actress. But don't worry the book is not very complicated to read.

Happy Reading!

Romance is the name of the game. Actually, in this 87th Preceinct series #46, it's the name of a play in an imaginary town called Isola, full of fictitious people and places.

The play in which Michelle Cassidy is rehearsing the lead is about an actress being pursued by a stalker. One evening, a little after seven, as she is leaving rehearsals at the Susan Granger theater, she actually is stabbed by a man wearing a black coat, a black wide-brimmed hat, and black gloves who lunges out of an alley with a knife.

At the Morehouse General Hospital, the red-haired actress was interviewed by t.v. reporters who didn't realize she had been the former child star of ANNIE on the road. She'd been stabbed in the shoulder, inches away from the heart.

The ER intern who'd admitted her said "had the stab wound been two iinches lower and a bit to the right, she'd be 'playing first harp in the celestial philharmonic'." That very afternoon, she had made a report at the precinct about receiving threatening phone calls from a man sounding like Jack Nicholson, saying he would kill her with a knife.

Like the Knoxville police, they don't consider that a crime (to threaten bodily harm) but wait until it happens to show any interest. One thing which made it sound 'fishy' is the plot of "Romance" where the actress is stalked and stabbed. She told reporters she felt it had to be someone familiar with the play.

Her theatrical agent, Johnny Milton, arrived at the hospital as the two police dectectives started to interrogate her and became suspect #1, even though the show's stage manager knew all the details such as Miss Cassidy's being released from the hospital later that very night.

During their investigation, it is discovered that Milton had a reservation at a nearby restaurant (a 5-min. walk) for 7 p.m. (alibi) and told the cops he thought Michelle had 'planned' the scene for publicity. Later, he said they'd had a disagreement over the phone. Someone she knew did come to her apartment and demanded to be let in, while she was home alone. And, she was relieved when she saw who it was through the peephole, took the chain off, and unlocked three different locks to meet her fate.

Johnny Milton had no reason to kill her, as the stabbing in the alley had accomplished everything he wanted to happen. His client suddenly became a 'star,' as the stabbing had put both her and the play on the map because of the media coverage.

It was unusual for real life to mirror a role in a play; this one called 'Romance.' So why kill the golden goose? Where's the motive: love or money. Possibly it could have something to do with the leading role's lovely understudy, Josie Beals. Or, could it have been Chuck Madden, the stage manager, who had a handwritten note on his machine: "Dear God, please forgive me for what I did to Michelle."

Author of THE BLACKBOARD JUNGLE in 1954, plus a multitude of novels as Ed McBain and his real name, Evan Hunter, he earned the title Grand Master from the Mystery Writer's of America. He has to his credit short story collections, a few children's books, also screenplays and teleplays of some of his books. He's still grinding them out.

Fine,excellent work of the artist McBain/Hunter-as can be expected everytime.
After reading the book,I couldn't resist to buy the audio too,
so I can enjoy twice as much...

I liked this Mcbain book because as usual it has all the plot twists and sharp dialogue any Mcbain fan would expect. It's not anywhere near as gruesome as his other novels (eg. rape scene in Nocturne made my stomach turn), but it is still a gritty tale. I give Mcbain credit for using the play within a play idea and creating a double reality for the reader. The characters in the book are all actors in Mcbain's play in the end. I also give him credit for giving Kling a love interest and having the guts to make it an interracial one at that. Mcbain is expanding and its exciting to see where he takes these new avenues. I like Romance, read it with an open mind and a sense of humour.

It seems some people here don't like this entry in the long-running 87th series, but I personally think it's one of the better ones. Perhaps the fact that it's more character-driven and has less actual crime investigation upsets some people, but fans of the series should really enjoy this book.

When 'Romance' star Michelle Cassidy is stabbed in a similar manner to her character in the play, it sets off a blaze of welcome attention for her, as well as an investigation for the 87th. Genuine assault or publicity stunt? But when cast members begin dying it's clear there's more than simply attention-seeking here. As always, there's no shortage of interesting suspects: scheming manager-boyfriends, jealous understudies, co-stars with wandering hands, bickering directors and writers...

The case is set against the backdrop of Kling's attempts at building a relationship with Sharyn Cooke, and their interactions take up a fair part of the book. The issue of mixed-race partnerships is dealt with both seriously ("ain't there enough white women here for you?!") and humorously ("Bert Kling danced like a white man!"). The issue of race is also touched on in a small subplot involving a car accident between Teddy Carella and a black woman.

The main protagonists in this one are Carella and Kling, with minimal input from the other detectives. In response to a complaint below, this is the forty-somethingth entry in the series, so McBain assumes you're familiar with the main characters. If you're the type who expects a large amount of character backstory, you're better off starting with a much earlier book.

This is one of my personal favourites of McBain's later books, and should be well regarded by fans of the series.

I enjoyed this book very much. I thought I had it figured out..and then I didn't and then I did. But then that's how it's supposed to go, right? (smile)Ed McBain is my favorite mystery writer. Though Romance isn't my favorite book in the series it did rank up there. I really enjoyed getting into the personal life of Kling. It's about time he found true love.

In my opinion this title completely lacks the pace and atmosphere we expect when we read 87th precinct books. The plot is obvious and doesn' t give much of a thrill. It' s hard to believe this was written by a great master such as Ed McBain.

Another loser by a well known author you would expect a great read from. Save yourself the money. Save yourself the time.Save yourself the suffering.