Ten Plus One [Unbound]

Ed McBain (Author)

Product Details

• Unbound
• Publisher: Books on Tape (January 1963)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 5557128484
• ISBN-13: 978-5557128483
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,159,914 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:

3.0 out of 5 stars Competently written., June 26, 2008

By 

Michael G. "mikefromrochester" (Rochester, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Ten Plus One (87th Precinct Mystery) (Paperback)

Ten Plus One by Ed McBain is a competently written police procedural, slightly above average in quality when compared to other books within the same genre. Detectives Steve Carella and Meyer Meyer of the 87th precinct are called upon to find a serial sniper who has been terrorizing the city. McBain has populated this book with an exceptionally large number of diverse characters. Some are believable while others are unidimensional stereotypes lacking authenticity. The plotting is workmanlike with an ample number of false leads designed to misdirect the reader before the identity of the killer is revealed in the final chapter. Above average but falls short of the threshold for a 4 star rating.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solving the Connection among Victims, December 12, 2007

By 

Acute Observer (N. Jersey Shore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ten Plus One (87th Precinct Mystery) (Paperback)

This 1963 book is set in an imaginary city that resembles Manhattan. One afternoon a man stepped into the sidewalk then was shot and killed by a sniper. Detective Steve Carella is assigned the job of investigating this crime. The next day there is another sniper killing. A few days later there are more victims, same methods. The search continues, more victims are shot. Then the daughter of one of the victims brings in some old documents that connect the victims to the college they attended over 20 years ago. Finally the sniper is caught. [I guessed at Chapter 16.]

This is a fast-paced interesting story. It points out the effect of a shot from a higher point: the exit wound would be lower than the entrance wound. An important fact for 1963 and afterwards. The story about a college party circa 1940 would be relevant for those times and today. This motivation seems weak, as if created for this story. [Did the author study dramatics in college?] One interesting point was the ease of transporting a rifle around New York city in a taxi. This book provides examples of police procedures in handling suspects.

5.0 out of 5 stars Typical McBain novel - excellent!, February 11, 2012

By 

L. Smith (Upstate New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ten Plus One (87th Precinct) (Kindle Edition)

For all the usual reasons I love to read the 87th Precinct stories, this one had more of the same. A case that really isn't solved until the end, without giving away too much of anything. Some surprises that turn out to be key parts to the story. In the case of this story, it is not discovering that the list of victims were the performers of a long-forgotten college play. Plus, the usual banter between the Precinct's detectives like Carrell and Meyer Meyer is excellent. What more can I say? Excellent story as usual.