Widows [Mass Market Paperback]

Ed McBain (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 26, 2004

Not long after the brutal slaying of his sexy blond mistress, twice-married lawyer Arthur Schumaker is gunned down in the heart of the 87th Precinct, leaving behind dark secrets and unanswered questions. "A brilliant job."--The New York Times Book Review. Contains a chapter from McBain's next hardcover, Kiss (2/92). HC: William Morrow.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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.

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--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From School Library Journal

YA-- This novel is more a contemplation of relationships than a murder story, as McBain introduces a serious study of the hostage security unit. His descriptions of the good cop, bad cop, abductors, and hostage relationships are true to life and not overdramatized. With the exception of the erotic letters included, this could be used in English class to illustrate how dialogue should be written. Relationships between working partners, married partners, father and daughter, father and son, ex-wives and lovers are successfully explored. Readers have complete knowledge of all characters and their background. There are no superfluous victims or survivors. McBain uses words the way an artist uses colors to illustrate an idea. For those who read on a less complicated level, however, there is a story worth reading. An informative book with lots of excitement.
-Kathy Danbury, R. E. Lee High School, Springfield, VA
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Pocket (October 26, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743470761
• ISBN-13: 978-0743470766
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,434,849 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

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Capable entry in long running series, June 13, 2005

By 

F. J. Harvey "Cricket ,country music and a go... (Birmingham England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Widows (Mass Market Paperback)

As is typical in the 87th Precinct novels this has more than one plot strand and the various elemnets are pulled together as the book reaches its climactic pages
Events are set in train by the murder of a beautiful young woman named Susan Browner ,dead of multiple stab wounds in her apartment in Isola.A cache of erotic letters -very explicitly described by the author-is found in the apartment and it is clear she is a " kept woman " .Soon after a man named Arthur Schumacher is shot to death on the street ,and his dog is also shot in the incident .Schumacher was the late Susan Brower's lover .The investigation takes Detective Steva Carella into the family circle of the late Arthur Schumacher -his formar wives,his daughters and step children .The death of Schumacer is not the end of the affair -a former wife ids shot and killed and it is obvious there was considerable dissent in the family .
Alongside this case is the hunt for the killers of Carella's father-murdered during a robbery at his bakery .This case is outside the jurisdiction of the 87th and we are given a step by step exposition of the hunt for the two black youths responsible .There is also a section on Eileen Burke,another regular character who is training as a hostage negotiator .We witnes shere skills in this regard when she is called to the scene of a hostage situation in which an elderly Puerto Rican man is holding his grabnddaughter hostage .
The Schumacher case resolved ,the climax sees the other two plot stands coming together as Eileen is called to mediate when the two killers hold a teenage junkie hostage in exchange for a plane to Jamaica .
This is a novel about loss .Carella and his mother mourn the death of his father ;his sister is concerned that her marriage may be in disarray and Carella sepends some time reflecting on the way his youth now seems a distant memory .
It works well enough as a thriller but there is a little too much padding for my sake ,to put it well in the upper echelon of this series but even so most crime novel fans will enjoy another professional outing from an accomplished writer

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Live a clean life otherwise the loose ends may trangle up!, May 8, 2000

By 

Lhamo Topgyal - See all my reviews

This review is from: Widows (87th Precinct Mysteries) (Audio Cassette)

WIDOWS is a criminal novel which begins with the crime scene of a beautiful 22 year old blond girl found murdered in her expensive penthouse.She had been cut by a knife in several different parts of her body.A series of exotic letters had been found in her apartment with no names of the writer mantioned on it. The detectives manage to guess who had written those letters and Arthur Schumacher is found shot onthe road near his apartment building, witnessed by the doorman. It is found out that Arthur and Susan had been having an affair for about 10 months.In succession Arthur's second wife and ex-wife also get murdered by the same person with the same gun.Now it is for the detective-sergents to find out who is behind all these assainations. The other special part of the book is the fact that the author goes into the lives of the detective-sergents also. His focus is not only on the murder but also on the lives of the people involved. A very interesting book to read. Happy Reading!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars PACKS A WALLOP., November 7, 2001

By 

Waleed Eissa - See all my reviews

This review is from: Widows (Paperback)

The writing here is typical of McBain; a brilliant job.