So long as you both shall live: An 87th precinct mystery [Hardcover]

Ed McBain (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1976

Detective Bert Kling has had some rough luck with women. First his fiancée Cindy Townsend was gunned down in an infamous bookstore shooting. Then there was Cindy Forrest, who informed him one day that she was in love with a doctor at work—and was gone. Now he’s finally hit the jackpot. Kling just married the beautiful model Augusta Blair, and they are about to enjoy the first night of their marriage together…until bad luck catches him again.

When Kling gets out of the shower, Augusta is gone, leaving behind one shoe—and cotton soaked in chloroform. Even harder than calling Detective Steve Carella with the news is standing on the sidelines while the rest of the men do all the work. But he’ll have to—or he’ll never see her alive again.

A spine-tingling race against time as the detectives of the 87th do what they do best, So Long as You Both Shall Live is an extraordinary addition to the series, an Ed McBain masterpiece that marries taut police procedure with the personal stakes of a man who stands to lose everything—again.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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.

About the Author

Ed McBain was one of the pen names of successful and prolific crime fiction author Evan Hunter (1926–2005). Debuting in 1956, the popular 87th Precinct series is one of the longest running crime series ever published, featuring more than 50 novels, and is hailed as "one of the great literary accomplishments of the last half-century." 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. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 165 pages
• Publisher: Random House; 1st edition (1976)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394485831
• ISBN-13: 978-0394485836
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #875,208 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

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterful writing., April 10, 2005

By 

L. J. Roberts (Oakland, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: So Long as You Both Shall Live (87th Precinct Mystery) (Paperback)

In 147 pages, Ed McBain writes a mystery with a full range of characters, excellent dialogue, red herrings and good suspense. The man truly is a master and I never tire of his books.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's Dangerous to Love an 87th Precinct Detective, January 3, 2009

By 

Grey Wolffe "Zeb Kantrowitz" (North Waltham, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Bert Kling has never had the greatest luck with woman. It's not that he doesn't like them or they don't love him, but his first love was killed in a random killing in a bookstore, and his second ran off with another man. Now he's finally married, and some one kidnaps his bride on his wedding night!

The how why and wherefore are all explained in this entertaining tale. And though there are some scary times for the bride, in the end (as we knew when we began reading the book) everything will turn out all right. Fat Ollie Weeks (from the 83rd) comes over to give the guys at the 87th a hand and is pivotal to catching the bad guy. I'm looking forward to reading more about him in coming books.

Zeb Kantrowitz

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Worth a read., June 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: So Long as You Both Shall Live (87th Precinct Mystery) (Paperback)

Some what predictable, but fine if you want a police novel. Not much suspence.