Ed McBain concocts a brilliant and intricate thriller about a master criminal who haunts the city with cryptic passages from Shakespeare, directing the detectives of the 87th Precinct to a future crime -- if only they can figure out what he means.
The 87th Precinct gets a visit from one of the city's most accomplished criminals -- a thief known as the Deaf Man. Because he might be deaf. Or he might not. So little is known about the man who is harassing Detective Steve Carella with puzzling messages that it is hard to tell. But as soon as a pattern emerges, the detectives of the 87th are forced to hit the books and brush up on their Shakespeare -- because each new clue contains a line from one of his plays. Unless they can crack this complicated riddle and beat the Deaf Man at his own cat-and-mouse game, someone is going to end up hurt, or something will be stolen -- or both. It's always so hard to tell with the Deaf Man.
Ed McBain brings his most intelligent and devious criminal back to the 87th Precinct with a richly plotted and literary crime.
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"This one was really good. I always like the Deaf Man installments; it's sort of like a Holmes/Moriarty sequence. If you like trying to guess ahead this one is a good one. " — Sheldon (5 out of 5 stars)
"This one was really good. I always like the Deaf Man installments; it's sort of like a Holmes/Moriarty sequence. If you like trying to guess ahead this one is a good one. "
“The Deaf Man is still a holy terror.”
“The whole performance is deft and light, like a magician’s sleight of hand: the trick is pulled off while you look the other way.”
“Mr. McBain loves words and wordplay, and never has he used them to better advantage in this thriller. He does, of course, have the advantage of using Shakespeare’s words to help him out, and this will prove a challenge worthy of the smartest reader, and worth the effort.”
“[Hark! is] vintage McBain, complete with pitch-perfect dialogue, subplots that thrust various precinct cops into the spotlight, a pace that encourages the reader to forget about dinner or a good night’s rest, and a plot that teases and tantalizes from start to finish.”
“McBain here combines many story lines involving the detectives in an exceptionally well-plotted encounter with the criminal genius who always underestimates the intelligence of the cops he taunts and the women he uses.”
" book on tape.an 87th st book with ame characters plus william shakesspeare and literary allusions. "
" Too many loose ends at the end of this for my liking :( "
" Not one of McBains's best efforts (in my opinion), the plot is much too dependent on the literary acrobatics of pseudoShakespearean clues to the antagonists plot. One odd twist in this story is that the sub-antagonist wins in the end...so in this case the crime definitely pays. "
" The 87th Precinct - the Deaf Man - Shakespeare - an intriguing read. Clever use of word puzzles. "
" Clever story, but it makes out all the cops as dopes and since my son is a police officer I hope that's not accurate. "
" Bad. McBain expects his readers to be idiots, and writes most of his characters as morons. It's the first thing I've read by him, and it isn't even cheap comic book quality. It's headed to Goodwill. "
" Typical 87th precinct novel. Short glimpses into the lives of the detectives of the 87th while they attempt to solve the latest in the Deaf Man crimes. Not one of the best of this series. "
Ed McBain is the most well known pseudonym of Evan Hunter (1926–2005), the author of over eighty novels and several famous screenplays. He is a recipient of the Mystery Writers of America’s Grand Master Award and the Diamond Dagger Award from the British Crime Writers Association. His books have sold more than one hundred million copies, ranging from the more than fifty titles in the 87th Precinct series to the bestselling novels written under his own name. McBain also wrote the screenplay for Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds.
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