I’m a big fan of Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct novels and the truth
is that the more of them I read, the bigger the fan I become. The central
characters are brilliant conceptions, the plots are strong, the tangents and
the humour always a treat and the police teams always manage to overcome the
chaos of their departments and of the city in which they serve.
Ghosts
(US)
has just become my favourite of the bunch I’ve tackled. That could be because
of the growing warmth I feel for the detectives, but I think there’s more to it
than that.
It’s Christmas and Chanukah all wrapped up in one. Carella
and Meyer Meyer take on the case of a couple of murders in a swanky apartment
in a wealthy part of town. One of the victims is the writer of a successful
ghost book. He’s survived by his wife Hillary who claims to be a medium, has a
twin sister and happens to be the spitting image of Carella’s wife Teddy. As
the case continues, there are more murders to contend with. There’s also a
heavy snow that’s making life difficult for everyone and which is creating
openings for Carella as he is forced to spend time apart from his family. The net
of the investigation tightens and is complicated by the contributions of
Hillary who is determined to use her powers to get to the bottom of what is
going on. The weaving together of these two strands leads to a superb and
rather unusual ending.
In Ghosts, the process
of tracking down the criminals is as strong as ever. What I very much enjoyed
about this one was its sexy edges and undercurrents. The book also flirts with
the supernatural and rather than detract from the tensions of the tale it
really does enhance the drama and the flavour of the piece.
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