Ed McBain, the legendary master of the modern crime novel, redefined the police procedural and captivated millions with his razor-sharp dialogue, unforgettable characters, and gritty realism. The brilliant mind behind The Blackboard Jungle and Hitchcock’s The Birds, he left an extraordinary legacy that bridged bestselling fiction and screenwriting. With the groundbreaking 87th Precinct series, McBain didn’t just tell crime stories—he built a world that transformed the genre and inspired generations of writers, filmmakers, and readers around the globe. Ed McBain was the pen name of Evan Hunter, born Salvatore Lombino in 1926.

“There have been a number of recent attempts at establishing an American type of police-routine novel …Much the most successful of these efforts to date is Ed McBain’s ‘Cop Hater,’ the narrative of a series of murders of policemen in a fictional city which is not quite New York. McBain has caught TV’s semi-documentary flavor excellently. He’s written a tough, sexy novel with inherent honesty and decency.”
Cop Hater (1956) – New York Times

“The author delivers the rest of the goods: wired action scenes, dialogue that breathes, characters with heart and characters who eat those hearts, and glints of unforgiving humor. . . Ed McBain owns this turf.”
Kiss’ (1992) – New York Times

“McBain has managed to sustain the continuity of the series for nearly half a century without compromising his formula or sacrificing its freshness . . . His dialogue is so sharp you could cut your wrists on it.”
The Last Dance: A Novel of the 87th Precinct (2000) – New York Times

“. . . another terrific piece of entertainment . . . an amazingly accomplished, richly enjoyable three-ring circus of a book directed by a ringmaster at the top of his form, action everywhere, with color, noise and confusion all suddenly resolving themselves into perfect logical order.”
There Was a Little Girl’ (1984) – New York Times

87th precinct books

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