HARK!
by Ed McBain
Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
ISBN 0-7432-5035-4
Hardback, 294 pages, $24.95
Genre: Mystery

The Deaf Man returns to wreak havoc in #54 of the 87th Precinct novels. This time, the Deaf Man is sending the detectives at the 87th Precinct several messages a day, beginning in the form of anagrams, proceeding to quotes from Shakespeare. As usual, the cops are left feeling like dummies while trying to figure out what the Deaf Man is going to do next. Last time, he caused a race riot in their lovely city. And they all know he isn't up to any good this time. Unbeknownst to Steve Carella and the other detectives at the 87th, Ollie Weeks, aka Fat Ollie, is working a homicide in his section of the city which could lead them to the person closest to the Deaf Man.

Parallel to the frantic effort to find the Deaf Man and put an end to his shenanigans, Fat Ollie is falling for a Puerto Rican cop, something this bigot isn't quite prepared for. He also stumbles upon the transvestite who stole his 36-page manuscript, which Ollie thinks is going to be a bestseller. Romance is in the air for Hal Willis and Eileen Burke, while Bert Kling and his honey are facing troubles. Steve Carella, the one detective who remains a constant, is having trouble dealing with the fact that his mother is marrying an Italian businessman and will be living in Italy while his sister is marrying the prosecuting attorney who let his father's murderer go.

Ed McBain is perhaps the best mystery writer to grace this planet, I think because he allows his readers vast insights into his characters, isn't afraid to show their biases and petty thoughts, and keeps the comedic bar pretty high. More than anything, though, is the fact that while reading his work, one feels as if McBain is sitting in the same room, telling the story. He will be missed.