The Last Dance

Rating:
Summary: Hooray for Ed Mcbain!
Review: As I was born Oct.15,(birthdate of great men)I feel qualified to critique Ed Mcbain's latest 87th precint novel.It's great!You'd think after 50 books,the series would start to get a little stale,but they still hold you riveted to the last page.I read it in 2 days.Mcbain is still one of the best writers in the business.He refers to himself as a "cheap writer of detective fiction"in the book,but that is untrue.Ed,you're great!Since Mcbain called his latest Matthew Hope book"The Last Best Hope",and called this one"The Last Dance",I hope that doesn't mean he's planning on retiring.May the cops of the 87th precint go on detecting well into the new millenium!

Rating:
Summary: A TASTY LITTLE MORSEL!
Review: Ed McBain can do no wrong. He's found his niche in the world of police mysteries, and he is the master of his craft. I first stumbled across his 87th Precinct stories in junior high...lured in as I was by a tittilating cover of a book called "Fuzz", with a drawing of Lonie Anderson and a nude of Burt Reynolds staring boldly out at me. Hormones in turmoil, I embarrassedly checked it out of the school library. I devoured that book as fast as my teenage mind could handle it...and I've been a fan ever since. McBain has found the winning formula once again, bringing the detectives of the 87th Precinct into yet another brain-teasing murder mystery. By now, these detectives feel like family to me...I know their histories and their quirks, told at times in all seriousness, and at other times with a sense of irony and dry wit that only McBain can deliver. The dialogue is sharp, the pace is quick, and the climax is completely satisfying. If you're not already a fan of the 87th Precinct, I recommend picking up ANY of his books...you won't be disappointed. If you know of what I write, then by all means, grab this newest addition to McBain's prolific career--I found it to be one of his best. But I say that about all of his books!

Rating:
Summary: The Last Dance...let's hope not
Review: Ed McBain is back at the 87th precinct with the whole gang...Carella, Kling, Brown, Meyer and my personal favorite, Fat Ollie Weeks. McBain uses his tried and true formula, moving the plot forward at a good pace from several directions, until he ties it all up neatly at the end. The writing is wonderful. The dialogue crisp and spare. And the story tight and compact. There's nothing extra in this novel. A truly enjoyable read. Let's hope McBain gives us many more from the 87th.

Rating:
Summary: An Enjoyable Read
Review: I have been a fan of Ed McBain's for almost 20 years, and I thoroughly enjoy his writing style. As far as his style, he is the best and the master of the genre. However, this latest book in the outstanding 87th Precinct series falls a little short as a mystery. I have read and own all of the books in this series, and I would have to say that this is not one of the best. Due to the style of Mr. McBain, and the incredible dialogue and descriptions he fills the book with, I did find this book to be an enjoyable and fast read. The mystery isn't all that thrilling or complicated. However if you are a fan of the police procedural or a fan of Ed McBain's than this book is not to be missed. If you are new to the series, this book may not be the best to start with, since it doesn't show the author's true genius.

Rating:
Summary: Another solid 87th Precinct mystery
Review: In the latest case, Carella and Meyer are called to the apartment of Andrew Hale who, his daughter says, died of natural causes in bed. If so, the detectives wonder, why are there faint marks around the corpse's neck? And why are the hands and feet showing more lividity than the rest of the body. It's almost as if he's been hung.

I don't think anyone does the ensemble police procedural better than McBain. As is usual in the 87th mysteries, it takes various teams of detectives to finally put all the clues together. Even Fat Ollie Weeks from the 88th gets into the act and supplies important clues that lead to the final solution.

As always with McBain's 87th Precinct novels, the dialogue is crisp and tight, the characterization right on the money, and few words are wasted.

I'd recommend this book to current 87th Precinct fans and to anyone who wants to read a good police procedural.

Rating:
Summary: Everything falls into place nicely
Review: THE LAST DANCE does a nice job of combining solid detective work with the occasional bit of chance to form a nicely constructed 87th precinct novel. All the players are here, including the man we love to hate Ollie Weeks, and the murder here is complicated by a series of events that are indirectly related, yet all lead to the eventual solution. A suicide that transforms into a homicide which ties into a play revival; only McBain can make something seemingly so far fetched work so well. For the 50th book in a series, this one definitely is spry for its age and McBain does his usual fine job making it all work.

Rating:
Summary: The Best in the Business
Review: When an 87th Precinct novel comes out, I must get it and read it. I have now read all 50 of these novels, and not a single one is bad. "The Last Dance" is no exception. An old man, Andrew Hale is murdered, found hanging in his apartment, having been drugged with Rohypnol. Another murder oa a young hooker is linked to this one because of the use of the same drug. The stoolie, Danny Gimp, is shot to death by 2 gunmen, and an old woman is murdered. It's always good to see Carella, Brown, Kling, and Meyer tackle all these cases and come up with the murderer. The 87th Precinct novels are the product of the best there is in the genre of police procedurals, Ed McBain. I just hope this isn't the last dance for the guys from the 87th Precinct.