ed mcbain

Matthew Hope
Created by Ed McBain
(Né Salvatore Lombino. Also writes as Evan Hunter, Hunt Collins, Richard Marsten, Curt Cannon, Ezra Hannon; John Abbott)
(1926 -)

Robert Randisi considers Calusa, Florida attorney MATTHEW HOPE to be a private eye, and that's good enough for me.

When we first meet Hope in 1978's Goldilocks, Hope is a transplanted New yorker who moves to Calusa on Florida's west coast, to practise civil law in a small firm. Despite his best intentions, he seeand stuff seems to have rubbed off -- by Mary, Mary (1993) he's considered one of the top criminal layers in the State.

Ed McBain, of course, is the man behind the 87th Precinct series of police procedurals, as well as the creator of private eye Ben Smoke. McBain seems to have a little fun with the Matthew Hope books are fun, and they certainly display a lot more whimsy than his gritty 87th Precinct books. In Gladly the Cross-Eyed Bear, for example, he has Guthrie Lamb, a old-time private eye he first wrote about over forty years earlier, helping out Hope, and in the most recent (and purportedly last) novel, The Last Best Hope, he has Steve Carella of the 87th Precinct in Isola up north calling in on a case that involves divorce, a barroom brawl and a museum rip-off.

NOVELS

• Goldilocks (1978)
• Rumpelstiltskin (1981).. Buy this book
• Beauty and the Beast (1982).. Buy this book
• Jack and the Beanstalk (1984)
• Snow White and Rose Red (1985)
• Cinderella (1986)
• Puss in Boots (1987)
• The House that Jack Built (1988)
• Three Blind Mice (1990)
• Mary, Mary (1993).. Buy this book
• There was a Little Girl (1994).. Buy this book
• Gladly the Cross-Eyed Bear (1996).. Buy this book
• The Last Best Hope (1998).. Buy this book

87th Precinct
Created by Ed McBain (pseud. of Evan Hunter, né Salvatore Lombino; 1926-2005)

Long before Hill Street Blues, Homicide, and NYPD Blue, there was Ed McBain's 87th PRECINCT. The series began in 1956 with Cop Hater. Although not the first procedural, it was one of the first and the 87th Precinct has come to virtually define the genre. The books generally feature an ensemble cast and multiple plot lines. Although the books vary in quality, on the whole this is a major series, a classic of American crime fiction that has entertained, enlightened and influenced the genre for over three decades (and counting!).

The action takes place in and around New York City, and has even been called "the greatest sustained literary exploration of New York City in American literature," but, of course, the biggest joke is that throughout the entire series, New York has pretended not to be about New York at all. Instead, we're told that the action takes place is Isola. As the disclaimer in every book reads: "The city in these pages is imaginary; the people and places all fictitious. Only the police routine is based on established investigatory technique."

Yeah, right. It's New York, all right, spun ninety degrees, with only the names changed to protect the guilty. Isola isManhattan, Calm's Point is Brooklyn, Riverhead is the Bronx, Majesta is Queens and Bethtown is Staten Island.

Most folks know Ed McBain is, of course, the pseudonym of Evan Hunter. But that's also a pseudonym. He was born Salvatore Lombino in 1926. Besides McBain, he has also written under the pseudonyms Curt Cannon, Hunt Collins, Ezra Hannon, Richard Marsten, and John Abbott. Hunter's first book, The Blackboard Jungle, was published in 1954, and became the basis for the 50's film classic. As McBain, Hunter has also written a series featuring Florida attorney and P.I. wannabe Matthew Hope. In fact, Steve Carella and other members of the 87th play a pivotal part in the latest Hope novel, The Last Best Hope. He's created some memorable eyes, too, including Ben Smoke, Curt Cannon and Dudley Sledge.

In the early sixties, a TV series made its debut, featuring Robert Lansing as Det. Steve Carella and Gena Rowlands as Teddy. It also featured Norman Fell, Ron Harper and Gregory Walcott. Although well-received by critics (particularly Rowlands' performance) it didn't last long, although at least two comic books were rushed out, hoping to cash in. But they weren't quickie recycled TV episodes; in fact, they were relatively "adult" for a "good" publisher like Dell. The first was drawn by Bernie Krigstein, who is so well known for his E.C. horror work, and is truly a bizarre visual excursion. The second deals in great detail with drugs, and may be drawn by one of the artists who also did the Michael Shayne books, another short-lived series which Dell decided to take a similar approach to.

McBain has won numerous awards including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Mystery Writers of America and the CWA's Diamond Dagger Award.

RUMOUR: Ed McBain allegedly has the final 87th in the can, entitled Exit, to be published after his death. But the most recent Matthew Hope novel was entitled The Last Best Hope, and the 1999 novel was called The Last Dance, which made more than one fan a little nervous. But he's stillc hurning them out...

NOVELS

• Cop Hater (1956)
• The Mugger (1956)
• The Pusher (1956)
• The Con Man (1957)
• Killer's Choice (1957)
• Killer's Payoff (1958)
• Killer's Wedge (1958)
• Lady Killer (1958).. Buy this book
• 'Till Death (1959)
• King's Ransom (1959)
• Give the Boys a Great Big Hand (1960)
• The Heckler (1960)
• See Them Die (1960)
• Lady, Lady, I Did It! (1961)
• Like Love (1962)
• The Empty Hours (1962)
• Ten Plus One (1963).. Buy this book
• Ax (1964).. Buy this book
• He Who Hesitates (1965).. Buy this book
• Doll (1965).. Buy this book
• Eighty Million Eyes (1966). Buy this book
• Fuzz (1968)
• Shotgun (1969)
• Jigsaw (1970)
• Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here (1971)
• Sadie When She Died (1972)
• Let's Hear It for the Deaf Man (1973)
• Hail to the Chief (1973).. Buy this book
• Bread (1974).. Buy this book
• Blood Relatives (1975)
• So Long as You Both Shall Live (1976)
• Long Time No See (1977).. Buy this book
• Calypso (1979)
• Ghosts (1980)
• Heat (1981).. Buy this book
• Ice (1983).. Buy this book
• Lightning (1984)
• Eight Black Horses (1985)
• Poison (1987)
• Tricks (1987)
• Lullaby (1989)
• Vespers (1990)
• Widows (1991)
• Kiss (1992)
• Mischief (1993). Buy this book
• Romance (1995). Buy this book
• Nocturne (1997). Buy this book
• The Big Bad City (1999). Buy this book
• The Last Dance (1999). Buy this book
• Money, Money, Money (2001) . Buy this book
• Fat Ollie's Book (2003)..Buy this book
• The Frumious Bandersnatch (2004) .. Buy this book
• Hark! (2004)...Buy this book
• Fiddlers (2005)...Buy this book

SHORT STORIES and NOVELLAS

• "The Empty Hours" (1960, Ed McBains Mystery Book #1; also1962, The Empty Hours)
• "Storm" (1960; also The Empty Hours)
• "Murder on Ice" (November 1961, Argosy; 87th Precinct)
• "J" (1961, also The Empty Hours)
• "Eighty Million Eyes" (May 1966, EQMM
• "Nightshade" (August 1970, EQMM)
• "Sadie When She Died" (1972, also Criminal Elements)
• "And All Through the House" (Playboy; also 1984, Mystery Guild promotional item, )
• "Reruns" (January 11-17, 1987, TV Guide)
• "Merely Hate" (2005, Transgressions)

http://www.thrillingdetective.com/87th.html