Ed McBain – författare

He'd been a promising piano prodigy, once. Now he was just an addict, scraping to get by, letting his hunger for drugs consume him. But a man's life can always get worse - as Ray Stone discovers when he wakes up beside a beautiful nightclub singer only to find her dead...and 16 ounces of pure heroin missing.

The brilliant new 87th precinct novel from one of crime's enduring legends...Gloria Stanford was very sexy, very rich and very, very dead. Found in her plush, city apartment, she had been shot twice in the heart. All her credit cards and ID were gone but apart from that there seemed no motive at all. It's only when the detective-in-charge, Steve Carella, starts to receive bizarre cryptic notes in the mail that he realises something bigger than a simple homicide is going on. It seems the Deaf Man is back - a notorious crook and killer who has a morbid fascination with puzzles and anagrams. Long thought dead, he's back on the loose and wants his long-hidden millions back.

A collection of twenty short stories from the legendary crime author and creator of the 87th Precinct series.Ed McBain was one of the most admired and prolific crime writers of the twentieth century. His long-running 87th Precinct series helped define the gritty police procedural. In The McBain Brief, he presents a series of short stories where desperation, greed, and violence lead to bad ends.A collector who loves his porcelain more than his daughter; a hooker who melts the heart of a tough cop; an ex-fighter who goes berserk at Christmas; an automobile dealer out for a funny business ride. In The McBain Brief, readers will meet these and other colorful characters who run afoul of, and then into, the arms of the law . . .

Classics, modern fiction, non-fiction and more. Written for secondary and adult students the Oxford Bookworms Library has seven reading levels from A1-C1 of the CEFR.Calling all cars, calling all cars. Here's the story on the Smoke Rise kidnapping. The missing boy is eight years old, fair hair, wearing a red sweater. His name is Jeffry Reynolds, son of Charles Reynolds, chauffeur to Douglas King.' The police at the 87th Precinct hate kidnappers. And these kidnappers are stupid, too. They took the wrong boy - the chauffeur's son instead of the son of the rich tycoon, Douglas King. And they want a ransom of $500,000. A lot of money. But it's not too much to pay for a little boy's life... is it?

It is Christmas in the city, but it isn''t the giving season. A retired Gulf War pilot, a careless second-story man, a pair of angry Mexicans, and an equally shady pair of Secret Service agents are in town after a large stash of money, and no one is interested in sharing. The detectives at the 87th are already busy for the holidays. Steve Carella and Fat Ollie Weeks catch the squeal when the lions in the city zoo get an unauthorized feeding of a young woman''s body. And then there''s a trash can stuffed with a book salesman carrying a P-38 Walther and a wad of big bills. The bad bills and the dead book salesman lead to the offices of a respected publisher, Wadsworth and Dodds. This is good news for Fat Ollie, because he''s working on a police novel -- one written by a real cop -- and he''s sure it''s going to be a bestseller.

This lively novel—the fifty-second in the award-winning 87th Precinct series—follows the exploits of Ed McBain''s most beloved and foul-mouthed detective, Fat Ollie Weeks.All at once, Fat Ollie Weeks had a truly brilliant idea... But as any real writer could tell you, that''s how inspiration strikes -- with the sudden force of a violent crime. Known more for his foul mouth and short temper than his way with words, Detective Weeks has written a novel. But just as Isola is rocked by the murder of a mayoral candidate, the only copy of Ollie''s manuscript is stolen -- and an all-too-real adventure begins as a thief follows Ollie''s fictional blueprint to find a $2 million cache of nonexistent diamonds. Now, the 87th Precinct races to bring poetic justice to a cold-blooded assassin -- and someone''s about to add another chapter to the colorful career of Ollie Weeks, a cop who''s never played by the book....

It should have been the night that launched a new pop idol. Tamar Valparaiso is young and beautiful, with the body and voice of an angel, and the stage is set for her to launch her debut album, Bandersnatch, on a luxury yacht in the heart of the city. But halfway through her performance, while the partygoers look on helplessly, masked men drag Tamar off the stage and into a waiting speedboat. Detective Steve Carella is just showing up for the graveyard shift when news of the kidnapping comes in. Working disjointedly with a Joint Task Force that calls itself "The Squad," Carella and the men and women of the Eight-Seven must find Tamar before time -- or indeed her very life -- runs out. In this brilliant look at the music industry, Ed McBain once again combines his mastery of the form with the fast-paced dialogue and intricate plotting that have become his signature.

Ed McBain concocts a brilliant and intricate thriller about a master criminal who haunts the city with cryptic passages from Shakespeare, directing the detectives of the 87th Precinct to a future crime -- if only they can figure out what he means. The 87th Precinct gets a visit from one of the city''s most accomplished criminals -- a thief known as the Deaf Man. Because he might be deaf. Or he might not. So little is known about the man who is harassing Detective Steve Carella with puzzling messages that it is hard to tell. But as soon as a pattern emerges, the detectives of the 87th are forced to hit the books and brush up on their Shakespeare -- because each new clue contains a line from one of his works. Unless they can crack the complicated riddles and beat the Deaf Man at his own cat-and-mouse game, someone is going to end up hurt, or something will be stolen -- or both. It''s always so hard to tell with the Deaf Man. Ed McBain brings his most intelligent and devious criminal back to the 87th Precinct with a richly plotted and literary crime.

The fiftieth novel in the 87th Precinct series, Ed McBain returns to Isola, where detectives Meyer Meyer and Steve Carella investigate a murder which leads them to the seedy strip clubs and bright lights of the theater district.In this city, you can get anything done for a price. If you want someone''s eyeglasses smashed, it’ll cost you a subway token. You want his fingernails pulled out? His legs broken? You want him more seriously injured? You want him hurt so he’s an invalid his whole life? You want him skinned, you want him burned, you want him—don’t even mention it in a whisper—killed? It can be done. Let me talk to someone. It can be done. The hanging death of a nondescript old man in a shabby little apartment in a meager section of the 87th Precinct was nothing much in this city, especially to detectives Carella and Meyer. But everyone has a story, and this old man’s story stood to make some people a lot of money. His story takes Carella, Meyer, Brown, and Weeks on a search through Isola’s seedy strip clubs and to the bright lights of the theater district. There they discover an upcoming musical with ties to a mysterious drug and a killer who stays until the last dance. The Last Dance is Ed McBain''s fiftieth novel of the 87th Precinct and certainly one of his best. The series began in 1956 with Cop Hater and proves him to be the man who has been called “so good he should be arrested.”

The kidnapping was audacious, and there were plenty of witnesses... But no one attending the dazzling launch party for up-and-coming pop idol Tamar Valparaiso knew what they were seeing when, halfway through her performance, masked men whisked the sexy young singer off a luxury yacht and into a waiting speedboat. Now, the evening that was supposed to send Tamar''s debut album, Bandersnatch, skyrocketing with a million-dollar promotional campaign has instead kicked off a terrifying countdown for Steve Carella and the detectives of the 87th Precinct. Time is their enemy in the race to find Tamar''s abductors -- before the rising star is extinguished forever.

Ed McBain concocts a brilliant and intricate thriller about a master criminal who haunts the city with cryptic passages from Shakespeare, directing the detectives of the 87th Precinct to a future crime -- if only they can figure out what he means. The 87th Precinct gets a visit from one of the city''s most accomplished criminals -- a thief known as the Deaf Man. Because he might be deaf. Or he might not. So little is known about the man who is harassing Detective Steve Carella with puzzling messages that it is hard to tell. But as soon as a pattern emerges, the detectives of the 87th are forced to hit the books and brush up on their Shakespeare -- because each new clue contains a line from one of his plays. Unless they can crack this complicated riddle and beat the Deaf Man at his own cat-and-mouse game, someone is going to end up hurt, or something will be stolen -- or both. It''s always so hard to tell with the Deaf Man. Ed McBain brings his most intelligent and devious criminal back to the 87th Precinct with a richly plotted and literary crime.

It is Christmas in the city, but it isn''t the giving season. A retired Gulf War pilot, a careless second-story man, a pair of angry Mexicans, and an equally shady pair of Secret Service agents are in town after a large stash of money, and no one is interested in sharing. The detectives at the 87th are already busy for the holidays. Steve Carella and Fat Ollie Weeks catch the squeal when the lions in the city zoo get an unauthorized feeding of a young woman''s body. And then there''s a trash can stuffed with a book salesman carrying a P-38 Walther and a wad of big bills. The bad bills and the dead book salesman lead to the offices of a respected publisher, Wadsworth and Dodds. This is good news for Fat Ollie, because he''s working on a police novel -- one written by a real cop -- and he''s sure it''s going to be a bestseller. Ed McBain returns to his legendary 87th Precinct with a suspenseful story of greed, conflict, and the eternal search for money, money, money.

All at once, Fat Ollie Weeks had a truly brilliant idea...But as any real writer could tell you, that''s how inspiration strikes -- with the sudden force of a violent crime. Known more for his foul mouth and short temper than his way with words, Detective Weeks has written a novel. But just as Isola is rocked by the murder of a mayoral candidate, the only copy of Ollie''s manuscript is stolen -- and an all-too-real adventure begins as a thief follows Ollie''s fictional blueprint to find a $2 million cache of nonexistent diamonds. Now, the 87th Precinct races to bring poetic justice to a cold-blooded assassin -- and someone''s about to add another chapter to the colorful career of Ollie Weeks, a cop who''s never played by the book....

While Evan Hunter is known for his powerful novels and screenplays, Ed McBain is known for portraying the soul of the cop. With Candyland, they join for the first time to write a single story -- a powerful novel of obsession. Benjamin Thorpe is married, a father, a successful Los Angeles architect -- and a man obsessed. Alone in New York City on business, he spends the empty hours of the night in search of female companionship. His dizzying descent leads to an early morning confrontation in a midtown bordello and a searing self-revelation. Part I of Candyland follows Benjamin''s fever-pitched search for identity, told in classic Evan Hunter style. Part II is pure Ed McBain territory. Three detectives discuss a homicide. The victim is a young prostitute who crossed Benjamin Thorpe''s path the night before. Emma Boyle of the Special Victims Unit gets assigned to the case. As the foggy events of the previous night come into sharper focus, it grows clear that Thopre is a potential suspect. The detailed police investigation is Ed McBain at top form. Shocking, bold and compulsively engaging, Candyland is a groundbreaking literary event.

Another 87th precinct novel from 'the undisputed master - and there's nobody who does it better' DAILY MIRRORIrritating though he was, Lester Henderson had it all when he strode up to rehearse his keynote address in the darkness of a downtown theatre. Widely tipped to be the next mayor and possessing a nice line in catalogue-casual daywear, Henderson stood four-square facing his glorious future. But five shots later and his lifeblood was seeping away - gunned down by person or persons unknown from stage-right... At that point he became Ollie Weeks' problem. But this savage crime is suddenly overshadowed by a deed even more repugnant. Ollie's life's work is his novel. Honed by countless rejection letters, it is finally ready to be released to the general populace. But then the one and only manuscript disappears, leaving Ollie to head off in pursuit of the thief. A thief who is convinced that Ollie's work contains the secret location of a hoard of hidden diamonds...

'Ed McBain effectively invented the police procedural' Observer'The McBain books are among the very best of their kind ... McBain keeps you reading and keeps you guessing ... the book is a winner' Sunday Telegraph'Utterly compulsive' Literary Review'He is the undisputed master and there's nobody who does it better' The MirrorCassandra Lee Ridley is an ex-airforce pilot who now scrapes a living flying low-level contraband over the border to Mexico. But when she gets offered a $200,000 contract to fly what she assumes are drugs, she takes a deep breath and agrees to do it. The job goes perfectly, the deliveries are made and the money paid to the Mexican drug lords. One problem though. All $1.7 million dollars of the payment are fake, the Mexicans soon want their money - and Cassandra is their first stop and first fatality. When her naked body is thrown to the lions in a zoo in the 87th Precinct, New York, it becomes Detective Steve Carella's problem . . .