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tarana's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked the book. I didn't like some characters, but realistically, McBain can't really ignore the fact that some cops beat up suspects. I will continue to listen to this series. They are rather quick books - the audiobooks are only a little over 5 hours.
jswolf's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
plantbirdwoman's review against another edition
2.0
This book was of interest to me mostly for its historical perspective. It was published in 1956, the second in Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series of police procedurals. It seemed very dated to me, even more so than the first in the series, Cop Hater, but, as I kept reminding myself, it was of its historical period and this is, I think, the way that male writers of thrillers or crime fiction wrote in the mid-20th century - with gender and racial stereotypes intact and unchallenged.
Even acknowledging all that though, I still found myself irritated by the expression of those attitudes. I was especially offended by the descriptions of the women characters in the book - all breasts and bottoms and legs. Especially legs. Apparently McBain was a leg man. Not that such attitudes aren't still apparent among certain writers today, but, on the whole, they do a better job of disguising it.
The story here is as the title says, The Mugger. This particular mugger preys on women who are out walking alone at night. As the tale begins, there have already been several incidents and the city is on edge because of them.
No one has been seriously hurt in the muggings. The mugger comes at his victims from behind in the darkness. He attacks them, hits them and warns them to be quiet. He grabs their purses and then, while they are on the ground, he bows from the waist and says, "Clifford thanks you, madam," and makes his escape. But then he hits one victim too hard and puts her in the hospital. Then a young woman, only seventeen years old, is killed in what appears to be a similar incident and the police search turns deadly earnest as they search for a murderer.
Before the young woman was murdered, a young police patrolman named Bert Kling was asked by a friend to talk to his sister-in-law. The man's wife is worried about her sister and thinks she may be in trouble. She hopes that the teenager might open up to Bert. The plan doesn't work, however. The girl will not talk to him even though he can see that she is very troubled. He goes on his way and the next thing he hears is that the girl, Jeannie, has been killed - perhaps by the mugger.
Bert feels a responsibility and determines to investigate, even though it's not his case and, since he's only a uniformed patrolman, he doesn't really have any right to be involved. But he is very ambition to become a detective and he wants to bring the girl's killer to justice. And - spoiler alert - he manages to do just that in what is clearly meant to be a surprising twist. In fact, the solution seemed pretty clear to me fairly early in the book.
With this series, Ed McBain set the pattern for many police procedurals to come and he's still inspiring writers of the genre today. He continued writing the series right up until his death in 2005 and I think it will be very interesting to see how his writing evolved over those many years. As I stated earlier, these first books seem hopelessly dated in attitude and outlook and yet I suspect they are true reflections of their time. I would assume that, throughout the years, the books continued to hold up a mirror to their times, and that will be a worthwhile theme for the reader to pursue.
Even acknowledging all that though, I still found myself irritated by the expression of those attitudes. I was especially offended by the descriptions of the women characters in the book - all breasts and bottoms and legs. Especially legs. Apparently McBain was a leg man. Not that such attitudes aren't still apparent among certain writers today, but, on the whole, they do a better job of disguising it.
The story here is as the title says, The Mugger. This particular mugger preys on women who are out walking alone at night. As the tale begins, there have already been several incidents and the city is on edge because of them.
No one has been seriously hurt in the muggings. The mugger comes at his victims from behind in the darkness. He attacks them, hits them and warns them to be quiet. He grabs their purses and then, while they are on the ground, he bows from the waist and says, "Clifford thanks you, madam," and makes his escape. But then he hits one victim too hard and puts her in the hospital. Then a young woman, only seventeen years old, is killed in what appears to be a similar incident and the police search turns deadly earnest as they search for a murderer.
Before the young woman was murdered, a young police patrolman named Bert Kling was asked by a friend to talk to his sister-in-law. The man's wife is worried about her sister and thinks she may be in trouble. She hopes that the teenager might open up to Bert. The plan doesn't work, however. The girl will not talk to him even though he can see that she is very troubled. He goes on his way and the next thing he hears is that the girl, Jeannie, has been killed - perhaps by the mugger.
Bert feels a responsibility and determines to investigate, even though it's not his case and, since he's only a uniformed patrolman, he doesn't really have any right to be involved. But he is very ambition to become a detective and he wants to bring the girl's killer to justice. And - spoiler alert - he manages to do just that in what is clearly meant to be a surprising twist. In fact, the solution seemed pretty clear to me fairly early in the book.
With this series, Ed McBain set the pattern for many police procedurals to come and he's still inspiring writers of the genre today. He continued writing the series right up until his death in 2005 and I think it will be very interesting to see how his writing evolved over those many years. As I stated earlier, these first books seem hopelessly dated in attitude and outlook and yet I suspect they are true reflections of their time. I would assume that, throughout the years, the books continued to hold up a mirror to their times, and that will be a worthwhile theme for the reader to pursue.
thanasisp's review against another edition
4.0
9/10
"Ποιός σκότωσε την Τζίνι Πέιτζ" είναι ο Ελληνικός τίτλος και είχε κυκλοφορήσει από εκδόσεις Bell.
Δεύτερο βιβλίο του 87ου τμήματος που διαβάζω και ήταν κι αυτό άκρως ψυχαγωγικό. Μου αρέσει πολύ η γραφή του McBain και θα διαβάσω σίγουρα κι άλλα που έχω στην βιβλιοθήκη μου.
"Ποιός σκότωσε την Τζίνι Πέιτζ" είναι ο Ελληνικός τίτλος και είχε κυκλοφορήσει από εκδόσεις Bell.
Δεύτερο βιβλίο του 87ου τμήματος που διαβάζω και ήταν κι αυτό άκρως ψυχαγωγικό. Μου αρέσει πολύ η γραφή του McBain και θα διαβάσω σίγουρα κι άλλα που έχω στην βιβλιοθήκη μου.
ring01's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
booksuperpower's review
3.0
The Mugger by Ed McBain is a 1956 publication. The version I read is a 1996 release. I also added audio which is part of my KU subscription.
This is the second installment in the 87th Street Precinct series.
There is a violent mugger on the loose, whose main targets are women. After hitting them, taking their valuables, he bows, and introduces himself as ‘Clifford”. But, when one of the victims dies, the case takes on a new urgency.
For those unfamiliar with the format, McBain uses a rotating cast of characters in this long running series. In this chapter, a rookie patrolman, Bert Kling, is recovering from a minor injury when an old acquaintance asks him to speak with his teenage sister-in-law, an attractive young lady he and his wife fear has gotten mixed up with the wrong crowd, which is how he finds himself involved in a homicide investigation.
As I explained in my review of the first book in this series, it is of utmost importance, if you have never read these novels, to keep in mind the era of time in which they were written.
This story was inundated with sexism, and had one or two rough spots where offensive racial slurs were batted around. Even though I expected this to some extent, it was very uncomfortable, and I must confess it did stymie my enjoyment of the story.
These older installments are also dated in terms of police procedure, but that didn’t turn me off. I think that is part of what makes these older books interesting. It just goes to show how far we have come and the amazing strides we have taken since these books were written. Sadly, in other areas, nothing at all has changed.
Other than that, the plot, once again, is very thin and compared to the type of complexity we are accustomed to now. I knew early on what was going on, but I was still interested in seeing how the cops would finally nail the murderer.
Although, the story has some problems, I still think these books are worth reading. These early procedurals were influential to other writers and it serves as a reminder of times past, for better or worse.
Not great, not terrible-
3 stars
Note: For those who are enrolled in the Kindle Unlimited program many of the 87th Precinct books are available along with the audio. The audio narration was quite good
This is the second installment in the 87th Street Precinct series.
There is a violent mugger on the loose, whose main targets are women. After hitting them, taking their valuables, he bows, and introduces himself as ‘Clifford”. But, when one of the victims dies, the case takes on a new urgency.
For those unfamiliar with the format, McBain uses a rotating cast of characters in this long running series. In this chapter, a rookie patrolman, Bert Kling, is recovering from a minor injury when an old acquaintance asks him to speak with his teenage sister-in-law, an attractive young lady he and his wife fear has gotten mixed up with the wrong crowd, which is how he finds himself involved in a homicide investigation.
As I explained in my review of the first book in this series, it is of utmost importance, if you have never read these novels, to keep in mind the era of time in which they were written.
This story was inundated with sexism, and had one or two rough spots where offensive racial slurs were batted around. Even though I expected this to some extent, it was very uncomfortable, and I must confess it did stymie my enjoyment of the story.
These older installments are also dated in terms of police procedure, but that didn’t turn me off. I think that is part of what makes these older books interesting. It just goes to show how far we have come and the amazing strides we have taken since these books were written. Sadly, in other areas, nothing at all has changed.
Other than that, the plot, once again, is very thin and compared to the type of complexity we are accustomed to now. I knew early on what was going on, but I was still interested in seeing how the cops would finally nail the murderer.
Although, the story has some problems, I still think these books are worth reading. These early procedurals were influential to other writers and it serves as a reminder of times past, for better or worse.
Not great, not terrible-
3 stars
Note: For those who are enrolled in the Kindle Unlimited program many of the 87th Precinct books are available along with the audio. The audio narration was quite good
rendier's review against another edition
4.0
Nice style, subtle humor, interesting characters, detective story with little twists and turns.
francomega's review
3.0
Another solid read. Fleshed out characters and world, interesting central mystery. I'm not a big police procedural reader, but I'm interested in continuing this series.
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