Hark - Ed McBain

Sadly, I appear to have read an entirely different book to most of the other people who've reviewed it online. I say sadly, because I thought it was terrible. In fact, I even thought the back page was dreadful. The opening line informed me that 'Gloria Stanford was very sexy, very rich and very, very dead.' I'm not even sure why I found that off-putting, apart from the unnecessary prevalence of 'very', but it irritated me before I even began reading. (Why did I read it? Because I'm a member of a crime fiction reading group and I always try to read the books they select, even when I don't ... more

When I was on Majorca last May, I had problems with my reading matter, I had finished the first book too quickly and realised after some pages that the other book I had with me didn't appeal to me. Panic! The resort was too small for a bookshop but some supermarkets had German and English books on offer and I spotted the paperback edition of 'Hark!' by Ed McBain, fresh out of the printing room. Relief! I knew what I'd to expect and I also knew that I wouldn't be disappointed. How come? I can't remember exactly when I got to know the author Ed McBain, I think it was in the 1960s or 70s; ... more