Ed McBain/Evan Hunter published his first 87th Precinct novel, Cop Hater, in 1956. Though he insists that Isola,
the gritty city in all his Precinct novels--there are now more than 50--is imaginary, everyone knows he is
writing about his hometown: Manhattan. Not only are his police dramas based on years of primary research riding
in patrol cars and visiting morgues, cop bars, and squad rooms, the authenticity of his locale is clearly a
product of intense personal familiarity. It is interesting to note tha Isola means "island" in Italian.
Manhattan is an island, and McBain/Hunter just happens to be of Italian descent -- he was born Salvatore Lombino.¹Ed McBain Quote
"I would like to win the Pulitzer Prize. I would like to win the Nobel Prize. I would like to win a Tony award for the Broadway musical I'm now working on. Aside from these, my aspirations are modest ones."
This page is dedicated to one of my favorite authors, Ed McBain, author of the 87th Precinct mysteries with Steve Carella, Meyer Meyer, Bert Kling and Cotton Hawes. At Ace's Web World you can read a biography of Ed McBain and you can buy Ed McBain's books in print of on audio Cassette. Here are some of the titles available: Cop Hater (1956), The Mugger (1956), The Pusher (1956), The Con Man (1957), Killer's Choice (1957), Killer's Payoff (1958), Lady Killer (1958), Killer's Wedge (1959), 'Til 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), The Empty Hours (1962), Like Love (1962), Ten Plus One (1963), Ax (1964), He Who Hesitates (1964), Doll (1965), Eighty Million Eyes (1966), 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 (1972), Hail To The Chief (1973), Bread (1974), Blood Relatives (1975), So Long As You Both Shall Live (1976), Long Time No See (1977), Calypso (1979), Ghosts (1980), Heat (1981), Ice (1983), Lightning (1984), Eight Black Horses (1985), Poison (1987), Tricks (1987), Lullaby (1989), Vespers (1990), Widows (1991), Kiss (1992), Mischief (1993), And All Through The House (1994), Romance (1995), Nocturne (1997), The Big Bad City (1999), The Last Dance (2000), Money, Money, Money (2001), Fat Ollie's Book (2002), Hark! (2004), The Frumious Bandersnatch. McBain's final novel, Fiddlers, was released on September 12, 2005. It was his 55th 87th precinct novel.