| Title | : | Give the Boys a Great Big Hand (87th Precinct, #11) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 075285979X |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780752859798 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 240 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1960 |
Give the Boys a Great Big Hand (87th Precinct, #11) Reviews
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He had been a cop for a long time now, and he knew instantly from the expression on Hawes's face that the bag must contain a segment of the human body.
When a severed hand is found inside an airline bag, all the boys from the 87th precinct have to go on is that it was removed from a "large white male, aged 18-24." Now they've got to find not only the rest of the body, but the killer as well. Steve and Cotton are on the case, which has them, among other things, interviewing strippers.
Yeah - some guys have all the luck!
Though the ending was a bit abrupt, and more than a little gruesome, this was a pretty good entry in the series. I liked it W-A-Y more than the last go-round -
King's Ransom. -
In the world of 2013, if a policeman were to find a bag abandoned near a crowded bus stop, the first thing he might expect to find in the bag would be an explosive devise left by a terrorist. But in the simpler world of 1960, it's only a bloody, crudely severed hand.
It's raining day after day in Isola and the last place the detectives of the 87th Precinct want to be is out running around in the rain, trying to figure out who might be missing the hand in question. In due course, yet another hand turn up, apparently removed from the same victim. The lab determines that the hands were once attached to a large white male, but someone has carefully sliced the edges of the fingers off of the hands, so there's no way of knowing who the large white male might have been.
Steve Carella, Cotton Hawes and the other members of the squad spend a lot of time chasing down missing persons who might be missing their hands, but without much luck. They also stumble over a stripper named Bubbles, who may or may not have anything to do with anything, but they will continue to push ahead until they find a resolution to this gruesome and troubling case.
The result is another entertaining entry in Ed McBain's acclaimed series. As always, it's fun to watch Carella and the other detectives at work, and in this case, there's even a fist fight in the squad room. Any fan of the series will certainly want to find this book. -
Chilling psychological ending!
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Another great story of the 87th Precinct as Carella, Hawes and Kling follow the clues to the mystery of the severed hand found in an airline bag.
Quick, easy reads with a good plot and great description of the city at night.
I am really enjoying this series. -
This case starts off when a patrolman finds a severed human hand in a bag. As the case develops the detectives have a hard time identifying the victim let alone the perpetrator. Some of the clues point to the same person for both roles.
A decent story and it wraps up in the end with a bit of a twist. I enjoyed this one a bit more than the previous book. -
Ed McBain is one of the masters of the police procedural. His plots and writing style are crisp, the dialogue feels authentic and he gave us characters we can care about.
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It's always great to be back with the boys from the 87th Precinct even when McBain struggles to work a worthy plot line.Hapless beat cop Richard Genaro makes another grisly discovery in the form of a severed hand. McBain turns up the extreme weather (its raining constantly) while he scrambles to fit a story to the discarded appendage. Carella leads the investigation whilst Hawes attempts to charm the local Strippers. Kling adds support. Other than plot this one has Teddy and Carella moving into new digs with the newly born twins. The too brief inclusion of Frankie Hernandez as a Puerto Rican detective. And Carella resorts to violence in the squad room as local bad egg Detective Andy Parker crosses the racism line. It's far from the classic of the previous volume King's Ransom but still time well spent.
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Another terrific book in the 87th Precinct series of police procedurals. This one's got a great title, a nifty play on the subject matter. All of McBain's stories are fun, but with an underlying level of seriousness that grounds them in reality.
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A black-cloaked killer leaves a bag behind when disappearing onto a bus. Patrolman Richard Genero sees what happens and goes and opens said bag. The only thing in it is the hand of the title. A murder investigation takes place, using the reports of missing persons as that's about the only line of enquiry available.
I suppose that any series is going to have it's highs and lows. It also makes sense to say that the better a series is, the more enjoyable the lows will be, so it stands to reason that any of the 87th Precinct books are going to be worth reading even if they don't always hit the mark.
This one didn't really get me totally absorbed. I'm unable to put my finger on why. As much as anything, I suspect that it's because there's no serious development of any of the central characters.
The case itself goes like clockwork. Though the leads don't take them far in the early stages, they soon come together to help the detectives crack the case.
Notable in this one are some of the set pieces. Genero trying to get a warming Passover wine from a local tailor, Carella spoiling for a fight (and finding one) and an amusing visit to a high-brow clothes shop stood out for me. The ending also provides a terrific and bizarre finale that is hugely twisted and has been oft borrowed since.
More good stuff from McBain, but there are better vintages available. -
finished this one lastnight, the 28th of february. good read. i really liked it. quite the mystery. and another mcbain. surprised there are so few (relatively) reviews...what was the number? 46? give or take. anyway, an entertaining story. onward and upward.
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Despite having been written in 1960, the story is still an entertaining one, complete with simply the best dialogue in the game. McBain's 87th Precinct series, featuring a slew of engaging detectives (Carella and Hawes are featured here), delivers consistently high quality police procedurals / murder mysteries with just the right balance of humor and grizzly details. McBain has the ability to draw up characters that jump off the pages and while reading through their conversations, one easily slips into the belief that he/she is actually there, "on location," as if a fly on the wall.
If you can overlook some of the date-bound limitations (1960's social norms, technology, etc.), this story is even better. And the kicker-- it's not even one of the best of the breed. There are other entries in the series that are superior in both plot complexity and depth of characters, but this one is a great quick read-- get your feet wet if you like, or if you're already a committed fan, just enjoy the addition. -
This is the 11th Book in the series and much I have said in the previous 10 reviews still applies to I will deal with those points in brief. They are all positive.
The writing is still very sharp and very good
The Plot is sharp, focused and brilliant
It is a single tale that is concluded quickly
I still love the fact that because it is set in the 50s there has to be proper long form detective work.
It amazes me the author was writing 2-3 of these a year and they are this much fun
Its a quick fund read.
I like all of the characters
For this one the plot has a great twist at the end. The only other comment I would make is the title. I am not a fan of it. Its basically a poor quality pun / joke. It just doesn't fit the tone of the series or the book in my mind.
That's not a huge issue however. The book is a fantastic read and I am going to continue to work through the series. -
Let's hope no one on the US Supreme court reads this, because they might find a old law to reintroduce:
But Cronin had a few other things to worry about. By his own admission, he and Martha Livingston had lit a few sticks before hopping into bed together and Section 2010 of the Penal Law quite bluntly stated: “Perpetration of an act of intercourse with a female not one’s wife who is under the influence of narcotics is punishable by an indeterminate sentence of one day to life or a maximum of twenty years.” -
Another solid entry in the series. I remembered nothing of this one but the title. It's got all the trademark stuff - it's naturalistic, full of believable characters, full of equal parts cynical realism and a humanity that makes your heart ache. The view of women in this one was particularly noticeable in its datedness, but on that account McBain is occasionally jokey and crude, but never leering or demeaning. He's also self-aware enough to give the most emotionally devastating scene (imo, an early one) to a minor female character, an overweight, aggressive alcoholic.
Rated 3 as a stand alone in comparison to the others, rated 5 for the series as a whole. -
11 books into the series McBain is getting more philosophical. The last book explores money and class and this one talks more deeply about city life itself. Thankfully it's been several books without putting the wife of hero Steve Carella in peril after leaning on that device often in the first half dozen or more books.
This time a beat cop finds a bag left on a street corner and discovers a severed hand inside. With nothing else to go on the cops lean heavily on the lab for any clue the hand might contain. The series has always been interesting in explaining lab techniques but this encounter is the best so far in the series. How he determines the age and size of the person was more than I thought was possible for crime labs 50+ years ago.
Steve Carella and Cotton Hawes take the lead here although Bert Kling is back and there is much about his amorous adventures with the fiancee that wants a Master's Degree rather than marriage. Because this is a series book that may be read out of order we don't typically meet Meyer Meyer without getting the backstory on his name or Cotton Hawes without an explanation of either his name or the white streak in his hair.
The book has a humorous passage explaining what makes pretty Irish girls so intriguing but it mistakenly gives credit for the movie The Quiet Man (1952) to John Huston instead of John Ford. I don't know if this has been corrected by later editions or if the mistake has stood for the 55 years.
I've been reading these at a pretty steady pace and I think what makes them work again and again is that the actual mystery is not as interesting as the process of investigation and personal traits and habits of the detectives. -
Dear Mr McBain,
First I want you to know how saddened I was by your death several years ago and secondly to thank you for not allowing some other author to "buy" your series and continue to write as you. It's never the same and I would prefer a finite number of 87 Precient novels that are good solid mysteries with interesting characters. I started reading you in the 70's and have probably read almost everything you wrote but one advantage of getting older is that you don't always remember the plots of a book you read 20 or 30 years ago. And so when I'm in need of a mystery that I can count on, I reread one of yours and it's like a visit with old friends--Steve, Cotton, Meyer Meyer, Bert and the rest of the gang. It's also a nice history lesson in police investigations--things have changed since you started writing this series in the 50's. Sure, I like some of your mysteries better than others but they always readable and always come together in the end. Give The Boys a Great Big Hand was classic McBain--some disparate police calls actually are all linked together--it just takes the detectives of the 87th a little bit to tie it all together and arrest their man. So, even though you aren't here to write new books--I thank you for the old ones and the fact that you will remain the one and only Ed McBain. -
GIVE THE BOYS A GREAT BIG HAND (Pol. Proc- 87th Precinct-Fic. City-Cont) – Ex
McBain, Ed – 11th in series
Simon and Schuster, 1960, US Hardcover – Lib. of Congress Card No: 60-6103
First Sentence: It was raining.
*** On a rainy Marcy day in Isola, Patrolman Richard Genero sees someone all dressed in black board a bus but leave behind an airline tote bag. What Genero doesn’t expect is that the bag contains the large severed hand of an adult male. Now it’s up the “boys” of 87th Precinct to identify both the victim and the killer.
*** There is something wonderful about reading the Ed McBain books. His descriptions are unparallel: “It had been raining for three days now, an ugly March rain that washed the brilliance of near-spring with monochromatic, unrelenting grey.” His characters are great; the members of the 87th are real and imperfect. The dialogue is among the best there is. The plots are tight and twisty; I can never predict where they are going. It’s fun to read a story where men wore hats, women usually wore dresses, there were no cell phones or DNA matches, and references are made to Debbie Reynolds and a man having an Ernie Kovack’s mustache. If you’re looking for a special treat, read McBain. -
Gli uomini dell'87° si trovano a dover fronteggiare una situazione davvero singolare.
Carella e i suoi avranno il loro bel da fare per risolvere l'intricato rompicapo che si cela dietro il ritrovamento di una mano umana.
Un puzzle dove i pezzi acccuratamente scelti vanno uno ad uno al loro posto, regolari come un orologio svizzero.
Grandi i dialoghi di McBain che lasciano come sempre senza fiato.
Magnifica la descrizione che l'autore fa della città alle 17.00 del pomeriggio in alcune pagine in cui si concede una pausa dal "giallo". -
A patrolman finds a severed hand in a airline bag, and the 87th Street bulls have to find the rest of the body and the culprit. As they investigate, the mysterious disappearance of a stripper at the same time draws their attention. Steve Carella and Cotton Hawes work the case and discover the sad truth.
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There is no such thing as a bad Ed McBain 87th Precinct book. Period.
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I won't read anymore McBain. The 60s style is distractingly sexist
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Even though I am on my third reading of most of the books, they are still fresh and fun to read. That's because there are so many of them, they don't stay in my memory bank for long. McBain is good at what he does - his stories are well written, and his prose is utter poetry when describing something; for example, what the fictional city of Isola looks like after 5:00pm and compared to a voluptuous woman, an entertainment agent's casting office, or a soliloquy on death and the violent ways it can be accomplished, and more. There is tight plotting with plenty of plot twists, turns, and this time an eerie poignant ending. What makes his stories so appealing for me is a combination of excellent storytelling, a well-plotted police procedural, the ensemble cast of characters, the gritty realism, the sharp and crisp dialogue, and a glimpse into the past of the 1950's and 60's with no modern conveniences. They have a noir vibe to them.
Previous books have had weather descriptions such as scorching heat, or cold blizzardy snow, but this book concentrates on dreary days of rain, rain, rain in March. Patrolman Richard Genero is leaving Max Mandel's Tailor Shop after conning two glasses of wine out of the owner and a time of teasing each other, when he sees a person dressed all in black standing at a bus stop. The person gets on the next bus; and as it is pulling away, Genero finds an airlines overnight bag resting on the sidewalk alongside the bus sign. He opens the bag and immediately turns ashen gray. He takes it back to the 87th precinct squad room. Inside is a huge human hand. The only thing the detectives have to go on is what the medical examiner tells them, because the fingertips have been sliced away = no fingerprints available. He tells them it is probably a white male between the ages of 18 and 24 years old. Thus begins the old-fashioned police criminal investigative procedure. This professional squad uses dogged perseverance, conducts interviews which may or may not lead them to further clues, tailing suspects, filling out paperwork and cracking the case by either intuition or just plain dumb luck.
Some things they discover are:
- Carella and Hawes begin by visiting the airlines to see if they can trace who the bag might have been given to. Impossible to trace.
- Kling heads out to visit Missing Persons. He finds two possible men who fit the criteria. The only visual in this book is a picture copy of a missing person's report.
- Bubbles/Barbara Caesar is a stripper who is also missing. That becomes significant later.
- Another matching hand is found in a garbage can.
- Could the hands belong to a missing seaman? Can't be him, because he shows up later.
- The squad spends a week investigating and are still at square one. They have contradicting evidence that is baffling.
- How does a missing drummer from the band where Bubbles worked figure into the equation?
- etc. All the loose ends are tied up at the end which is worth waiting for. As three detectives confront the murderer, they each felt "identical waves of shock and terror and pity and knew they wouldn't need their guns".
The reader learns some new things about the detectives which include:
- Detective Andy Parker looks like a Hollywood stereotype of a gangster.
- Cotton Hawes is a tea drinker and his father is a protestant minister. He goes to church, rain or shine, every Sunday.
- Kling is the youngest detective. He is obsessed with a new girlfriend.
- There is a fist fight in the squad room between Parker and Carella over a Hispanic detective. Carella also tries to pick a fight with Teddy, his deaf-mute wife, which provides some comic relief in the story.
- The Carella's have moved to a huge rambling monster of a house (they got for back taxes) in Riverhead after the twins, Mark and April were born. Their nanny has moved in with them.
The ending is creepy and involves a mild-mannered psychopath. I wouldn't have thought of him as the murderer. This is a highly recommended series. It might sound like a boring read, but it definitely is not. -
This story felt like a writing assignment - from the life of a stripper in the '60's to spending many pages describing NYC/Isola as a woman, yet this one felt thin as a procedural goes.
We get some physicality between the bulls in the shop, however, the crime aspect felt phoned it.
Sure, severed hands are gruesome, for then, but not from now's perspective and many seasons of CSI. Chase down the few leads in the case, hype up the forensics - what little there were until the solution arrived-, and lay out a couple meager clues without really developing much of a plot.
How would Karl be back on the boat to Japan after jumping ship? What was the purpose of telling Steve about the flowers received the second time? Who cares? We didn't revisit that story seriously. Karl was garbage and unoriginal. Why the drawn-out dialogue with the telephone company about what an 'Unlisted number" means?
Save the final reveal (and theft of the Robert Bloch's Psycho premise) for the last chapter and blink, you're done with the book.
The backstory about Carella's house nurse was the only saving grace, unfortunately, along with Kling's romance. Otherwise, this felt flat.
Thanks for reading. -
I brought this book with me to the hospital when I knew I was about to go in to deliver my daughter. I thought it would be a decent distraction and easy enough to read. I don't think I've ever taken this long to read an 87th Precinct book, hah! I read it in fits and spurts and it was good, but I kept losing the thread because of how tired I would often be. But basically, a patrolman finds a hand in a travel bag and the detectives (or "boys" of the 87th) have to figure out who the hand belongs to.
Occurred over a rainy week-long span in March. We also learn about Carella's twins and how they came to be.
