87th Precinct explained

87th Precinct series
Author:Ed McBain
Country:United States
Language:English
Genre:police procedural
Publisher:Original US editions:
Pub Date:1956-2005
Media Type:Print (Hardcover)
Number Of Books:55

The 87th Precinct is a series of police procedural novels and stories by American author Ed McBain (a writing pseudonym of Evan Hunter). McBain's 87th Precinct works have been adapted, sometimes loosely, into movies and television on several occasions.

Setting

The series is based on the work of the police detective squad of the 87th Precinct in the central district of Isola, a large fictional city obviously based on New York City. Isola is the name of the central district of the city (it fulfills the role of the borough of Manhattan within New York City). Other districts in McBain's fictionalized version of New York broadly correspond to NYC's other four boroughs, Calm's Point standing in for Brooklyn, Majesta representing Queens, Riverhead substituting for the Bronx, and Bethtown for Staten Island.

Other recognizable locations that correspond to New York City landmarks are Grover Park (Central Park), Sand's Spit (Long Island), the rivers Harb (Hudson) and Dix (East River), neighborhoods such as The Quarter (The Village), Devil's Break (Spuyten Duyvil), Stewart City (Tudor City), and Diamondback (Harlem), and specific places such as Buena Vista Hospital (Bellevue), Ramsey University (New York University), Hall Avenue (Fifth Avenue), Jefferson Avenue (Madison Avenue), and the Stem or Stemmler Avenue (Broadway).

The 87th Precinct has 16 detectives on its regular roster and is said to have the highest crime rate in the city and the busiest Fire Department in the world. Every single 87th Precinct novel begins with a disclaimer:

"The city in these pages is imaginary.
The people, the places are all fictitious.
Only the police routine is based on established investigatory technique."

Characters

The books feature a large ensemble cast, often but not always centered on about half a dozen police detectives and other supporting characters. Detective Steve Carella is a major character in the series, alongside officers Cotton Hawes, Hal Willis, Bert Kling, the ambitious youngster, the hot-tempered Roger Havilland, and comic relief from the unfortunately named Meyer Meyer. A mysterious antagonist known as The Deaf Man appears occasionally over the years. The Deaf Man is a master criminal, who is "a little hard of hearing" and whose identity is never revealed. He is the precinct's, and, specifically, Carella's nemesis, and appears in the novels The Heckler, Fuzz, Let's Hear it for the Deaf Man, Eight Black Horses, Mischief, and Hark!

Main Characters

Recurring Characters

The 87th Precinct Mysteries

Short stories and novellas

The following books excerpted chapters from 87th Precinct novels:

Novelette

Other media

Theatrical films

TV series and TV films

Literature

Podcasts

References

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Interview with Otto Penzler (July 2018).
  2. Web site: Interview with James Naughtie (November 2018).
  3. Compton, C.E., Simon, T.J.(Hosts).(2019, November 18).Paperback Warrior Podcast: Ed McBain [Audio podcast]

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