I absolutely love the 87th Precinct. The characters are like old friends. I started reading these books when I was thirteen, the year I got into crime fiction like Elmore Leonard, Ross Thomas, Donald Westlake and Robert B. Parker. McBain was just a master of the craft. Every author who writes the police procedural walks in his giant footsteps.

The TV series "Columbo" based 2 episodes on 87th Precinct books. There was a huge backlash because it deviated from the standard Columbo format. Both are near the end of the searied in the late 90's or early 2000's "So Long As You Both Shall Live" and "Jigsaw". The city is named in the books is "Isola". It's basically NYC, but turned upside down.

I credit Ed Mcbain's 87th Precinct novels with my love of reading. With no real experience of reading crime fiction I picked up a copy of Mcbain's Ice and I never looked back. Little did I know how prolific Mcbain was and how many 87th Precinct books I had to catch up on. It remains one of my favourite crime/mystery series of all time.

One thing I love about the series is you can pretty much drop in anywhere. They are not terribly sequential. But they do reflect changing times. McBain never ignored what was happeing in the world outside Isola and how it impacted the cops of the 87th.

Hey Olly, I follow your channel for the horror content, but the way you keep mentioning the 87th Precinct series convinced me to pick up Cop Hater around Christmas. I'm now 7 books into the series, and they're perfect change-of-pace/palate cleansers. Thanks. Loving the series (and love your channel).

I’m a film nerd so knew about the High and Low and Birds connection when I spotted a bunch of the old green Penguin editions in my local Oxfam bookshop. I snapped them up and have loved them (reading them in order, just finished book 7). It’s good to know the quality sustains throughout 50 books! Incidentally, you can find some of the 60s TV series on KZfaq, as well as a 1959 B-movie of Cop Hater. They’re a fun watch. The Mugger and The Pusher were also made into cheap movies early on but I haven’t seen them yet.

It is the best Crime & Mystery series ever (I've wrestled Jo Nesbo's series into second place, after much angst about it). I was about ten years old, and went to the library. I had read several Agatha Christie novels, loved her, loved Poirot - but decided it was time to branch out. There were no real rules or guidlines, but by the time I was holding Eighty Million Eyes in my hand, I was thinking "well...opposites will be interesting...going from female and British, over to male and from the USA". Became an 87th Precinct junkie from then on. Got my father into them, and my stepfather into them. Very weird thing happened to both my father AND my stepfather: both tried to read Jigsaw early on, both gave it back to me kind of bored and said "give me a different one", and once they were hooked more on the series...they BOTH asked for Jigsaw back to give it another chance and said "this one is actually one of the best ones!". Is the lesson, don't start with Jigsaw?...I don't exactly know, that was all very surreal. But I read them in random order and had a great time ("oh...so THAT'S what happened to Roger Havilland!") - though of course I was into the series as they were still coming out, and would tackle each new one too. To get very general about things, I think I particularly admire the thinner ones, from about pre-1979; but even that is a bit unfair, as he seemed to catch fire again for me after about 1993 or so. Overall, they were always a treat. Otto Penzler talks lovingly of this series in one of his videos - and I'm too shy to leave a comment that would correct him on a few points. He seemed to indicate that McBain considered killing off a character in Cop Hater, whereas it's my clear understanding that that character was slated to die in The Pusher (in which he gets shot, and is at death's door). He also references Carella's wife as having red hair - I gotta tell you, I'm sure she was brunette, and I think he's mixing her up with one of Kling's star-crossed lovers, Augusta Blair. But I'm afraid to contradict the great Otto Penzler. Terrific video!

Wow! This is pretty cool, indeed. Interesting how these have had so much influence. I had no idea. A great collection. Thanks for showing us your editions. 😊💙

Since I got hooked on these in my teen years, I've probably read the entire series 3 times. I really was bummed at He Who Hesitates (because I wanted Carella and the squad). But upon my last reading, I had a complete change of heart and loved it. Strange, that.

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr gunter?McBain at a book signing in 95. Thoughrally enjoyed the evening. Iv'e read everyrhing he wrote...I think. Brilliant.

Love McBain, so this is a great find today. Looking forward to watching many of your other video's. It is a pity not all of the books are on Kindle, as I live in Thailand.

Fascinating to learn about the man behind the 87th Precinct series! Thanks for this great video!

Thanks for this informative and fun video! I got 32 of these books from an op shop today and the other day. $2 each. I haven’t read any yet but I’m super keen hence why i bought so many. Some are in super shonky condition but it’s fine by me.

I love the 87th Precinct novels. I became hooked when I was in my early teens and read Hail Hail The Gang's All Here which is still one of my favorite McBain books.

Great to see all the books in a sequence. I started out of order, but am putting that right. Currently up to Fuzz. Don't read too many at once as they're my treat and my way out of reading slumps, but this makes me want rattle on - I can always start again. Favourite so far, possibly Doll.

I had already planned to read as many of these as I can in March. This video is great and very helpful.

Took your tour on the treadmill with me. Completely enjoyable. Loved seeing all the covers and the Christmas themed book.

The most amazing in this series is that the main character Steve Carella is married to a deaf mute woman and has a Nemesis - gangster whom he has to fight against, as Dr Moriarty for Sherlock Holmes - a Nemesis who is also half deaf....

I read the first three in the early 00s, then Killer’s Choice last month. I’m sort of on a buying binge when I find them cheap. I doubt I’ll read them all, but I will dip into more.

Thanks for this episode. I've just done a book haul of 21 McBain books to add to the 8 or so paperbacks I already had. I'm working on completing my 87th precinct collection currently and it was news to me to hear about the short story McBain wrote for TV Guide. Definitely something I'm going to have to track down. Thanks again, Olly and take care!

Great video. Looking forward to getting stuck into these. Strangely, I read Mark Millar's "Enemy of the State" Wolverine story at the weekend and noticed the same plot device as High and Low kicking it off, didn't realise that was based on McBain!

I'm just getting into Mcbain and this was an excellent introduction, thanx, subbed

The reason I got into your channel is: Ed McBain. I liked your top 5 McBain novels. Can u please rank all 50+ novels or at least classify into tiers? Thanks for all your great work, man.

In one of the novels (I think it's Lighting) Fat Ollie Weeks talks about filing a lawsuit against Hill Street Blues.

Got me convinced I need to read some McBain now, much thanks

Have you seen the hunter series, the thief known as Parker, that series of books. Mel Gibson played the thief in Payback. I read a whole bundle of them, its like converse of the 87th Precint. It almost like the two sides of the same coin.

Amazing video! Thanks for getting me into this series. I love it! And thanks for not spoiling anything! (Unfortunately I will need to hold off from listening to the podcast until late 2023!) Help me out though, I have just finished Killer's Payoff and I was sure that Killer's Wedge came next - or is it Lady Killer? And what about the Ladies? The comment by Seth Hall is spot on about Cop Hater and The Pusher for when Carella was meant to die. McBain (aka Hunter, aka Lombino) was not afraid to kill off characters, especially in Cop Hater. A very coy strategy for a cop series as it leaves you thinking no one is safe (or their partners)! It is worth mentioning the succinctness that McBain employs. Reading the book in 2022, and with an almost global opinion of negativity around policing, there is a real tone and tension in that first book about the police being murdered that makes them surprisingly vulnerable characters. How that is played out in the interactions and relationships with wives is quite impactful. My big confession is that I was sure that 87th Precinct was a weekly show when I was a kid. I was positive that Dennis Farina played Steve Carella - turns out there was a series called Crime Story starring Farina. In my mind, he is now perfect casting, with a mute Demi Moore!

OMG this series sounds so good!!

I wish the 87th precinct series would have had a James Bond style treatment with a film franchise.

Heading to my favorite used book store in search of Ed McBain! Hoping to find the first 3-4 of the series there

This isn't really my genre, but I enjoyed this tour and you sharing some of the history of this book series. Very interesting video.

Read all of them, loved them!

I've read almost all of the books in the series. . Like any series, McBain had a lot of books that were par excellence. At the same time, there were some that were "so-so". In spite of this, the series is a nice diversion from the routine of life. The first novels I read in the series were "Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here" and "The Big Bad City". My favorite book in the series? It would have to be a toss-up between "Fat Ollie's Book" and "The Frumious Bandersnatch".

I havent read any 87th Precinct yet, but I found Shotgun recently and looking out for more. I didnt know he was an Italian American, interesting re: the name change.

Great collection, Olly! This was a really nice background and overview. Police/detective stories are not usually something that interest me, but I think you’ve convinced me to give this a shot. Would you recommend I try Cop hater first?

Olly, I think you'll like the Matt Scudder series by Lawrence Block

How did I not know about this series!! I've got to get a hand on one of these

I'm ashamed to say that the only one I've read is Cop Hater, quite a few years ago. I remember enjoying it, so I don't know why I didn't follow up on that one. Really should rectify that - maybe one to get on the kindle.

I like your video.

Great series, but I think edged out by Richard Stark's (aka Donald Westlake) Parker series.

Oh wow. I know High and Low as I am a big Kurosawa fan but I had no idea it was linked to this.

I’ve been hoping you’d do this. I have a few and was wondering if it kept strong or petered out. Thanks.

McBain also wrote a fantastic novel: THE SENTRIES, in 1965, no one seems to have spoken of it. Such a shame. Nothing to do, though, with the 87th Precinct. Not a criminal scheme, but some kind of political fiction action thriller, announcing the seventies era. Amazing novel, among the tons of novels that MacBain wrote.

I don't know if the name McBain, if anyone watches The Simpsons, we have a character called Ranier Wolfcastle who plays a film character called McBain, does anyone think that his name is derived from the author or has any tropes based from the 87th Precinct series based in his films on The Simpsons? Or is it just me, because of what Olly has said here, in this video.

Which titles are valuable? I have many. 1957 and up. US and Gr.Brit.

Do you think I would like this series? Sounds like one I should try? 😍

For some reason, the Kindle editions of the earlier books appear as unavailable. Though maybe that's a geographical issue

Did you Stephen King kills off Carella in the expanded version of The Stand?

Do you have the 2 short stories collections called McBain's Ladies and MsBain's Ladies Too? Don't want you to miss anything!!