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    The Mugger
    The Mugger
    The Mugger
    Audiobook6 hours

    The Mugger

    Written by Ed McBain

    Narrated by Dick Hill

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    This mugger is special.

    He preys on women, waiting in the darkness…then comes from behind, attacks them, and snatches their purses. He tells them not to scream and as they’re on the ground, reeling with pain and fear, he bows and nonchalantly says, “Clifford thanks you, madam.” But when he puts one victim in the hospital and the next in the morgue, the detectives of the 87th Precinct are not amused and will stop at nothing to bring him to justice.

    Dashing young patrolman Bert Kling is always there to help a friend. And when a friend’s sister-in-law is the mugger’s murder victim, Bert’s personal reasons to find the maniacal killer soon become a burning obsession…and it could easily get him killed.

    The second book in the 87th Precinct series, The Mugger is an Ed McBain classic, a nuanced portrayal of justice and vengeance hailed by the Daily Mirror as “a masterpiece of crime writing…and there’s nobody who does it better.”

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateDec 13, 2011
    ISBN9781455873876
    The Mugger
    Author

    Ed McBain

    Ed McBain, a recipient of the Mystery Writers of America's coveted Grand Master Award, was also the first American to receive the Diamond Dagger, the British Crime Writers Association's highest award. His books have sold more than one hundred million copies, ranging from the more than fifty titles in the 87th Precinct series (including the Edgar Award–nominated Money, Money, Money) to the bestselling novels written under his own name, Evan Hunter—including The Blackboard Jungle (now in a fiftieth anniversary edition from Pocket Books) and Criminal Conversation. Fiddlers, his final 87th Precinct novel, was recently published in hardcover. Writing as both Ed McBain and Evan Hunter, he broke new ground with Candyland, a novel in two parts. He also wrote the screenplay for Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. He died in 2005. Visit EdMcBain.com.

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    Reviews for The Mugger

    3.5/5

    156 ratings16 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      McBain's second novel in the 87th Precinct series delivers an alternate to the straight mystery that started the series, setting the tone that his novels would switch back and forth betwee, and gives the main mystery a bizarre and darkly humorous twist.In this case, a mugger that courteously bows and thanks the women he abuses and victimizes ("Clifford thanks you, Madam.") is terrorizing the city, and the bulls of the 87th doing their best to stop him. The pressure already on them increases when one of Clifford's apparent victims turns up dead.With Carella on a honeymoon in the Poconos with his new bride Teddy, Willis and Havilland team up to track down the notorious Clifford. They are assisted in the search with the introduction of bald jokester Meyer Meyer, the most patient man in the 87th. Also introduced is female detective Eileen Burke, who goes undercover as Clifford bait in a desperate attempt to trap the mugger, and Hal Willis' stoolie, the gargantuan pedophile Fats Donner.At the same time, patrolman Bert Kling finds himself stepping out of bounds as he looks into the murder of an old friend's daughter, who just happens to be Clifford's homicide victim. His private investigation threatens to endanger his job, but also puts him in contact with the dead girls beautiful college friend, whom he falls for instantly.The Mugger is one of McBain's less spectacular stories, by which I mean it is not the crimes themselves that keep you riveted, but the characters involved and the stories they tell. A good portion of the book is taken up by interrogation transcripts, but they give a deeper feeling to the city and its denizens rather than bog it down.
    • 4/5
      This is my first Ed McBain and despite the fact that I started the series (which I didn't know it was) with this second book, I quite enjoyed it. And although I spotted the killer from the very beginning--it was THAT obvious--it was definitely a good read. A bit dark, but not as much as Dashiel Hammett's books. It was so obvious and easy to reach the conclusion I began to think I was mistaken. Until the last few pages I thought it couldn't have been that easy, but it was. I am looking forward to his other books, but hope they are not so obvious.
    • 4/5
      This is the second book in McBain’s legendary 87th Precinct series, set in a fictionalised (albeit recognisable) New York City. McBain was experimenting with the idea of a whole team as ‘hero’ of the series and deliberately removed the lead character from the first book, Steve Carella, sending him off on his honeymoon and leaving the action to the other cops. The story is a good one, though I for one thought the ending became fairly obvious several pages earlier (too many clues). And the attempt to add a romantic scene in a restaurant was an embarrassing failure. And yet, we can see a brilliant series in the making and we meet for the first time characters who will be around for many decades to come.
    • 4/5
      “There ain’t a citizen of this city who hasn’t heard about Cliff the Mugger and his punch in the mouth and his bow from the waist.”The way McBain describes the city as a woman is poetic, of sorts. This story is mostly about Bert Kling, which he kind of deserves as he was shot in book #1. I did miss Carella, my favorite in the 87th, but he deserved to be on his honeymoon! The three story threads are the muggings, the murder of a 17 year old girl, and someone stealing cats - lots and lots of cats! A good read!
    • 4/5
      The second book in the mammoth Precinct 87 series, and I have to admit after finishing this I am definitely hooked on the little world McBain has created. Although part of a series this can easily be read as a stand alone novel with only minor references to the preceding book (such as holidays, promotions etc).The mugger follows two separate storylines, the first details an almost gentlemanly mugger named Claude who is terrorising the city. After mugging his female victim he bows and thanks them, although he isn't adverse to roughing them up if they do not play ball to his demands. There is a precinct wide effort to capture the man and restore peace to the streets, but when a body is recovered that has all the hallmarks of a Clifford mugging things suddenly take a turn a turn for the worse as the police now believe they have a far more dangerous felon on their patch. Meanwhile, Willis is recovering from being shot in the line of duty, and old school friend contacts him out of the blue after recognising in the local news and approaches him to talk to his young sister in law who appears to be going around with the wrong crowd. Soon Willis is thrown into the murder investigation as she is the body found and attributed to Clifford. Who will solve the case first and does he have any authority to even be intervening?I really loved this story, the gritty realism and the internal workings of the police force of the 50's really made you feel as if you were there and I read that the author spent many weeks studying the New York Police before writing the first in the series. Some people may find the language outdated these days and sexism and racism are apparent in the storyline but I just feel it is a book of its time and adds to the authenticity. The way the different characters are starting to develop really makes you want to read the next instalment to see what happens next, Mcbain cleverley weaves their personal lives into the story without taking away from the action and suspense. 4 star read, but only because I worked out the twist before it happened, although I am not sure if that was because it has been repeated many times since on tv programmes and I am sure it would have kept the original reader guessing until the end.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed the 2nd 87th precinct book more than the first. It was a little dated but a great slice of 1950 police life. This was a series I had always planned to read but got a little nervous after the first one. Glad I stuck with it. Looking forward to the next book.
    • 4/5
      Eileen Burke makes her first appearance in this one, posing as a decoy to help catch a mugger who thanks his victims afterward. Patrolman Bert Kling is promoted to Detective after helping to solve the murder of an old friend's sister-in-law, who was just 17.
    • 3/5
      The Mugger by Ed McBain is a 1956 publication. The version I read is a 1996 release. I also added audio which is part of my KU subscription. This is the second installment in the 87th Street Precinct series. There is a violent mugger on the loose, whose main targets are women. After hitting them, taking their valuables, he bows, and introduces himself as ‘Clifford”. But, when one of the victims dies, the case takes on a new urgency. For those unfamiliar with the format, McBain uses a rotating cast of characters in this long running series. In this chapter, a rookie patrolman, Bert Kling, is recovering from a minor injury when an old acquaintance asks him to speak with his teenage sister-in-law, an attractive young lady he and his wife fear has gotten mixed up with the wrong crowd, which is how he finds himself involved in a homicide investigation. As I explained in my review of the first book in this series, it is of utmost importance, if you have never read these novels, to keep in mind the era of time in which they were written. This story was inundated with sexism, and had one or two rough spots where offensive racial slurs were batted around. Even though I expected this to some extent, it was very uncomfortable, and I must confess it did stymie my enjoyment of the story. These older installments are also dated in terms of police procedure, but that didn’t turn me off. I think that is part of what makes these older books interesting. It just goes to show how far we have come and the amazing strides we have taken since these books were written. Sadly, in other areas, nothing at all has changed. Other than that, the plot, once again, is very thin and compared to the type of complexity we are accustomed to now. I knew early on what was going on, but I was still interested in seeing how the cops would finally nail the murderer. Although, the story has some problems, I still think these books are worth reading. These early procedurals were influential to other writers and it serves as a reminder of times past, for better or worse. Not great, not terrible- 3 starsNote: For those who are enrolled in the Kindle Unlimited program many of the 87th Precinct books are available along with the audio. The audio narration was quite good
    • 4/5
      Well done crime fiction. A fast read once I got started - I look forward to reading more of this series!
    • 5/5
      McBain's second novel in the 87th Precinct series delivers an alternate to the straight mystery that started the series, setting the tone that his novels would switch back and forth between, and gives the main mystery a bizarre and darkly humorous twist.In this case, a mugger that courteously bows and thanks the women he abuses and victimizes ("Clifford thanks you, Madam.") is terrorizing the city, and the bulls of the 87th doing their best to stop him. The pressure already on them increases when one of Clifford's apparent victims turns up dead.With Carella on a honeymoon in the Poconos with his new bride Teddy, Willis and Havilland team up to track down the notorious Clifford. They are assisted in the search with the introduction of bald jokester Meyer Meyer, the most patient man in the 87th. Also introduced is female detective Eileen Burke, who goes undercover as Clifford bait in a desperate attempt to trap the mugger, and Hal Willis' stoolie, the gargantuan pedophile Fats Donner.At the same time, patrolman Bert Kling finds himself stepping out of bounds as he looks into the murder of an old friend's daughter, who just happens to be Clifford's homicide victim. His private investigation threatens to endanger his job, but also puts him in contact with the dead girls beautiful college friend, whom he falls for instantly.The Mugger is one of McBain's less spectacular stories, by which I mean it is not the crimes themselves that keep you riveted, but the characters involved and the stories they tell. A good portion of the book is taken up by interrogation transcripts, but they give a deeper feeling to the city and its denizens rather than bog it down.
    • 4/5
      A really easy read and enjoyable, with the dated nature of the story (published in 1956) adding to its charm. You feel that these were simpler times, although in truth it is probably just that the story is simple. The crime story is relatively predictable, but the prose carries you on with the descriptions of the streets and characters.
    • 4/5
      Like a very good movie, this short novel can be read in one sittings. It is a well-rendered, extremely competent noir that depicts an ensemble of cops as they try to catch a serial mugger and a murderer, who may or may not be the same person. It is set in the fictional 87th precinct of a fictional city that could only be New York, populated by the standard cast of lowlifes, street characters, good looking women, sailors looking for a good time and the like. As a mystery, it is not extraordinary in its resolution of the question. As a thriller, it is not a cliff-hanging and propulsive. But as a combination of attitude, atmosphere, with more than enough thrills, mystery and entertainment, The Mugger is quite good.
    • 3/5
      This was my introduction to the 87th Precinct. While somewhat predictable and uncomplicated, I found myself enjoying some of the subplots and the imaginative tag line of the mugger himself. This is a great snuggle under the covers read.
    • 4/5
      Like a very good movie, this short novel can be read in one sittings. It is a well-rendered, extremely competent noir that depicts an ensemble of cops as they try to catch a serial mugger and a murderer, who may or may not be the same person. It is set in the fictional 87th precinct of a fictional city that could only be New York, populated by the standard cast of lowlifes, street characters, good looking women, sailors looking for a good time and the like. As a mystery, it is not extraordinary in its resolution of the question. As a thriller, it is not a cliff-hanging and propulsive. But as a combination of attitude, atmosphere, with more than enough thrills, mystery and entertainment, The Mugger is quite good.
    • 4/5
      Second in McBain's long-running series is an effective and efficient mystery with Bert Kling taking centre-stage. Some of the dialogue is a little pulpy and the book generally lacks the sophistication of later entries, but it remains a fascinating read and introduction to characters who McBain would develop over nearly 50 years.
    • 4/5
      This second book in Ed McBain's police procedural series shines more light on some of the other cops of the 87th Precinct while Steve Carella enjoys his Honeymoon with Teddy. A mugger with a curious MO and a penchant for violence is terrorising the women of Isola. Although Hal Willis is running the case, with help from Roger Havilland and Eileen Burke, the story tends to focus more on Bert Kling, a beat cop recovering from getting shot in the first book. An old friend asks him to talk some sense into a young girl who is acting strangely.This one isn't quite as hooked on detailing the minutia of policing methods as in some of the other books but rather works on characterisation. And if McBain is still a little too thorough in murdering his metaphors sometimes there's still plenty of good dialogue to entertain.