Evan Hunter is better known today as Ed McBain, because of the 87th Precinct series. He wrote Blood Relatives in 1975, nearly twenty years after the inaugural book in the series, Cop Hater. From the opening scene as a bloodied girl runs through the rain-darkened streets of Isola to get help, this one grabs you and doesn’t let go.

The tale Patricia Lowrey tells to the police leads them to her cousin Muriel, butchered by the man who tried to kill both of them. A line-up is arranged by Kling and Carella who discover they are working on the same case. But when Patricia fingers someone very strange in a line-up, Carella can't shake the feeling that something's all wrong here. Even once the boys of the 87th appear to be finally getting at the truth, Carella can't shake the feeling they aren't there yet.

This one delves more into the gritty underbelly of extended families than the mean streets of Isola, yet has that same noirish feel to it for which the series is famous. When a new piece of evidence falls into the lap of Carella by sheer happenstance - as it sometimes does in real life - a sad and twisted story finally leads him to the killer. Passages told through a young girl's voice in this one is some of the finest writing McBain ever did in this series. It humanizes the victim, and adds poignancy to this excellent police procedural.

Rather than attempting to flesh out every cop of the 87th in one book, or even two or three, McBain allowed the reader to become almost intimately acquainted with the cops of the 87th over time, just as we get to know someone over years in real life. It was a gamble which paid off, having such a diverse cast that readers came to know and love, and sometimes not love at all.

This one ends as it began, in the rain, as Carella walks away. Blood Relatives is a terrific entry in the series, despite some coincidence. There is a bit of a lag in the middle, but a huge and poignant payoff for readers at the end. Great and gritty stuff, with some nice writing from a female perspective. Worth a read for fans of hardboiled police procedurals. ( )

Just one case in this book, but it's a good one! A young gal is murdered on a rainy night after a party, and her cousin is the prime suspect! Or is it her co-worker? Or?

The first two pages of this book really drew me in! And, Chapters 8 and 9, Carella reading Muriel’s diary, are such a cool way to reveal the crime and it’s background! Well, except who-done-it, which Carella figures out in the following chapter. It's a nice paced, quick read and everything I've come to expect from this series! Thanks Mr. McBain! ( )

Another excellent 87th Precinct mystery

A really solid entry in the series. This has less comedy than some of the books, and features a single case and a single cop (Carella, of course). A bit like ‘Sadie When She Died’, it’s unrelentingly bleak, but also moving and very effective. The mystery is great too, and McBain kept me guessing to the final twist. ( )

A young woman is killed and her cousin slashed. The cousin is sure she knows the killer, but then identifies a detective in the line-up, causing Steve Carella to re-examine the case. Then the cousin says her brother was the killer, and a diary reveals that the two were having an affair and he became jealous when the 17-year old girl began a platonic relationship with her boss at the bank. Count on Steve's doggedness to uncover the truth. ( )

McBain is in full stride in this psychological thriller. Forget that the "real killer" is pretty easy to spot. The path to the end is so well-wrought, and there is real tension until the inevitable reveal. Although it is a thriller, and very much an 87th Precinct piece, with all the usual wonderful cop and detective banter and humor that makes this series so endearing, there are moments of really good writing that are the work of a mature novelist whose story-telling chops and brilliance of execution are on full display. ( )