3 star for me is "I liked it", 4 star is "I loved it", 5 is "I couldn't live without it".
Bearing in mind most of his books were churned out in a month or two each, all I was expecting from Ed McBain was a "like" and that's what I got. His books are like the equivalent of a soap opera, the individual story arcs might be a little weak, but you grow to love the on-running characters and learn to know them inside out.
For that fact I enjoyed this book very much. The characters are very real and interesting (not mind-shatteringly, genre-definingly memorable, but interesting) and I look forward to seeing them again.
The story itself didn't really do anything to blow my socks off (I know for the time the idea of multiple characters collectively forming a protagonist over the series of the books was revolutionary for the time). There were no scenes I hadn't seen elsewhere and the mystery element seemed almost too inconsequential to the Author. ***VAGUE SPOILERFICATION*** The pursuit of the killer was ongoing throughout the story, but the resolution seemed almost entirely unlinked to the cops investigations. It felt a little bit "Rosemary & Thyme"ish in the end, with the characters sort of happening upon the resolution by sheer dumb luck. ***END OF VAGUE SPOILERFICATION***
This is definitely a series I will grow to love I am sure and I know there are individual stories to look forward to. However, for the time being I am expecting quantity rather than quality from the 87th Precinct.
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