Crap Looking Book Impressions #2: He Who Hesitates

Roll on another Crap Looking Book of Which I've Never Heard...

I let this slim volume jump into my hand because I wasn't exactly sure which of the words on the cover was the book title... Is the book called 87th Precinct, while "He who hesitates..." is a quote or allusion to the story? Maybe the author's name is "Ed 87th Precinct McBain" since as a critically acclaimed writer of "police procedurals" he felt a change in name was necessary, or his obscure middle name has driven him to write them since childhood.

I'm not even sure what "police procedurals" are. I hope I'm not going to read 151 pages on traffic violations, paperwork and donut runs.

The book is so light I can hold it and forget where it is. I doubt it leaves much time for the characters to evolve, or develop a genuine understanding of where they are and what they’re doing. So the crime fiction eye for detail is likely to be stripped back, while the central character (Ed McBain? Is it a character-as-title novella?) lets everything unfold around him and does very little to actually advance the plot.

I expect to digest this one in little more than an evening, and if there's not at least one prostitute or junkie adding to the gritty-bafta setting, I'm going to be disappointed.

Nick
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