July 23, 1956. The first recorded murder in the 87th Precinct took place on this date. It appeared in Ed McBain's novel
Cop Hater. Over the next half century McBain went on to write more than sixty of these police procedurals, killing hundreds of fictional souls. His series included romances, a ghost story, a political satire... and a great demonstration of how far the genre can stretch.
Mystery writer William DeAndrea once noted with surprise that he had never included McBain when asked for a list of his favorite mystery writers. He concluded that McBain was like the Beatles in the 1960s. You didn't bother to list them as one of your favorite bands; they were a
given.
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