Kiss — Ed McBain

With Kiss, the Grand Master of police procedurals does himself one better.

As before, the protagonist of this new story is the whole squad room of the 87th Precinct, the suspense is gripping, the complex, interwoven tale of cops, suspects, and victims provides "the kind of all-around entertainment that movies used to provide, but seldom do anymore" (The New Republic).

The action in Kiss begins with the problem of Martin Bowles, a successful businessman whose wife, Emma, suddenly discovers that her life is in danger -- and is relieved when her husband hires Denker, an out-of-town bodyguard, to protect her.

The first near-fatal accident alarms her; the second sends her into the arms of the police and the attentions of Steve Carella, a hardworking and, these days, troubled detective at the 87th.

Carella and his partner, Meyer, are suspicious of the whole setup, especially of Denker. And well they might be.

Meanwhile, other dramas swirl around them. Carella's father has now been dead for months; his murderers are coming to trial. And Steve finds himself a helpless onlooker in the most painful court case of his life.

As usual, Ed McBain has delivered a police story as true and gritty as the streets of urban America. The ingenuous plotting, the crisp dialogue, the razor-sharp suspense that have made him a national treasure -- add to all these an ending that will leave you gasping, and you have Kiss, the forty-fourth 87th Precinct novel, and by far the biggest and best yet!