Fiddlers (87th Precinct Mysteries) (Abridged)

Most serial killers don't shoot their victims twice in the face with a Glock. Most serials killers don't strike five times in two weeks. And most serial killers' prey share something more in common than just being over fifty years of age. But this is a serial killer who doesn't fit the profile, so why should the victims?

With trademark wit and sizzling dialogue, Ed McBain unravels a mystery that takes you to the outer edges of the city and examines the dreams we chase in the darkening hours, before the fiddlers have fled.

"Stransky proves a fine choice as narrator of Ed McBain's final 87th Precinct novel. A series of killings has claimed several victims who seem unrelated except that each has been killed by the same gun with two shots to the face. The detectives of the 87th try to find the common thread linking the victims that will lead to the killer. McBain's fictional city of Isola has stalwartly stood in for New York City for nearly five decades and does so once again, offering Stransky the opportunity to show off the diversity of the city's populace as they weave in and out of the detective's investigation. Stransky slips easily into each of McBain's characters regardless of sex, age or ethnicity, keeping his portrayals grounded and real. His descriptive narration, especially when dealing with the murders and their aftermath, is delivered in a straightforward, just the facts, manner, that turns these passages into moving observations on the fragility of life and the finality of death. Fiddlers is classic McBain, handled with aplomb by Stransky, and though this may be the last case for the detectives of the 87th, at least it is a case of going out in style. Simultaneous release with the Harcourt hardcover (Reviews, July 11). (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Read by Charles Stransky. With trademark wit and sizzling dialogue, Ed McBain unravels a mystery that takes us to the outer edge of the city and examines the dreams we chase in the darkening hours, before the fiddlers have fled. Most serial killers don?t shoot their victims twice in the face with a Glock. Most don?t strike five times in two weeks. And most choose their prey for a reason, not randomly. The detectives of the 87th Precinct are stumped by a serial killer who doesn?t fit the profile. A blind violinist taking a smoke break, a cosmetics sales rep cooking an omelet in her kitchen, a college professor trudging home from class, a priest contemplating retirement in the rectory garden, an old woman walking her dog?these are the seemingly chance targets. Their only similarity seems to be age; all are just over 50. Now Steve Carella and his colleagues must learn what else?or who else?the victims had in common before another body is found.

With trademark wit and sizzling dialogue, McBain unravels a mystery that takes listeners to the outer edge of the city and examines the dreams people chase in the darkening hours before the fiddlers have fled. Unabridged.

ED MCBAIN has written under various names more than eighty novels and several screenplays, including the one for Hitchcock's film The Birds. As Ed McBain, he is the author of the 87th Precinct novels, now in its 55th installment. He has won numerous awards, including the Mystery Writers of America Award and the Grand Master Award, Mystery Writers of America, 1986, for lifetime achievement. He is the first American to receive the British Crime writer's Association Cartier Diamond Dagger.CHARLES STRANSKY has appeared on Broadway in Glengarry Glen Ross and The Front Page. He can be seen in The Spanish Prisoner, Homicide, andThings Change, all written and directed by David Mamet, and many other films. He has appeared in sitcoms such as Newhart, Murphy Brown, Frank's Place, My Sister Sam, in several episodes of Law & Order, and also in daytime dramas and commercials. He has narrated numerous audio books.