Cop Hater
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| Author |
Evan Hunter (as Ed McBain) |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | 87th Precinct #1 |
| Genre | Police procedural |
| Publisher | Permabooks |
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Publication date
|
1956 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 166 pages/ revised Edition 236 pages |
| OCLC | 8478204 |
| Followed by | The Mugger |
Cop Hater (1956) is the first 87th Precinct police procedural novel by Ed McBain. The murder of three detectives in quick succession in the 87th Precinct leads Detective Steve Carella on a search that takes him into the city's underworld and ultimately to a .45 automatic aimed straight at his head.
Written by Evan Hunter using the name Ed McBain, the book was inspired by a television show he greatly admired, Dragnet. McBain chose to set his 87th Precinct series in the fictional city of Isola, based on New York City. In 1958 it was made into a film of the same name. In 1961, NBC developed an hour-long TV series 87th Precinct. McBain's work inspired many other writers and television producers to further develop the police procedural genre. Most notably, in 1981 Steven Bochco produced the award winning Hill Street Blues for NBC. Bochco set his gritty police drama in a precinct house in a fictional city much as McBain did in Cop Hater. Apparently, Evan Hunter was unhappy with the similarity but he was reminded of his own borrowing of his predecessor's ideas.
The city has surrendered to a heat wave in July 1956. When detective Mike Reardon is on the way to work on the nightshift, he is shot to death from behind with a .45 caliber handgun. As Steve Carella and his colleagues from the 87th Precinct are looking for their friend's killer, they have no idea that this is just the beginning of a series of police murders.
David Foster is the next victim, at the entrance of his apartment, where the killer has left behind a footprint at the crime scene. Steve Carella and Hank Bush question the family and wives of the deceased, as well as some suspects, but to no avail. A few nights later the unknown killer ambushes and murders Det. Hank Bush. Bush fought back however and shot and wounded the murderer. Steve Carella fears he will be the next target if he fails to stop him.
When Carella is leaving the precinct, he finds a reporter, Savage, waiting for him. He asks Carella his thoughts on who the killer might be, stating that everything is off the record. Carella reveals that - due to the evidence collected from Bush's murder - the police now knows certain attributes of the killer, i.e. weight, profession, and build. Carella leaves telling Savage that he is going on a date with his girlfriend, Teddy. The next day we find out that Savage has published the conversation between him and Carella, including Teddy's name and address.
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