Fiddlers: A Novel of the 87TH Precinct - Hardcover

"[McBain] departs still at the top of his game and, like every great entertainer, leaving us both satisfied and hungry for more."—San Diego Tribune


Ed McBain’s last installment in the 87th Precinct series finds the detectives stumped by a serial killer who doesn’t fit the profile. A blind violinist taking a smoke break, a cosmetics sales rep cooking in her own 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 random targets shot twice in the face. But most serial killers don’t use guns. Most serial killers don’t strike five times in two weeks. And most serial killers’ prey share something more than being over fifty years of age. Now Detective Steve Carella and his colleagues must find out what—or whom—the victims had in common before another body is found. With trademark wit and sizzling dialogue, McBain examines the dreams we chase in the darkening hours before the fiddlers have fled.

"Vintage 87th Precinct: the dialogue crisp, the pace swift, the humor wry, and every character—even the minor ones—superbly drawn."—Associated Press


"A fast and engrossing book . . . McBain is the true king of American dialogue."—The Atlantic Monthly


The author of more than one hundred books, Ed McBain (1926-2005) held the Mystery Writers of America’s prestigious Grand Master Award and was the first American to receive the Diamond Dagger, the British Crime Writers’ Association’s highest award.

Ed McBain's latest installment in the 87th Precinct series finds the detectives 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 own kitchen, a college professor trudging home from class, a priest contemplating retirement in the rectory garden, an old woman out walking her dog--these are the seemingly random targets shot twice in the face with a Glock. But most serial killers don't use guns. Most serial killers don't strike five times in two weeks. And most serial killers' prey share something more than being over fifty years of age. Now it falls to Detective Steve Carella and his colleagues in the 87th Precinct to find what the victims' had in common before another body is found.

With trademark wit and sizzling dialogue, McBain unravels a mystery and examines the dreams we chase in the darkening hours before the fiddlers have fled.