Book info

• Title Killer's Wedge
• Author Ed McBain
• Year 1959
• Genre Mystery

Her name is Virginia Dodge. And she’s here to kill Detective Steve Carella. An ordinary day at the 87th Precinct is about to take a turn for the worse when Dodge shows up to put a bullet in Carella’s head. And she doesn’t care if she has to take all the men in the 87th with her to do it. Armed with a homemade bomb, handgun, and a bottle of nitroglycerine hidden in her purse, Virginia holds the entire squadroom hostage as she waits for Carella. And no one is leaving until he shows up to meet his maker. With all the men of the 87th save one held prisoner, they engage in a battle of wits to save their colleague from their deadly captor.

Thoughts

I really enjoyed this one. Previous books have introduced a myriad of characters from the 87th Precinct and now we got to spend a dedicated amount of time with a handful of them. Trapped in a siege situation, it was fascinating to follow the thought process of the cops trying to get themselves out of a sticky situation.

They were waiting for Steve Carella, who in turn was investigating a murder that provided a nice side story to the main issue. It was almost like Jonathan Creek in its mission to prove a suicide was actually a seemingly impossible murder.

Overall, I thought this was a great addition to the series and one that really helps readers get to know the characters they’ve been reading about more and more.

Rating: 4 / 5