BREAD (1974) ****
by Ed McBain
This paperback edition published by Pan Books, 1976, 191pp
First published in 1974
© Ed McBain, 1974
ISBN: 978-0-3302-4850-2
Blurb: The summer heat is sweltering. Tempers are rising. When the watchman in a warehouse filled with imported wooden figurines dies with a bullet to his head, the cops of the 87th Precinct are called in–but the case doesn’t end there. A fatal hunger for “bread” seems to be spreading throughout the city as a hooker loses her life in the quest for dough. Money is lost in a warehouse fire. Cash is flying in a slum redevelopment deal. And what the cops find behind a tale of fire and money is murder–and lots of it.
Comment: The 29th book in McBain’s 87th Precinct series returns to the single plot/case scenario of the early books and is a highly satisfying read. McBain’s cast of detectives is augmented by the bigoted, but relentless, Ollie Weeks of the 83rd. He is a colourful character and his interaction with Carella and Hawes creates an interesting dynamic. McBain’s authorial flourishes add his own personality to the storytelling. The dialogue flows easily throughout as the detectives doggedly get to the bottom of arson and murder with a shady cast of suspects.