The Con Man

87th Precinct, Book 4

By: Ed McBain

Narrated by: Dick Hill

Length: 6 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

A con man is plying his trade on the streets of Isola: conning a domestic for pocket change, businessmen for thousands, and even ladies in exchange for a little bit of love. You can see the world, meet a lot of nice people, imbibe some unique drinks, and make a ton of money... all by conning them for their cash. The question is: How far is he willing to go?

When a young woman's body washes up in the Harb River, the answer to that question becomes tragically clear. Now Detective Steve Carella races against time to find him before another con turns deadly. The only clue he has to go on is the mysterious tattoo on the young woman’s hand - but it’s enough. Carella takes to the streets, searching its darkest corners for a man who cons his victims out of their money... and their lives.

A crime-fiction classic, The Con Man is the third book in the 87th Precinct series from Ed McBain, whom the Daily Mirror has hailed as "the undisputed master...there’s nobody who does it better."

They're arresting! Don't miss any of Ed McBain's 87th Precinct novels.

©2011 Ed McBain (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"McBain forces us to think twice about every character we meet… even those we thought we already knew." (New York Times Book Review)

"Imagine your favorite Law & Order cast solving fresh mysteries into infinity, with no re-runs, and you have some sense of McBain’s grand,ongoing accomplishment." (Entertainment Weekly)

Interesting story and well narrated

What did you love best about The Con Man?

The narrator did a good job of bringing the characters to life.

What did you like best about this story?

The author used several different stories to illustrate his points.

Have you listened to any of Dick Hill’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

n/a

One of my favorite 87th Precinct novels

4.5 of 5 stars.

Strangely, I had read "The Con Man" 20+ years ago when I was checking out crime fiction randomly from my library and I didn't recognize the story until I had already finished a few chapters. I've come to appreciate the thematic variety of crime in the 87th Precinct series and McBain brilliantly waxes on the different kinds of cons we experience everyday in advertising, relationships and whoever is selling us something. Cons of the criminal variety also take many shades from the mundane to the elaborate and in severity from the common swindle to murder.

One thing, however - this is a series around police procedure and crime solving, often sparse and hard boiled. While McBain often describes the circumstances of victims, even showing sympathy at times, this is not a series that delves into the motivations or psychology of its criminals. This is not a criticism, merely an observation that the world of the 87th Precinct isn't a vehicle for that kind of story.

Dick Hill is perfect for the series.

The Con Man

Love these books. Nice and short, with a surprise ending. They are well spoken also. I like to listen to books most of the time so a person's voice and acting make a big difference to the enjoyment of the book.

Gets tiring

I enjoyed #1, kinda. It almost appears the author gets paid by the word with all his going off in tangents about nothing to do with the story line. If I was reading instead of listening I could skip three or four pages at a time, as it is, I usually fall asleep before the good parts. And there are good parts, story line, and mystery reading,(listening). It just takes awhile so I'll skip ahead to the last couple of books and see if I have any more patience with those!

yes

Dick Hill is amazing at capturing the attention of the reader and Evan hunter was a tremendous writer

Brilliant narrative & splendid McBain descriptions

This is only the second McBain book I read and the first as an audio book.
I really like this format. I have listened as I have done running. McBain's detailed and sometime quite humorous descriptions of people and surroundings are enchantingly witty and yet spot on. The vivid narrative of Mr Hill was also very good giving the characters personality with his change of voice and accents.

The story was also very good. Dead girl bodies had been found floating in the river. Each girl had a heart with three letters on her hand between the thumb and the index finger. Additionally two confidence artists are tricking money from people in the area of the 87th precinct. Detectives Brown and Carello have some job to do.

You gotta love Teddy...

Great story, Great characters, and Great dialogue. Literary masterpiece? read Moby Dick, for an enjoyable light romp into the 50's and the life of cops back when they ruled... This is the series!!! Teddy is my favorite character after reading 3 novels in the series. You will have to read them to find out why, no spoilers here!

Narration is perfect!

The 87th Precinct was the first police procedural serial I ever read and that was at least three decades ago. I laughed the minute I heard the narrator: perfect voice for the book! To be sure, some age wrinkles show through as well might be expected but nonetheless, one heck of a good listen and incredibly tense at the end. My first thriller in audiobook form and I realised that in book form, I would have sped read to get to the end but no can do with audio, I had to sit and wait, wait, wait for everything to turn out. Would have given it five stars but have decided to keep 5 stars in reserve for books that knock my socks right off (which is why performance did get 5, Dick Hill could not have been better).