The Big Bad City

Authors: Ed McBain

THE BIG BAD CITY

Welcome to

THE BIG BAD CITY

“Classic McBain—taut with trenchant dialogue…. In THE BIG BAD CITY, McBain proves he can pack punches in both the physical and emotional arenas.”

—
Boston Herald

“As good as it gets … compulsively readable.”

—
Seattle Times-Post Intelligencer

Look for Ed McBain’s next novel of the 87th Precinct—fiftieth in his acclaimed series!

THE LAST DANCE

Coming soon in hardcover from Simon & Schuster

And don’t miss the thrilling return of the book that started it all … Ed McBain’s first 87th Precinct novel

COP HATER

Coming soon from Pocket Books

Praise for the 87th Precinct Novels from America’s Unparalleled, Award-Winning Master of Crime Fiction

ED McBAIN

THE
BIG BAD CITY

“Full of noir touches and snappy dialogue.”

—
New York Newsday

“Vintage stuff. The dialogue is sharp, the plotting accomplished, and the prose bears the McBain stamp—uncluttered, unpretentious, ironic.”

—
The Philadelphia Inquirer

“[A] juicy mystery … McBain … lives up to his daunting reputation…. The 87th Precinct is always an exciting place to visit.”

—
Omaha World-Herald
(NE)

“If you’re looking for a sure thing, pick this one up.”

—
Syracuse Herald-American
(NY)

“You wouldn’t want to live there, but you will enjoy visiting
THE BIG BAD CITY
.”

—
Winston-Salem Journal
(NC)

MORE THAN 100 MILLION COPIES OF HIS BOOKS IN PRINT!

More Acclaim for Ed McBain and His Previous 87th Precinct Novels

“I never read Ed McBain without the awful thought that I still have a lot to learn. And when you think you’re catching up, he gets better.”

—Tony Hillerman

“The best crime writer in the business.”

—
Houston Post

“Ed McBain is a national treasure.”

—
Mystery News

“Raw and realistic … The bad guys are very bad, and the good guys are better.”

—
Detroit Free Press

“Ed McBain is a master.”

—
Newsweek

“Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct series … simply the best police procedurals being written in the United States.”

—
Washington Post

“A story so sharp you could shave with it.”

—
Orlando Sentinel

“McBain is the unquestioned king…. Light-years ahead of anyone else in the field.”

—
San Diego Union-Tribune

“A master storyteller.”

—
Washington Times

“McBain tells great stories.”

—Elmore Leonard

“The McBain stamp: sharp dialogue and crisp plotting.”

—
The Miami Herald

“You’ll be engrossed by McBain’s fast, lean prose.”

—
Chicago Tribune

“McBain redefines the American police novel…. He can stop you dead in your tracks with a line of dialogue.”

—
Cleveland Plain Dealer

“The wit, the pacing, his relish for the drama of human diversity [are] what you remember about the McBain novels.”

—
Philadelphia Inquirer

“McBain is a top pro, at the top of his game.”

—
Los Angeles Daily News

BOOKS BY ED M
C
BAIN

T
HE
87
TH
P
RECINCT
N
OVELS

Cop Hater
* ·
The Mugger
·
The Pusher
* (1956)
The Con Man
·
Killer’s Choice
(1957)
Killer’s Payoff
* ·
Killer’s Wedge
·
Lady Killer
(1958) ’
Til Death
·
King’s Ransom
(1959)
Give the Boys a Great Big Hand
·
The Heckler
* ·
See Them Die
(1960)
Lady, Lady, I Did It!
(1961)
The Empty Hours
·
Like Love
(1962)
Ten Plus One
(1963)
Ax
(1964)
He Who Hesitates
·
Doll
(1965)
Eighty Million Eyes
(1966)
Fuzz
(1968)
Shotgun
(1969)
Jigsaw
(1970)
Hail, Hail, the Gang’s All Here
(1971)
Sadie When She Died
·
Let’s Hear It for the Deaf Man
(1972)
Hail to the Chief
(1973)
Bread
(1974)
Blood Relatives
(1975)
So Long As You Both Shall Live
(1976)
Long Time, No See
(1977)
Calypso
(1979)
Ghosts
(1980)
Heat
(1981)
Ice
(1983)
Lightning
(1984)
Eight Black Horses
* (1985)
Poison
·
Tricks
(1987)
Lullaby
* (1989)
Vespers
* (1990)
Widows
* (1991)
Kiss
(1992)
Mischief
* (1993)
And All Through the House
(1994)
Romance
(1995)
Nocturne
(1997)
The Big Bad City
* (1999)
The Last Dance
* (2000)
Money, Money, Money
* (2001)
Fat Ollie’s Book
* (2003)

T
HE
M
ATTHEW
H
OPE
N
OVELS

Goldilocks
(1978)
Rumpelstiltskin
(1981)
Beauty & the Beast
(1982)
Jack & the Beanstalk
(1984)
Snow White & Rose Red
(1985)
Cinderella
(1986)
Puss in Boots
(1987)
The House That Jack Built
(1988)
Three Blind Mice
(1990)
Mary, Mary
(1993)
There Was a Little Girl
(1994)
Gladly the Cross-Eyed Bear
(1996)
The Last Best Hope
(1998)

O
THER
N
OVELS

The Sentries
(1965)
Where There’s Smoke
·
Doors
(1975)
Guns
(1976)
Another Part of the City
(1986)
Downtown
(1991)
Driving Lessons
(2001)
Candyland
* (2001)

B
OOKS BY
E
VAN
H
UNTER

N
OVELS

The Blackboard Jungle
(1954)
Second Ending
(1956)
Strangers When We Meet
(1958)
A Matter of Conviction
(1959)
Mothers and Daughters
(1961)
Buddwing
(1964)
The Paper Dragon
(1966)
A Horse’s Head
(1967)
Last Summer
(1968)
Sons
(1969)
Nobody Knew They Were There
(1971)
Every Little Crook and Nanny
(1972)
Come Winter
(1973)
Streets of Gold
(1974)
The Chisholms
(1976)
Love, Dad
(1981)
Far from the Sea
(1983)
Lizzie
(1985)
Criminal Conversation*
(1994)
Privileged Conversation
(1996)
Candyland
^*(2001)
The Moment She Was Gone
^**(2002)

S
HORT
S
TORY
C
OLLECTIONS

Happy New Year, Herbie
(1963)
The Easter Man
(1972)

C
HILDREN’S
B
OOKS

Find the Feathered Serpent
(1952)
The Remarkable Harry
(1959)
The Wonderful Button
(1961)
Me and Mr. Stenner
(1976)

S
CREENPLAYS

Strangers When We Meet
(1959)
The Birds
(1962)
Fuzz
(1972)
Walk Proud
(1979)

T
ELEPLAYS

The Chisholms
(1979)
The Legend of Walks Far Woman
(1980)
Dream West
(1986)

^*Available in paperback from Pocket Books

^**Available in hardcover from Simon & Schuster

Ed McBain

THE BIG BAD CITY

A NOVEL OF THE 87TH PRECINCT

POCKET STAR BOOKS
New York London Toronto Sydney

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Originally published in hardcover in 1999 by Simon & Schuster Inc.

A Pocket Star Book published by
POCKET BOOKS, a division of Simon & Schuster Inc.
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com

For information address Simon & Schuster Inc., 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

ISBN: 0-671-02569-4

eISBN 13: 978-0-671-02569-4

ISBN 978-0-671-02569-4

First Pocket Books printing November 1999

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

POCKET STAR BOOKS and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster Inc.

Front cover photo by Tony Stone Images

Printed in the U.S.A.

This, again, is for my wife—
Dragica Dimitrijević-Hunter

The city in these pages is imaginary. The people, the places are all fictitious. Only the police routine is based on established investigatory technique.

Contents