"As good as it gets"

Bison Records' Barney Loomis sets up a special event on a yacht to launch his latest find Tamar Valparaiso to stardom. Tamar lip-synchs her debut CD Bandersnatch aboard the rented River Princess with the media along. All seems well as the vessel sails along the river until Hussein and Arafat abduct the star. The media and the police wonder if perhaps Barney set up the ploy as a publicity stunt, but he insists that he did not and displays much anger.

87th Precinct Detective Steve Carella begins investigating, but almost immediately has to deal with an FBI led joint task force consisting of every bigwig wanting publicity in the nearby universe. The kidnappers demand a ransom to return the future superstar while the Feds try to keep Steve off their Squad. However, Barney demands Steve and the locals remain active as he believes they have a better chance of rescuing his diva because unlike the Squad they are not concerned about looking good in the media.

It has been five decades with over fifty novels, yet the 87th Precinct books are always among the best police procedurals on the market. The latest tale is superb with a delightful and cleverly conceived investigation at its center. However, that is lightened by Fat Ollie's dating and homage to Lewis Carroll. Alice and her Looking Glass company provide a wonderful foundation to the relationships within the task force and within the three kidnappers (one more in a Bush mask) and their victim as well as between the two groups. Even the Queen of Hearts knows that Ed McBain is the best and he proves that once more with the fabulous FRUMIOUS BANDERSNATCH.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted December 31, 2003

Summary

It should have been the night that launched a new pop idol. Tamar Valparaiso is young and beautiful, with the body and voice of an angel, and the stage is set for her to launch her debut album, Bandersnatch, on a luxury yacht in the heart of the city. But halfway through her performance, while the partygoers look on helplessly, masked men drag Tamar off the stage and into a waiting speedboat. Detective Steve Carella is just showing up for the graveyard shift when news of the kidnapping comes in. Working disjointedly with a Joint Task Force that calls itself "The Squad," Carella and the men and women of the Eight-Seven must find Tamar before time -- or indeed her very life -- runs out. In this brilliant look at the music industry, Ed McBain once again combines his mastery of the form with the fast- paced dialogue and intricate plotting that have become his signature.