Ed Mcbain is the name most familiar to his fans although he used several other pseudonyms as well. This is a generic review due to the amount of books he wrote. Little bit about the author, then some of the series he did. The star rating will indicate my opinion of individual books. I started reading his books in the late 1980's and continued until his sad death from throat cancer in 2005. I did find he went through a very dark period with his books. I found them unpleasant to read as the female police characters were treated harshly. Not so much as a deliberate anti-female jibe but more as a storyline shock but I didn't like it. It was interesting reading his autobiography as it explained some of the darkness. He was going through a dreadful divorce, several heart attacks and cancer. But towards the end the books became better as his life with his new wife seemed to lighten his outlook. The final books he wrote were back to form for me and it was very sad when he died. I enjoyed a lot of his work. The writing is crisp, with a strong sense of humour. The plots are generally good but there are a few misses along the way. Evan hunter. This bit will deal with the hunter books individually. The blackboard jungle was hunter/Mcbain's first novel. It's very well written with good characters. It's a tough story set in a tough location, a vocational school for troubled students. It's not a happy book though it's still good. The 87th precinct. This is his most famous series. Running from 1956 until his death in 2005 it follows the lives of the men and women in a police precinct house. Best read in order as the story lines of the various police officers are a major element it's unusual in that the officers age in accordance with the passage of the books. Some rise through the ranks, some are killed in the line of duty, some retire. The stories are good. They tend to be about real life crime rather than convoluted murderers. The books go through a period of darkness which I found hard to read. To much misery for me as I suffer from depression which was constantly flaring up during this period so my views of these stories may be coloured by that. Thankfully the books picked up towards the end of the series again. Overall an impressive set of books. The matthew hope stories. A set of stories featuring a lawyer. I didn't enjoy these as much as the 87th precinct books. They were all well written but I didn't take to the lead character that much. A friend of mine loved them though, so as always I'd urge people to make up their own minds really. General novels. Some very good standalone novels were published under pseudonyms then reprinted under the Mcbain name. Favourites were the excellent death of a nurse and sentries. In general I enjoyed the ed Mcbain books. Some opinions were affected by my health but I would definitely recommend him as a good crime writer.