Cop Hater
Encyclopedia
Cop Hater is the first 87th Precinct
police procedural
novel by Ed McBain. The murder of three detectives in quick succession in the 87th Precinct leads Detective Steve Carella on a search that takes him into the city's underworld and ultimately to a .45 automatic aimed straight at his head.
Written by Evan Hunter using the name Ed McBain, the book was inspired by a television show he greatly admired, Dragnet
. McBain chose to set his 87th Precinct series in the fictional city of Isola, based on New York City. In 1958 it was made into a film of the same name
. In 1961, NBC
developed an hour-long TV series 87th Precinct
. McBain's work inspired many other writers and television producers to further develop the police procedural genre. Most notably, in 1981 Steven Bochco
produced the award winning Hill Street Blues
for NBC. Bochco set his gritty police drama in a precinct house in a fictional city much as McBain did in Cop Hater. Apparently, Evan Hunter was unhappy with the similarity but he was reminded of his own borrowing of his predecessor's ideas.
Mike Reardon is on the way to work on the nightshift, he is shot to death from behind with a .45 caliber handgun
. As Steve Carella and his colleagues from the 87th Precinct are looking for their friend's killer, they have no idea that this is just the beginning of a series of police murders.
David Foster is the next victim, at the entrance of his apartment, where the killer has left behind a footprint at the crime scene. Steve Carella and Hank Bush question the family and wives of the deceased, as well as some suspects, but to no avail. A few nights later the unknown killer ambushes and murders Det. Hank Bush. Bush fought back however and shot and wounded the murderer. Steve Carella fears he will be the next target if he fails to stop him.
When Carella is leaving the precinct, he finds a reporter, Savage, waiting for him. He asks Carella his thoughts on who the killer might be, stating that everything is off the record. Carella reveals that - due to the evidence collected from Bush's murder - the police now knows certain attributes of the killer, i.e. weight, profession, and build. Carella leaves telling Savage that he is going on a date with his girlfriend, Teddy. The next day we find out that Savage has published the conversation between him and Carella, including Teddy's name and address.
When Carella finds this out he rushes to Teddy's apartment, hoping the killer is not already there. When Carella arrives at Teddy's apartment he hears shouting and cursing coming from inside. With his .38 in hand, Carella enters Teddy's room and is immediately faced with a man aiming a .45 right at him. Carella drops to the floor the instant he enters the room and shoots the man holding the .45 twice in the thigh. After making sure Teddy is okay, Carella interrogates the man, finding out that his name is Paul Mercer and that he was the murderer of all three cops.
After further interrogation it is discovered that Alice Bush was behind the whole plot; she had convinced a previously unknown man named Paul Mercer to commit the murders. Apparently she had promised him her affections once he had killed off her husband. In the end, both are sentenced to death for their crimes and Det. Carella marries his girlfriend, Teddy Franklin.
87th Precinct
The 87th Precinct is a series of police procedural novels and stories written by Ed McBain. McBain's 87th Precinct works have been adapted, sometimes loosely, into movies and television on several occasions.-Setting:...
police procedural
Police procedural
The police procedural is a subgenre of detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes. While traditional detective novels usually concentrate on a single crime, police procedurals frequently depict investigations into several...
novel by Ed McBain. The murder of three detectives in quick succession in the 87th Precinct leads Detective Steve Carella on a search that takes him into the city's underworld and ultimately to a .45 automatic aimed straight at his head.
Written by Evan Hunter using the name Ed McBain, the book was inspired by a television show he greatly admired, Dragnet
Dragnet
Dragnet may refer to:* A type of fishing net*Dragnet , a coordinated search, named for the fishing net-Dragnet media series:...
. McBain chose to set his 87th Precinct series in the fictional city of Isola, based on New York City. In 1958 it was made into a film of the same name
Cop Hater (film)
Cop Hater is a 1958 American police procedural film, based on the 1956 novel Cop Hater by Ed McBain, the first in a series of books about the 87th Precinct in New York City. The film was produced and directed by William Berke, written by Henry Kane, and stars Robert Loggia and Gerald S...
. In 1961, NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
developed an hour-long TV series 87th Precinct
87th Precinct (TV series)
87th Precinct is an American crime drama starring Robert Lansing, Gena Rowlands, and Ron Harper, which aired on NBC on Monday evenings during the 1961–1962 television season.-Synopsis:...
. McBain's work inspired many other writers and television producers to further develop the police procedural genre. Most notably, in 1981 Steven Bochco
Steven Bochco
Steven Ronald Bochco is a US television producer and writer. He has developed a number of popular television hits including Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, and NYPD Blue, as well as some notable flops such as Cop Rock....
produced the award winning Hill Street Blues
Hill Street Blues
Hill Street Blues is an American serial police drama that was first aired on NBC in 1981 and ran for 146 episodes on primetime into 1987. Chronicling the lives of the staff of a single police precinct in an unnamed American city, the show received critical acclaim and its production innovations ...
for NBC. Bochco set his gritty police drama in a precinct house in a fictional city much as McBain did in Cop Hater. Apparently, Evan Hunter was unhappy with the similarity but he was reminded of his own borrowing of his predecessor's ideas.
Plot summary
The city has surrendered to a heat wave in July 1956. When detectiveDetective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
Mike Reardon is on the way to work on the nightshift, he is shot to death from behind with a .45 caliber handgun
Handgun
A handgun is a firearm designed to be held and operated by one hand. This characteristic differentiates handguns as a general class of firearms from long guns such as rifles and shotguns ....
. As Steve Carella and his colleagues from the 87th Precinct are looking for their friend's killer, they have no idea that this is just the beginning of a series of police murders.
David Foster is the next victim, at the entrance of his apartment, where the killer has left behind a footprint at the crime scene. Steve Carella and Hank Bush question the family and wives of the deceased, as well as some suspects, but to no avail. A few nights later the unknown killer ambushes and murders Det. Hank Bush. Bush fought back however and shot and wounded the murderer. Steve Carella fears he will be the next target if he fails to stop him.
When Carella is leaving the precinct, he finds a reporter, Savage, waiting for him. He asks Carella his thoughts on who the killer might be, stating that everything is off the record. Carella reveals that - due to the evidence collected from Bush's murder - the police now knows certain attributes of the killer, i.e. weight, profession, and build. Carella leaves telling Savage that he is going on a date with his girlfriend, Teddy. The next day we find out that Savage has published the conversation between him and Carella, including Teddy's name and address.
When Carella finds this out he rushes to Teddy's apartment, hoping the killer is not already there. When Carella arrives at Teddy's apartment he hears shouting and cursing coming from inside. With his .38 in hand, Carella enters Teddy's room and is immediately faced with a man aiming a .45 right at him. Carella drops to the floor the instant he enters the room and shoots the man holding the .45 twice in the thigh. After making sure Teddy is okay, Carella interrogates the man, finding out that his name is Paul Mercer and that he was the murderer of all three cops.
After further interrogation it is discovered that Alice Bush was behind the whole plot; she had convinced a previously unknown man named Paul Mercer to commit the murders. Apparently she had promised him her affections once he had killed off her husband. In the end, both are sentenced to death for their crimes and Det. Carella marries his girlfriend, Teddy Franklin.
Character list
In order of appearance- Det. Mike Reardon, first victim, shot twice in the back of the head
- Det. Stephen Louis Carella, protagonist
- Det. Hank Bush, third detective to be murdered
- Det. David Foster, only black detective, Mike's partner,
- Lieutenant Byrnes, in charge of 87th detective squad
- Frank Clarke, first suspect of shootings
- Thomas Perillo
- Alice Bush, wife of Det. Bush
- Teddy Franklin, girlfriend of Det. Carella, deaf
- Danny Gimp, police informant
- Harry, bartender at The Shamrock
- Cliff Savage, a newspaper reporter
- Bert Kling, patrolman who was shot at a bar on Culver by a member of The Grovers
- David Brockin, suspect of detective shootings
- Captain Frick, commanding officer of the 87th precinct
- Det. Roger Havilland
- Oretha Bailey, woman who told Carella the cockroach-men were responsible for the murders
- Det. Hal Willis, relatively small detective, Judo expert
- Paul Mercer, murderer
External links
- IMDb page for movie version of Cop Hater (1985)
- Obituary for Evan Hunter New York Times July 9, 2005