"Someone is having fun at Dave Raskin's expense. That person has been harassing him by phone for weeks, threatening him with death if he does not leave his second-story shop by the last day of April. But Dave Raskin, patriotic American, knows what to do. He reports the heckler to Detective Meyer Meyer at the 87th Precinct.
Meanwhile, Detective Steve Carella is investigating the discovery of a nude corpse with the unlikely name of John Smith, a man wearing two-dollar shoes and staying in a four-star hotel.
As Carella tracks Smith's movements, he discovers a plot to rob a bank somewhere in the city, a plot involving bombs and a $2 million payday, while, back at the 87th, Meyer discovers that at least 40 other storekeepers are receiving the threatening calls, and they are all next-door to a bank!
As the multi-layered plot unfolds, the two cases become intertwined around a mysterious criminal genius known only as the Deaf Man. Who is the Deaf Man? Which bank does he plan to rob? And how? Will the detectives stop him in time? McBain's book answers a few of these questions and poses others as the novel hurtles toward an explosive and unconventional finale."
James Craver, Resident Scholar
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Review Analysis of The Heckler
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book descript. of violence and chases - 20% Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40% Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20% How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%
Tone of story
- Dry-cynical
How difficult to spot villain?
- Story partially from villain's perspective
Time/era of story:
- 1960's-1970's
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 30%
Kind of investigator
- police procedural, American
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
The crook is....
- committing armed robbery
Any non-mystery subplot?
- theft/fraud investigation
Crime Thriller
Yes
Crime plotlets:
- white collar fraud or theft
Mostly a criminal POV story
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
General Crime (including known murderer)
Yes
Who's the criminal enemy here?
- catching thief
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- police/lawman
Age:
- 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use?
- just the right amount
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- criminal
Eccentric:
Yes
- obsessed
- eccentric
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- an above average amount
Motive of antagonist
- money/treasure
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Genius
Physique
- average physique
Setting
City?
Yes
City:
- Dirty, dangerous (like New York)
Style
Part of a series?
Yes
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths?
- hundreds or more
Sex
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
- descript of kissing
Unusual forms of death
- flamed
- perforation--bullets
- exploded into bits
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
