An absolute banger of a kidnapping story. Like, 10/10, no notes (but I will surely be reflecting on it). ( )

Although I've been a fan of Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series of police procedural novels for a long time, I've been highly anticipating this one for another reason. Akira Kurosawa's wonderful film "High and Low" is based on this novel. Kurosawa's film focuses on a business tycoon named Kingo Gondo (in homage to this book's title). McBain's novel focuses both on the businessman (here called Douglas King) and on the police officers who populate this successful book series. Both versions hinge on a delicious twist: a rich man is prepared to do anything to get his son safely back from kidnappers. But will he be as self-sacrificing when he learns the kidnap victim is not his son, but the son of the man's chauffeur? Both a wonderful example of police procedural, with breathless activity that keeps the pages turning rapidly, and an examination of where greed and ambition end and human decency picks up, "King's Ransom" is a splendid little book. ( )

I have read all of Ed McBain's "87th Precinct" books in the past, but I was recently watching Akira Kurosawa's excellent film "High and Low" and was surprised to see that McBain's "King's Ransom" was the basis of the movie. I thought that I would re-read the book since it has been a very long time since I read one of the "87th Precinct" books (and I didn't remember the plot) and wanted to compare it to the film.

King's Ransom is quite good, an early one in the "87th Precinct" series, with an interesting and different story-line about kidnappers and a very wealthy businessman. The basic plot is the same as the Kurosawa film, but the kidnappers and their reasons for the kidnapping are different from the film (greed vs envy), and the ending of the book is very different from "High and Low". The book's ending is much more realistic and likely to happen, a commentary on our world. Ed McBain wrote the book in 1959, but it could easily have been put out today, with a overbearing wealthy business executive and his decisions. Ed McBain always is a good read, with his great characters and crisp dialogue he is not an author to miss out on.



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Another great tale of the 87th from McBain. This time the mystery isn't who, but how. To be fair it's not too much of a head scratcher, but McBain throws in some memorable characters and enough commentary on the human condition that I was kept riveted. ( )

Douglas King is trying to wrest control of his company from others by negotiating the purchase of a block of common stock when kidnappers grab a boy they think is his son, but is actually the son of his widowed chauffeur. The 87th Precinct and King's wife (and son) try to get him to pay the ransom, but the greedy capitalist is only willing to pretend; however, some rift among the kidnappers helps avert disaster. ( )

Well, it begins, of all places, in an anger-filled meeting at a shoe factory!?!?! I wasn't expecting that.
Nor was I expecting Mr. Douglas King, one of the most disgusting people in the 87th Precinct, basically the poster boy for the selfish, uncaring Republicans in the world. Money being more important than a life. Very Trump-like. Yech.

This is another good tale by McBain. A kidnapping gone awry. I love the way he describes the city, and especially the weather in it. This book had less of the stories of the men of the 87th, but it still kept me interested. And I liked the sweet little twist at the end!

Good last line: "Outside the squadroom, the city crouched." ( )

A successful businessman on the verge of making the deal of a lifetime gets a phone call from a man claiming to have kidnapped his son and demanding a ransom of $500,000. Unfortunately, it turns out the kidnappers snatched the chauffeur's son by mistake, and Douglas King won't pay the ransom because then he won't be able to buy the stock that will give him control of the company he is hoping to take over. In the end everything works out and the little boy is found safe and sound. Good thing he wrote this one early in his career: later on and the kid would have died. I really liked this one. ( )

Wealthy industrialist Douglas King is about to close the deal of a lifetime—and then his chauffeur’s son is kidnapped, on the mistaken assumption that the boy is King’s own son. Does King pay the ransom and let the boy live, or does he stick to his business guns and sacrifice the boy, who isn’t even his own kid?

The strength of this installment in the 87th Precinct series is, as always, the interaction among and the varying personalities of the members of the squad. The scenes set in the precinct and the conversations between various coppers ring true, and I like McBain’s inclusion of appropriately formatted lab reports and diagrams to help bring the story to life. I also liked Cotton Hawes’ moment of self-awareness in which he apologizes to someone for bad behaviour on his part (would we could all be so gracious), and Carella’s “the reason you suck” speech to Douglas King in which Carella knocks down King’s misguided view of the police force and their perceived ability to solve the case.

I was less enthralled with the role played by Kathy, the wife of one of the kidnappers, and even less so with Diane, Douglas’s wife, and her friend Liz. Female characters were not particularly strong in this one—or they very nearly did have the strength to effect change but ended up being unable to for whatever reason. Granted, this book was first published in 1959, so it may have been shockingly progressive for the time, but nowadays it prompts a bit of eye rolling. ( )

Steve Carella and the boys of the 87th Precinct are called in to solve a kidnapping case with a twist in this 10th entry in McBain's long-running classic crime series. A couple of two-bit crooks have snatched a little boy who they think is the son of a shoe-factory magnate, but it turns out they grabbed the chauffeur's son instead. Will the rich man still pay the ransom, even if it means scuttling his plans for a hostile takeover of the company he works for? What do you think? As always, McBain's style of directly addressing the reader with his deeply philosophical meditations is appealing and renders the series a cut above the usual police procedural. And it's surprisingly techy for a book written in the pre-cellphone, pre-Internet 1960s. I could have done without the sign-of-the-times mildly hostile sexism, but that's what you get when you read books written in less-enlightened times. I still love this series. ( )

A perfect example of what sets McBain's books apart from the other police procedurals, King's Ransom is a story about a kidnapping that has little to do with the child or the crime, but a lot to do with the men involved and the decisions they make.

Douglas King is a successful and cut-throat businessman, and he's about to pull a corporate takeover that will either make or break him. But when his chauffeur's son is accidentally snatched instead of his own, and the kidnappers still demand the ransom, King finds himself having to choose between his future or the life of an employee's son.

The focus on this story rests heavily on two men, the choices they make in life, and the women who stand beside them. Douglas King's wife barely recognizes the cold and calculating man as the one she married, while the wife of kidnapper Eddie Folsom is dealing with her own doubts and fears as what she thought was to be a bank robbery turns into a kidnapping. The motivation of both men can be traced to a need to provide for their families, but this desire puts them in direct conflict with the women they strive to work for, and poses questions regarding loyalty, determination, mercy, and the ultimate price of success. The characters, the story, and even the atypical resolution all set this tale apart from the rest. Unlike most crime fiction, the desperation here runs deeper than money.

The two female leads draw a stark contrast to the heartless molls in the last couple of novels, showing a level of complexity and depth that one must never forget McBain is capable of.

The regular 87th bulls, Carella, Hawes, Meyer, and Kling find themselves spending most of their time at the King Estate, with less legwork then your typical precinct caper. They're also joined by Byrnes, who handles the high-profile case personally, and newcomer Andy Parker, an obnoxious and loudmouthed instigator whose main role seems to be to fill the gap left by the death of Havilland back in Killer's Choice. Every batch has a bad apple, and Parker seems to be the one with the worm. Willis and Brown also make an appearance, but mostly while catching back at the precinct.

On a minor note, Hawes' steady Christina from Till Death and Lady Killer, is conspicuously absent. Considering that he makes a date with a stripper this episode, it might be safe to assume that she will not be returning.

Cliff Savage, the arrogant reporter that endangered Teddy through his column in The Con Man, phones in a quick guest appearance when he calls the station and attempts to shake down Brown for information regarding the King kidnapping. McBain's one weakness so far, if you can call it that, is his somewhat unflattering portrayal of the news media up to this point. ( )

It is October 1960 and Douglas King has worked himself to a position of some power at Granger Shoes. He has plans to move up and take over the shoe company as do others who intended to use him as a small part of their plans. Competing agendas and the future for Douglas King is at stake as his money is tied up in a deal to finally achieve his long held goal. A goal that he is not going to let anyone or anyone interfere with as he finally sees a real opportunity to fulfill his dream.

That future is not going to be thwarted by the kidnapping of a child. If it was his child, it might make a difference. It isn’t. It is the child of King’s chauffeur so Douglas King does not see the need to pay five hundred thousand dollars to get that kid back. If he gives his money up to meet the ransom demand, he will lose his opportunity and will very quickly be forced out of a job. One does not launch a takeover bid and survive the failure.

The men of the 87th Precinct don’t see things the same way as Mr. King. Detectives Meyer Meyer and Steve Carella certainly don’t and never will. Of course, they never have had that kind of money working for the NYPD and never will. They are honest and hardworking cops who do their best day in and day out despite all the job stresses and everything else. A kidnapping case gives them a break from petty crimes, bad coffee, and dirty jokes. It is cold this October in New York and the next few hours will tell the tale.

King’s Ransom: An 87th Precinct Mystery by Ed McBain is a good classic cops and robbers style read. Along with the complex details of the business deal and the kidnapping case, readers are treated to the backstory of numerous characters and their own situations as day to day life is a business deal as well. Sometimes, by fate or chance, you make the wrong bargain with the wrong people.

King’s Ransom: An 87th Precinct Mystery
Ed McBain
http://www.edmcbain.com
Thorndike Press
http://www.gale.com/thorndike
ISBN# 978-0-7862-9173-1
Large Print Hardback (available in other formats)
315 Pages

Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano Public Library System.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2015 ( )

Wealthy businessman closing in on a stock deal gets a call that his 8 yr old son has been kidnapped; however, the kidnappers have taken the wrong boy. King's son is safe but the chauffeur's son was taken by mistake. Will Mr. King pay the ransom for this child? What part will the wife of one of the kidnappers play when she finds out what they've done? What about Mrs. King's feelings. Very good early 1960s story before cellphones and DNA and all the modern technology that solves crimes today. ( )