Evan Hunter, 87th Precinct’s Ed McBain, Succumbs to Cancer

-- Library Journal, 07/13/2005

Evan Hunter, who created the police procedural genre under the name Ed McBain with the popular 87th Precinct series, died of larynx cancer July 6 at the age of 78. Hunter published more than 50 titles under several pseudonyms, which earned him numerous prizes and honors including the Mystery Writers of America’s Grand Master Award for Lifetime Achievement, and he was the first American to snag the Crime Writers Association of Great Britain’s Cartier Diamond Dagger. Hunter first found fame with his 1954 novel The Blackboard Jungle, which segued into other best selling novels and the 1956 launch of the 87th Precinct series with Cop Hater. Hunter also worked in theater and movies, most notably writing the screenplay for Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds. He perhaps is best known for the 87th Precinct series, which changed the focus of many detective novels from a single investigator unraveling the mystery in his own style to a group of officers following more scientific means to solve crimes. McBain’s Fiddlers, the 55th and probably last 87th Precinct book, debuts September 12 from Harcourt.