Best Ed McBain Books

The best books by Ed McBain — 25 titles spanning Mystery, averaging 3.79 BLT stars.

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Ed McBain invented the police procedural as we know it. His 87th Precinct series — launched with Cop Hater and built across decades — shifted the genre's focus from the lone genius detective to the precinct house itself, where a rotating ensemble of cops grind through cases in a fictional city that feels unmistakably like New York. McBain's prose is lean and unsentimental, his dialogue crackles, and he never wastes a scene. What sets him apart is the texture: the bureaucratic frustration, the dark humor, the sense that crime is a condition of city life rather than a puzzle to be solved. Ice and He Who Hesitates show his range — from intricate ensemble plotting to tight psychological character studies. Readers who want gritty, intelligent crime fiction without private-eye romanticism will find McBain essential.

Ed McBain's highest-rated book in our collection is Lady, Lady, I Did It! (3.86 BLT stars). Browse the full list below.

  1. 1
    Lady, Lady, I Did It! cover

    Lady, Lady, I Did It!

    87th Precinct • Book 14

    by Ed McBain

    ★ 3.86 BLT Score (1.5K ratings)
    ★ 4.01 Goodreads (1.5K)
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  2. 2
    Ten Plus One cover

    Ten Plus One

    87th Precinct • Book 17

    by Ed McBain, Dick Hill

    ★ 3.85 BLT Score (1.7K ratings)
    ★ 3.99 Goodreads (1.7K)
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  3. 3
    Long Time No See cover

    Long Time No See

    87th Precinct • Book 32

    by Ed McBain

    ★ 3.85 BLT Score (1.5K ratings)
    ★ 4.01 Goodreads (1.5K)
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  4. 4
    Let's Hear It for the Deaf Man cover

    Let's Hear It for the Deaf Man

    87th Precinct • Book 27

    by Ed McBain

    ★ 3.84 BLT Score (1.7K ratings)
    ★ 4.1 Goodreads (1.7K)
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  5. 5
    The Pusher cover

    The Pusher

    87th Precinct • Book 3

    by Ed McBain

    ★ 3.82 BLT Score (4.1K ratings)
    ★ 3.95 Goodreads (4.1K)
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  6. 6
    Like Love cover

    Like Love

    87th Precinct • Book 16

    by Ed McBain, Dick Hill

    ★ 3.81 BLT Score (2.0K ratings)
    ★ 3.92 Goodreads (2.0K)
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  7. 7
    Killer's Choice cover

    Killer's Choice

    87th Precinct • Book 5

    by Ed McBain, Jack M. Bickham, Jeff Clinton, Unknown Author

    ★ 3.81 BLT Score (2.9K ratings)
    ★ 3.91 Goodreads (2.9K)
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  8. 8
    Eighty Million Eyes cover

    Eighty Million Eyes

    87th Precinct • Book 21

    by Ed McBain

    ★ 3.81 BLT Score (1.5K ratings)
    ★ 4 Goodreads (1.5K)
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  9. 9
    Lady Killer cover

    Lady Killer

    87th Precinct • Book 8

    by Ed McBain

    ★ 3.80 BLT Score (2.5K ratings)
    ★ 3.9 Goodreads (2.5K)
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  10. 10
    Killer's Wedge cover

    Killer's Wedge

    87th Precinct • Book 7

    by Ed McBain

    ★ 3.80 BLT Score (2.1K ratings)
    ★ 3.98 Goodreads (2.1K)
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  11. 11
    Tricks cover

    Tricks

    87th Precinct • Book 40

    by Ed McBain

    ★ 3.79 BLT Score (1.5K ratings)
    ★ 3.95 Goodreads (1.5K)
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  12. 12
    Ghosts cover

    Ghosts

    87th Precinct • Book 34

    by ed-mcbain

    ★ 3.79 BLT Score (1.7K ratings)
    ★ 3.9 Goodreads (1.7K)
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  13. 13
    Give the Boys a Great Big Hand cover

    Give the Boys a Great Big Hand

    87th Precinct • Book 11

    by Ed McBain

    ★ 3.78 BLT Score (2.6K ratings)
    ★ 3.91 Goodreads (2.6K)
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  14. 14
    Killer's Payoff cover

    Killer's Payoff

    87th Precinct • Book 6

    by Ed McBain

    ★ 3.78 BLT Score (2.9K ratings)
    ★ 3.95 Goodreads (2.9K)
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  15. 15
    Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here! cover

    Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here!

    87th Precinct • Book 25

    by Ed McBain, Dick Hill

    ★ 3.78 BLT Score (2.2K ratings)
    ★ 3.93 Goodreads (2.2K)
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  16. 16
    Poison cover

    Poison

    87th Precinct • Book 39

    by Ed McBain

    ★ 3.78 BLT Score (2.2K ratings)
    ★ 3.95 Goodreads (2.2K)
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  17. 17
    Blood Relatives cover

    Blood Relatives

    87th Precinct • Book 30

    by Ed McBain

    ★ 3.77 BLT Score (1.5K ratings)
    ★ 3.9 Goodreads (1.5K)
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  18. 18
    Ice cover

    Ice

    87th Precinct • Book 36

    by Ed McBain

    ★ 3.77 BLT Score (3.1K ratings)
    ★ 3.92 Goodreads (3.1K)
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  19. 19
    The Con Man cover

    The Con Man

    87th Precinct • Book 4

    by Ed McBain

    ★ 3.77 BLT Score (3.9K ratings)
    ★ 3.91 Goodreads (3.9K)
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  20. 20
    Eight Black Horses cover

    Eight Black Horses

    87th Precinct • Book 38

    by Ed McBain, Mark T. Sullivan

    ★ 3.77 BLT Score (1.6K ratings)
    ★ 3.93 Goodreads (1.6K)
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  21. 21
    Heat cover

    Heat

    87th Precinct • Book 35

    by Ed McBain, Dick Hill

    ★ 3.77 BLT Score (1.7K ratings)
    ★ 3.92 Goodreads (1.7K)
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  22. 22
    Shotgun cover

    Shotgun

    87th Precinct • Book 23

    by Ed McBain

    ★ 3.76 BLT Score (1.3K ratings)
    ★ 3.88 Goodreads (1.3K)
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  23. 23
    Sadie When She Died cover

    Sadie When She Died

    87th Precinct • Book 26

    by Ed McBain

    ★ 3.76 BLT Score (2.5K ratings)
    ★ 3.94 Goodreads (2.5K)
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  24. 24
    Lightning cover

    Lightning

    87th Precinct • Book 37

    by Ed McBain

    ★ 3.75 BLT Score (1.4K ratings)
    ★ 3.92 Goodreads (1.4K)
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  25. 25
    Jigsaw cover

    Jigsaw

    87th Precinct • Book 24

    by Ed McBain

    ★ 3.75 BLT Score (1.6K ratings)
    ★ 3.88 Goodreads (1.6K)
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