Money, Money, Money

Name: Money, Money, Money
Rating: 3.78 (1340 reviews)
Author: Ed McBain

87th Precinct • Book 51

by Ed McBain

3.78 Goodreads

(1.3K ratings)

Published 2001 Mystery

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Why You'll Love This

A body fed to zoo lions, counterfeit cash, and Fat Ollie Weeks pitching his own cop novel — McBain somehow makes all of it work at once.

Great if you want: classic procedural chaos with dark humor woven throughout
The experience: brisk and sardonic — multiple plotlines converging with scrappy energy
The writing: McBain juggles ensemble voices effortlessly, each detective sharply distinct
Skip if: you're new to the series — the charm builds over many books

About This Book

Christmas in the city should mean goodwill, but in Ed McBain's 87th Precinct world, the holidays just bring more bodies. A young woman turns up inside a lion enclosure at the zoo. A book salesman is found stuffed in a trash can, carrying counterfeit bills and a loaded Walther. Somewhere in the city, a retired Gulf War pilot, a pair of Mexican criminals, and some very unofficial Secret Service agents are all chasing the same large stash of money — and none of them are feeling charitable. Detectives Steve Carella and Fat Ollie Weeks have to make sense of it all while the city hums with tinsel and seasonal indifference.

What makes Money, Money, Money rewarding is McBain's ability to keep multiple plot threads genuinely tense while still finding room for dry humor, sharp character work, and the procedural rhythms that define the series at its best. Fat Ollie's subplot — he's writing a novel, naturally — gives the book an unexpected layer of self-aware wit without undercutting the crime at its center. McBain writes lean, confident prose that never wastes a sentence, and fifty-one books into the series, he still makes the 87th feel alive.