The 87th Precinct is a series of police procedural novels and stories by American author Ed McBain (a writing pseudonym of Evan Hunter). McBain's 87th Precinct works have been adapted, sometimes loosely, into movies and television on several occasions.
The series is based on the work of the police detective squad of the 87th Precinct in the central district of Isola, a large fictional city obviously based on New York City. Isola is the name of the central district of the city (it fulfills the role of the borough of Manhattan within New York City). Other districts in McBain's fictionalized version of New York broadly correspond to NYC's other four boroughs, Calm's Point standing in for Brooklyn, Majesta representing Queens, Riverhead substituting for the Bronx, and Bethtown for Staten Island.
The 87th Precinct has 16 detectives on its regular roster and is said to have the highest crime rate in the city and the busiest Fire Department in the world. Every single 87th Precinct novel begins with a disclaimer:
"The city in these pages is imaginary. The people, the places are all fictitious. Only the police routine is based on established investigatory technique."
The books feature a large ensemble cast, often but not always centered on about half a dozen police detectives and other supporting characters. Detective Steve Carella is a major character in the series, alongside officers Cotton Hawes, Hal Willis, Bert Kling, the ambitious youngster, the hot-tempered Roger Havilland, and comic relief from the unfortunately named Meyer Meyer. A mysterious antagonist known as The Deaf Man appears occasionally over the years. The Deaf Man is a master criminal, who is "a little hard of hearing" and whose identity is never revealed. He is the precinct's, and, specifically, Carella's nemesis, and appears in the novels The Heckler, Fuzz, Let's Hear it for the Deaf Man, Eight Black Horses, Mischief, and Hark!
Main Characters
Detective Stephen Louis "Steve" Carella
Detective Meyer Meyer
Detective Cotton Hawes
Detective Bert Kling
Detective Hal Willis
Detective Arthur Brown
Detective-Lieutenant Peter Byrnes, squad commander
Recurring Characters
Detective Eileen Burke
Detective Andy Parker
Detective Dick Genero
Detective Bob O'Brien
Detective Tack Fujiwara
Dave Murchison, Desk Sergeant
Sergeant Alf Miscolo, Clerical Office
Monoghan and Monroe, Homicide Detectives
Oliver Wendell "Fat Ollie" Weeks (Detective from the 83rd Precinct)
William "Fats" Donner and Daniel "Danny Gimp" Nelson, informants
Sam Grossman, Head of the Police Lab
Paul Blaney, Chief Medical Examiner, and his twin brother, Carl, also a M.E.
Cliff Savage, newspaper reporter
Teddy (Theodora) Carella née Franklin, Steve Carella's wife
Ed McBain's 87th Precinct: Heatwave (1997) (TV film) Aired on NBC starring Dale Midkiff and Erika Eleniak
Literature
87th Precinct (1962) (Comic Book series)
Polishataren (Cop Hater) (1990), a Swedish graphic novel written by Claes Reimerthi and drawn by Martin Sauri
The Stand: the Complete & Uncut Edition (1990) by Stephen King has a minor character, "Edward M. Norris, lieutenant of police, detective squad, in the Big Apple's 87th Precinct" (pg 71). Steve Carella is briefly mentioned.
The Last Best Hope (1998), a novel in McBain's Matthew Hope series, features Steve Carella as a supporting character.
Stephen King novella, "The Mist", one of the major characters is named Ollie Weeks, a detective from the neighboring 83rd Precinct.
Paperback Warrior (2019) [Audio Podcast] features a segment on Ed McBain's 87th Precinct. The episode delves into the author's bibliography and explores his police procedural series as well as the debut novel Cop Hater. Co-Hosts Tom Simon and Eric Compton both suggest that the 87th Precinct was influenced by the television show Dragnet.[3]
