87th Precinct Books in Order

Someone is killing detectives from the 87th Precinct, turning police officers into targets. Steve Carella follows a scarce clue through the city's underworld, trying to discover the motive before another member of the squad is attacked.

A mugger attacks women across Isola while Detective Hal Willis takes charge of the case. Meanwhile, patrolman Bert Kling pursues a killer, drawing the precinct's work into parallel investigations where street violence leaves increasingly personal consequences.

A hanging appears to be suicide until an autopsy reveals a heroin overdose. As the detectives investigate the staged death, threatening calls implicate Lieutenant Byrnes's teenage son, making a narcotics case painfully personal for the precinct.

The murder of liquor-store employee Annie Boone presents the detectives with conflicting accounts of her life. As another killing strikes close to the precinct, Carella and his colleagues must discover who Annie was to understand who wanted her dead.

A woman's body washes up in the river with a mysterious tattoo on her hand. Steve Carella follows that clue while investigating a con artist whose schemes may extend beyond stealing money to taking his victims' lives.

A blackmailer is killed in a drive-by shooting, leaving Steve Carella and Cotton Hawes to untangle his victims' secrets. People with reputations and fortunes at stake provide competing motives as the detectives search for the person who finally struck back.

A woman enters the 87th Precinct armed with explosives and determined to kill Steve Carella. Holding the squadroom hostage while she waits for him, Virginia Dodge forces the trapped detectives into a struggle to protect their colleague and themselves.

A letter promises to kill an unnamed woman at eight that evening. With only hours to act, the detectives of the 87th Precinct must work out whom the threat concerns and whether they are facing a crank or a murderer.

Kidnappers mistakenly seize a chauffeur's son while targeting the child of a wealthy businessman. The detectives must rescue the boy, while the ransom demand forces Douglas King to weigh another family's life against his own financial ambitions.

Steve Carella's sister is about to marry when threats turn her wedding party into a hunt for a killer. With the groom in danger and time running out, Carella and his colleagues must identify the attacker before the ceremony becomes a tragedy.

Severed hands appear around the city without enough identifying evidence to establish the victims. Steve Carella and Cotton Hawes investigate a possible grudge against the precinct, trying to find the killer before more people become unrecognizable remains.

Wanted criminal Pepe Miranda openly challenges the police during a sweltering July. A tip brings the 87th Precinct closer to him, but gang tensions threaten to turn the pursuit into a gunfight that could inflame the surrounding neighborhood.

Businesses across the city receive threatening calls and unwanted deliveries while the precinct investigates a puzzling death. The apparently petty harassment conceals a larger criminal design, forcing the detectives to look for connections beneath the accumulating confusion.

A bookstore massacre leaves Detective Bert Kling's fiancée among the victims. Grief drives him and his colleagues to uncover the connection between those killed, making the search for a murderer both a professional duty and a deeply personal struggle.

Two bodies found together suggest a lovers' suicide pact, but Steve Carella and Cotton Hawes suspect murder. As other violent deaths occupy the precinct, finding evidence behind the apparent suicide becomes harder than trusting their instincts.

Three novellas follow the 87th Precinct through contrasting investigations: a wealthy woman's death, a murdered rabbi and a body discovered during a ski vacation. Carella and Hawes must look beyond appearances as sparse clues lead into unexpected complications.

George Lasser's death leaves Steve Carella and Cotton Hawes certain of the method but unable to identify the attacker. When the killer strikes again, the detectives must connect the attacks before another victim falls to the ax.

An anonymous sniper kills people across Isola, leaving Steve Carella and Meyer Meyer without an obvious connection between victims. Public fear and mounting pressure make finding a pattern urgent as each new shooting threatens to extend the city's paralysis.

The murder of a woman draws Steve Carella and an increasingly troubled Bert Kling into a difficult case. When Carella goes missing, the precinct must pursue both the killer and the clues that could explain their colleague's disappearance.

Roger stands outside the 87th Precinct in the snow, unsure whether to report what happened after meeting a woman in a bar. His indecision carries him farther from help while an innocent woman's remaining time continues to run out.

A popular comedian dies during a live television broadcast, leaving millions of witnesses but no simple explanation. Detectives Steve Carella and Meyer Meyer investigate how a death seen by so many people could still conceal a murderer's methods.

The 87th Precinct dismisses a threat against a city official until the promised murder occurs. More warnings and deaths follow, forcing the detectives to catch an extortionist whose next target is the mayor before another deadline expires.

The shotgun murders of a young couple bring the 87th Precinct detectives after Walter Damascus, a man whose pursuit of wealthy women leaves bodies behind. Finding him before he strikes again means untangling his identities and relationships.

An oddly shaped photograph found in a murdered man's hand points toward a cache of stolen money. The 87th Precinct detectives must locate the remaining pieces of the image while discovering who is prepared to kill for the answer.

Across twenty-four hours, the detectives of the 87th Precinct handle a series of overlapping cases and complaints. Robberies, suspicious deaths, and missing people reveal the patient interviews and uncertain judgments that make up ordinary police work.

A confession and fingerprints seem to solve Sarah Fletcher's murder, but Steve Carella cannot dismiss her husband's delight at her death. The husband's persistent interference and Sarah's hidden life turn an apparently routine burglary killing into a more complicated case.

Six murdered bodies found in a ditch draw Carella and Kling into conflict among three teenage gangs. The detectives must uncover the plan behind the killings before a criminal mastermind turns existing rivalries into a wider war.

The Deaf Man returns while the 87th Precinct investigates a cat burglar and a violent killing. Cryptic pictures sent to Carella hint at a bank robbery, but deciphering them may mean playing directly into the criminal's hands.

A murdered warehouse watchman leads the 87th Precinct detectives toward an arson case and a redevelopment scheme. As another death enters the investigation, they must determine how money links the crimes and who benefits from the destruction.

Steve Carella investigates a brutal attack that leaves one young woman dead and another alive. The survivor's identification of a suspect complicates the case, forcing him to examine family connections and question the account on which the investigation depends.

Detective Bert Kling's wedding brings the 87th Precinct together for a celebration, until his bride disappears from their honeymoon suite. His colleagues must turn from guests into investigators, racing to locate Augusta and understand why she was taken.

A blind man is murdered, then his widow is killed the following day. Carella and Meyer Meyer pursue connections through military records, police files, and massage parlors, trying to understand what made the couple a target.

The murders of a calypso singer and a prostitute are linked by the same gun. Carella and Meyer Meyer investigate the city's criminal underworld, following connections among music, sex, and drugs to discover why both victims were killed.

An occult writer is stabbed to death shortly before Christmas, while another killing troubles the precinct. His psychic assistant blames ghosts, but Steve Carella must find evidence that can explain the deaths without relying on a supernatural accusation.

A painter found dead in a sweltering apartment appears to have killed himself. Steve Carella questions the missing note and switched-off air conditioning, pursuing the possibility of murder while oppressive summer heat settles over the city.

These twenty short crime stories follow people whose desires bring them into conflict with the law. A collector, a prostitute, a former fighter, and a car dealer face situations in which greed, desperation, or violence changes their lives.

A diamond dealer's death draws the 87th Precinct into a winter investigation involving valuable stones and a show-business scam. As violence spreads through the frozen city, the detectives must uncover the connections between money, ambition, and murder.

Christmas Eve brings a strange procession into the 87th Precinct, including a sheep thief, stolen gold, and a dispute over frankincense. Carella and his colleagues handle the night's troubles as a young couple prepares for an unexpected birth.

A college runner is found murdered and hanging from a lamppost, while another woman reports repeated attacks by the same rapist. The 87th Precinct detectives pursue both cases, fearing the perpetrators will strike again before they can intervene.

The Deaf Man returns to Isola with cryptic messages and a trail of dead bodies. As Christmas approaches, Carella and the 87th Precinct detectives must decode his taunts before the criminal mastermind carries out a carefully prepared revenge.

Three of Marilyn Hollis's former lovers die by poisoning, making her a prime suspect. Detective Hal Willis is now involved with her himself, forcing the 87th Precinct to confront an investigation tangled with his personal loyalties.

A wealthy couple returns from New Year's celebrations to find their baby and teenage babysitter murdered. Carella and Meyer pursue the killer while growing gang violence threatens the city, making the opening days of the year especially grim.

Halloween brings multiple crises to the 87th Precinct: a dismembered magician, armed young robbers, and a serial killer. As detectives work across the city, undercover officer Eileen Burke poses as a sex worker to lure a dangerous predator.

Detectives Steve Carella and Cotton Hawes investigate a priest's murder, questioning people with conflicting stories about his life. Their search for a motive forces them to look beyond appearances as the possibilities surrounding his death grow increasingly disturbing.

The murders of a young woman and her married lover lead the 87th Precinct into a tangle of erotic letters and family resentments. Meanwhile, Steve Carella faces a personal investigation after violence strikes his own father.

Steve Carella investigates repeated attempts on a wealthy woman's life, despite protection arranged by her stockbroker husband. As the 87th Precinct examines the people surrounding her, the apparent victim's circumstances prove more complicated than they first seem.

The Deaf Man bombards the 87th Precinct with clues to a new scheme while detectives investigate murdered graffiti artists. Cases involving abandoned elderly people and rising racial tension further strain the squad's ability to recognize the danger ahead.

An actress starring in a play about a stalker is attacked, then murdered. Steve Carella questions the prosecution's suspect while the 87th Precinct investigates theater-world rivalries, where performance and private ambition make the truth difficult to separate.

Carella and Hawes investigate an elderly woman's murder and discover she was once a celebrated concert pianist. Across Isola, Fat Ollie Weeks pursues a separate brutal crime involving schoolboys and a drug dealer during the same troubled night.

Carella and Brown investigate a dead woman with an unusual past while the city follows a thief who leaves cookies behind. A separate threat stalks one of the detectives, bringing personal danger into the precinct's already crowded workload.

A man found hanging in Isola's theater district appears to have taken his own life. Evidence that he was drugged sends Carella and Meyer investigating murder, drawing them into the conflicts surrounding the opening of a musical.

A violent case during Christmas draws Steve Carella and the 87th Precinct into a pursuit of dangerous money. Crooks, drug runners, federal agents, and terrorists converge in Isola, with competing interests making the investigation difficult to untangle.

Detective Ollie Weeks investigates a mayoral candidate's murder while someone steals the only copy of his novel. A thief mistakes the manuscript for a guide to real hidden diamonds, turning Ollie's fictional crime plot into another police problem.

Masked kidnappers seize rising singer Tamar Valparaiso during a lavish yacht party promoting her debut album. Steve Carella and the 87th Precinct detectives face an urgent search, even though the abduction happened before a crowd of witnesses.

Cryptic anagrams and Shakespearean clues announce the Deaf Man's return to the 87th Precinct. Steve Carella and his colleagues must untangle the criminal's messages, determine his connection to a shooting, and anticipate the dangerous scheme hidden behind his taunts.

Several victims over fifty are shot twice in the face, but their lives appear unrelated. Steve Carella and the 87th Precinct detectives must uncover the connection behind an unusual killing spree before another person is targeted.