From Publishers Weekly
Amazingly, MWA Grand Master McBain remains as fresh and sharp-edged as ever in his 53rd 87th Precinct novel (after 2003's Fat Ollie's Book), which takes on the culture of celebrity. Bison Records' self-styled impresario Barney Loomis runs into a snag in his effort to catapult his newest performer, Tamar Valparaiso, to stardom. As Tamar is lip-synching the provocative video of her first album aboard a rented yacht, two men in Saddam Hussein and Yasir Arafat masks snatch her before a stunned audience. With his usual expert pacing, McBain alternates the action among a number of characters, including the kidnappers and Tamar; series stalwart Steve Carella, who must endure political maneuvering within a Joint Task Force of police bigwigs and FBI agents; and misogynist Ollie Weeks and his new amour, Det. Patricia Gomez. McBain injects enough humor to leaven the underlying tragedy-the fate of a vulnerable, talented young woman. Although it's soon obvious who's behind Tamar's kidnapping, we don't read McBain for surprising denouements but for his true-to-life dialogue, skill at defining characters and effortless transitions. The Lewis Carroll theme provides an extra level of enjoyment.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
Fat Ollie (aka Detective Oliver Wendell Weeks) resurfaces in this witty offering by wordmeister McBain. Take an up-and-coming MTV diva, add a dumb-and-dumber kidnapping team, chop coarsely with a police and federal task force with egos bigger than their intellects, and you have a rousing crime tale replete with inner-city oddballs. Ron McLarty voices them with enough joie de vivre for two readers. McLarty is one of those rare actors who can truly inhabit a voice and a character, which makes for real listening pleasure. Audio quality is clean; direction, writing, and performance top-notch-so why not join Fat Ollie for this buffet? D.J.B. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
Tamar Valparaiso, would-be hip-hop diva, is poised on the precipice of stardom. Her new video is set for release, and her recording company has rented a yacht for a chic launch party. Tamar is performing a live version of her rape-fantasy video when two armed intruders snatch her and escape on a small speedboat. Steve Carella and Cotton Hawes of the 87th Precinct catch the call. There are dozens of eyewitnesses, but the kidnappers leave no trace. Even though kidnappings are usually the FBI's purview, Tamar's promoter coerces the feds into keeping Carella and Hawes on the case. Meanwhile, the kidnapping is replayed thousands of times on cable, and the talking heads debate the propriety of Tamar's video, in which a potential rape victim repels her attacker in a fantasy sequence. In 48 hours, Tamar has morphed from wanna-be to megastar in the wake of a potential tragedy. As Carella and Hawes track down the kidnappers, McBain--the godfather of the police procedural--skewers cable news, the music industry, FBI bureaucrats, the current presidential administration, and the Patriot Act. It's difficult to praise a single 87th Precinct novel as demonstrably better than the preceding 52, so let's just say the current case is always the best, but only until the next one. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
The Washington Post Wry entertainment.

USA Today [A] delectably cynical, out-and-out corrosive tale....As savagely satisfying as a very rare filet mignon.

Marilyn Stasio The New York Times O frabjous day! Ed McBain takes us through the looking glass and into the surreal world of the music business....A riotous, if ultimately sobering, tale.


Review
Library Journal McBain shows why he's still the best....[His] writing is tight, his characters believable. Just when readers think they have it all figured out, McBain proves that he is still capable of a shocker.


Book Description
The kidnapping was audacious, and there were plenty of witnesses... But no one attending the dazzling launch party for up-and-coming pop idol Tamar Valparaiso knew what they were seeing when, halfway through her performance, masked men whisked the sexy young singer off a luxury yacht and into a waiting speedboat. Now, the evening that was supposed to send Tamar's debut album, Bandersnatch, skyrocketing with a million-dollar promotional campaign has instead kicked off a terrifying countdown for Steve Carella and the detectives of the 87th Precinct. Time is their enemy in the race to find Tamar's abductors -- before the rising star is extinguished forever.


Download Description
"It should have been the night that launched a new pop idol. Tamar Valparaiso is young and beautiful, with the body and voice of an angel, and the stage is set for her to launch her debut album, Bandersnatch, on a luxury yacht in the heart of the city. But halfway through her performance, while the partygoers look on helplessly, masked men drag Tamar off the stage and into a waiting speedboat. Detective Steve Carella is just showing up for the graveyard shift when news of the kidnapping comes in. Working disjointedly with a Joint Task Force that calls itself ""The Squad,"" Carella and the men and women of the Eight-Seven must find Tamar before time -- or indeed her very life -- runs out. In this brilliant look at the music industry, Ed McBain once again combines his mastery of the form with the fast-paced dialogue and intricate plotting that have become his signature. "

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Even after more than 50 novels in the entertaining 87th Precinct series, Ed McBain proves he can still deliver the goods in this, vital, insightful, and timely tale that satirizes everything from fat-cat politicians to the glam music industry.

Rising young hip-hop star Tamar Valparaiso is reenacting her latest music video (in which she fends off a would-be abductor from a Lewis Carroll poem), when -- in an ironic "life imitates art" twist -- two kidnappers snatch her from the yacht where she's performing and escape via speedboat. Soon steadfast cop Steve Carella is on the case, aided by fellow 87th Precincters Ollie Weeks and Cotton Hawes. Although the FBI interferes at every turn, the true "villains" are the voracious media and a desensitized public willing to turn someone's anguish into a three-ring circus. McBain's breezy, entertaining style and storytelling skills -- which have, if possible, only strengthened over the years -- make this a consistently winning series with a likable cast of characters who seem like old friends. It's a testament to the author's craftsmanship that no single element or plotline outweighs any other; all contribute equally to the perfect blend and balance of the novel. With this amusing entry, McBain shows us just why he's the undisputed master of the field. Tom Piccirilli

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"It should have been the night that launched a new pop idol. Tamar Valparaiso is young and beautiful, with the body and voice of an angel, and the stage is set for her to launch her debut album, Bandersnatch, on a luxury yacht in the heart of the city. But halfway through her performance, while the partygoers look on helplessly, masked men drag Tamar off the stage and into a waiting speedboat." Detective Steve Carella is just showing up for the graveyard shift when news of the kidnapping comes in. Working disjointedly with a Joint Task Force that calls itself "The Squad," Carella and the men and women of the Eight-Seven must find Tamar before time - or indeed her very life - runs out.

FROM THE CRITICS

USA Today

The Frumious Bandersnatch is Ed McBain's 53rd 87th Precinct novel. Yet the grand master of the police procedural certainly hasn't mellowed. In fact, this newest installment might be one of his most delectably cynical, out-and-out corrosive tales since he started writing the series in 1956 … This is McBain as savagely satisfying as a very rare filet mignon. — Diedre Donahue

The New York Times

O frabjous day! In his new 87th Precinct police procedural, The Frumious Bandersnatch, Ed McBain takes us through the looking glass and into the surreal world of the music business. Armed with lots of informative dope on the cutthroat marketing practices of this $12 billion industry, McBain spins a riotous, if ultimately sobering, tale about a record release that goes awry. — Marilyn Stasio

The Washington Post

This is not McBain at his grim, gritty best, but McBain in an antic mood, having fun with a crime caper that keeps us smiling until the very end, when he delivers a kick in the teeth that reminds us that at heart he is a writer with an extremely dark view of our species. — Patrick Anderson

Publishers Weekly

Amazingly, MWA Grand Master McBain remains as fresh and sharp-edged as ever in his 53rd 87th Precinct novel (after 2003's Fat Ollie's Book), which takes on the culture of celebrity. Bison Records' self-styled impresario Barney Loomis runs into a snag in his effort to catapult his newest performer, Tamar Valparaiso, to stardom. As Tamar is lip-synching the provocative video of her first album aboard a rented yacht, two men in Saddam Hussein and Yasir Arafat masks snatch her before a stunned audience. With his usual expert pacing, McBain alternates the action among a number of characters, including the kidnappers and Tamar; series stalwart Steve Carella, who must endure political maneuvering within a Joint Task Force of police bigwigs and FBI agents; and misogynist Ollie Weeks and his new amour, Det. Patricia Gomez. McBain injects enough humor to leaven the underlying tragedy-the fate of a vulnerable, talented young woman. Although it's soon obvious who's behind Tamar's kidnapping, we don't read McBain for surprising denouements but for his true-to-life dialogue, skill at defining characters and effortless transitions. The Lewis Carroll theme provides an extra level of enjoyment. (Jan. 2) FYI: McBain is only one of two Americans (the other being Sara Paretsky) to win a Diamond Dagger, the highest award from the British Crime Writers Association. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal