“WHERE WERE YOU ON THE NIGHT OF…?”
10 Most Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: Will that poor boy Kling ever find happiness with a good woman?
A: I don’t know. That’s up to him, I guess. So far it’s going pretty well with Sharyn Cooke, but given his track record… we’ll just have to see.
Q: Will Steve Carella ever cheat on his wife?
A: No. Never. Ever.
Q: What is your favorite book in the series?
A: I love them all, but I always tend to think the current one is the best. Going back, I like BLOOD RELATIVES a lot. And LONG TIME NO SEE. Both out of print. Shows what I know.
Q: MONEY, MONEY, MONEY is the fifty-first book in the series. How do you keep them fresh each time out?
A: By discovering something new about the continuing characters. It’s like having a friend for five, ten, fifteen, however many years, and she’ll suddenly say, “Well, I’m going sky-diving again this weekend.” And you say, “What? Sky-diving? I never knew you went sky-diving!” Like that. I learn new things each time, and I pass them on to the reader. We all stay fresh that way: You, me, the characters.
Q: Why did you choose a pseudonym for the first 87th Precinct novel?
A: I was just coming off the success of THE BLACKBOARD JUNGLE, a novel written under my own name, Evan Hunter. My publishers thought it would be damaging to my career as a “serious” novelist if it became known that I was writing mysteries. McBain was born on the spot! We let the cat out of the bag many years later, when my publishers became convinced that the good reviews outweighed the “taint” of mystery writing.
Q: What is the difference between an Evan Hunter novel and an Ed McBain novel?
A: Evan Hunter novels have nothing to do with murder. (Or rather, if a murder does occur in one of them, it is peripheral to the plot, and only serves to reinforce the theme.) On the other hand, Ed McBain novels have everything to do with murder. Someone is dead (or about to become dead) and the cops come in to find out what happened. It’s a matter of whether you like your scotch on the rocks or with a little soda.
Q: Of all the Carellas, in all the 87th Precinct novels made into movies or TV shows, which one did you like best?
A: Carella has been played by Robert Loggia, Burt Reynolds, Donald Sutherland, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Robert Lansing, and a Japanese actor (whose name I can’t remember) in HIGH AND LOW, which was based on KING’S RANSOM and is possibly the very best of the 87th Precinct novels ever filmed. It starred Toshiro Mifune and was directed by Akira Kurosawa. I think I should play Carella — but I stutter. (I don’t really.)
Q: What was it like to work with Alfred Hitchcock on THE BIRDS?
A: Wonderful. As a man, he was warm, witty, anecdotal and generous. As a director, he was receptive and inventive, and he taught me more about suspense than I could hope to learn in a thousand years.
Q: Will there be another 87th Precinct TV series?
A: I hope so. I’ve already finished writing the two-hour pilot film (based on SADIE WHEN SHE DIED) for Castlerock and A&E. Of course, there’s many a slip twixt the cup and the lip — but this time it looks as if it might happen. So watch the little screen.
Q: Is it true that you’ve already written a book titled EXIT, which you have locked in a safe, to be published after your death?
A: Not yet. I plan to. But I’m afraid if I write it, I’ll get hit by a bus tomorrow morning.