The Frumious Bandersnatch by Ed McBain
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"
(Lewis Carroll, Jabberwocky)

Ed McBain set up the plot of The Frumious Bandersnatch, the 53rd installment of his monumental 87th Precinct series, during a record launch party to promote Bandersnatch, the debut album of a young singer, Tamar Valparaiso. A recording industry mogul is hoping to transform Tamar into a new pop-music idol and to make millions off her success. The elaborate party is a scene for reenactment of a music video that combines the lyrics of Lewis Carroll's famous poem, sung by Tamar, with an enthralling dance number.

However, it turns out that someone else has quite different plans related to the party. The dance is brutally interrupted, when it is about to reach its climax:

"'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the ...
Don't nobody [...] move!'
Saddam Hussein and Yasir Arafat were coming down the wide mahogany staircase."

Mayhem ensues. I believe the readers will like the vivid writing in the entire party scene, quite lengthy but well worth it, and particularly the description of the dance.

The dramatic events during the party become instant fodder for various TV talk shows:

"[...]two guests tonight were at opposite ends of the political and cultural spectrum in that one of them was a minister who represented a Christian Right activist organization that called itself the 'Citizens for Values Coalition,' [...] and the other was a homosexual who was speaking for a group that called itself 'Priapus Perpetual,' [...]

Steve Carella handles the case for the 87th Precinct until the investigation is taken over by FBI. They request Carella to remain on the case, which causes some tension between him and one of the FBI agents, whom the detective knew during their common time spent at the police academy. The plot is relatively engrossing and it turns considerably darker toward the end of the story.

The other thread in the novel portrays the romance between Detective Ollie Weeks and Patricia Gomez, a Latina detective. As much as I like the author's new emphasis (see Fat Ollie's Book ) on the bigoted and misogynist cop (after all, how long can one live with saintly characters like Carella), I don't find the thread particularly interesting, and the once amazing fact that Detective Weeks is human has lost its novelty.

Overall, I find the book quite readable and am recommending it.

Three stars

[With this review I have completed my challenge of reading (and reviewing) 60 books in 2021. Woohoo!!!]

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