Ed McBain: Mary, Mary (USA 2012)

From the Publisher:
When the bodies of three young girls are unearthed in Mary Barton's garden, the retired Florida schoolteacher insists she didn't do it. But an eyewitness -- the woman next door -- has a different story: she swears she saw "Mary, Mary quite contrary," so called by her neighbors, burying something the night before. Mary's former student Melissa Lowdnes can't believe the fun-loving teacher she once knew could ever carry out a murder -- much less three -- and seeks the help of lawyer Matthew Hope. Matthew only takes on clients he feels are innocent, and he's got a hunch that Mary could be telling the truth -- that is, when she isn't ranting about the neighbors she feels have done her wrong. Matthew follows clues and builds a solid defense, but his strategy runs into a major setback: he's going up against "killer" assistant district attorney Patricia Hemming, and she's got an offer on the table that compromises the entire case.

Good fences make guilty neighbors in this suspenseful thriller from crime-fiction master Ed McBain.

Ed McBain: Mary, Mary. A Matthew Hope Mystery. Thomas & Mercer, ISBN: 9781612189840 (October, 2012), eBook, 1357 KB (ca. 350 p.), $9.99.

Ed McBain: Mary, Mary (USA 1994)

From the Publisher:
It is Christmas in Florida. The decorations are only slightly more false than the cheer, and a trial is going on the kind of trial that grabs headlines and makes people wonder what kind of person could possibly represent the defendant. In this case, the accused, Mary Barton, is charged with killing and burying three innocent young girls.

Defense attorney Matthew Hope believes the eccentric Mary Barton would never harm a soul. So does the beautiful Englishwoman footing the bill for her defense. But all the money in the world can't buy Hope a case. The evidence for a conviction is overwhelming, and Mary, stubbornly contrary, only makes things worse. Hope wants the truth. Yet when it surfaces, it will show him just how much he has to lose and unearth a few long-buried secrets that refuse to die.

Ed McBain: Mary, Mary. Warner Books, ISBN: 0446600547 (May, 1994), 372 p., $5.99.

Ed McBain: Mary, Mary (UK 1993)

From the Publisher:
When three young children are found buried in a beautiful, expertly-tended garden, Mary Barton is arrested for murder.
Once a school-teacher at an English girls' school, she is now in her fifties, eccentric and foulmouthed. When Matthew Hope receives a call from one of her former pupils, then sees the sublime garden Mary has created, he agrees to take on her case. But it looks far from easy: for one thing, eye-witnesses have seen her with each of the child victims, and for another, Matthew Hope is falling in love

'EVERY SCRAP OF MCBAIN'S EXPERTISE WITH COURTROOM PROCEDURE, QUESTION-AND-ANSWER STATEMENTS AND SHARP DIALOGUE... A TRIUMPH OF ESCAPOLOGY' - Sunday Times
'THE GRAND MASTER HAS LOST NONE OF HIS POWERS OF NARRATIVE DRIVE' - Daily Telegraph

Ed McBain: Mary, Mary. A Matthew Hope Novel. Mandarin Paperbacks, ISBN: 0749312319 (September, 1993), 351 p., £4.99.

Ed McBain: Mary, Mary (USA 1993)

From the Publisher:
With his sizzling dialogue and drop-dead surprises, Ed McBain has elevated the crime novel into fine art. Mary, Mary is vintage McBain.

It is Christmas in Florida. The decorations are only slightly more false than the cheer, and a trial is going on-the kind of trial that grabs headlines and makes people wonder what kind of person could possibly rep-resent the defendant. For in this case, the accused, Mary Barton, is charged with the monstrous murder of three innocent young girls.

Matthew Hope, the defense attorney who only rep-resents people he believes innocent, believes the eccentric, hard-talking Mary Barton would never harm a soul. So does the beautiful, genteel Englishwoman whose life Mary touched years before and who is now footing the bill for her defense.

All the money in the world can't buy Matthew Hope a case. As the trial progresses, eyewitnesses place Mary with the victims; one witness even claims to have seen Mary burying the bodies. The evidence for a conviction is overwhelming, and Mary, stubbornly contrary, seems incapable of helping her own case.

All the money in the world can't buy Matthew Hope a case. As the trial progresses, eyewitnesses place Mary with the victims; one witness even claims to have seen Mary burying the bodies. The evidence for a conviction is overwhelming, and Mary, stubbornly contrary, seems incapable of helping her own case.

Could Mary truly be a homicidal maniac? Or could the witnesses be mistaken? Caught up in an illicit love affair with a sexy prosecutor, scrambling to put up some kind of a defense, Hope is running out of tricks. When the real story of Mary Barton surfaces, defense attor-ney Matthew Hope will discover just how much he has lose... and unearth a few long-buried secrets that refuse to die.

Ed McBain: Mary, Mary. A Novel. Warner Books, ISBN: 0446517380 (April, 1993), 372 p., $19.95.