Ed McBain: Running from Legs and Other Stories (UK 2003)

From the Publisher:
From downtown police stations and smoky speakeasies in prohibition era New York to the glossy film sets of Tinseltown and Caribbean beach hotels, acclaimed writer Ed McBain (a.k.a Evan Hunter) will take you on a tour of the human condition guaranteed to delight, amaze and leave you hungry for more.

Death by drowning on a film set, a misunderstanding in the back of a cab, the heady world of the one-ring circus and a reckless aerial trapezist - colourful characters and atmospheric backdrops make this wonderful collection of stories a joy to read. This edition contains eleven tales of the unexpected, three of which have never been previously published, from the pen of a writer who has been named a 'Master of Suspense'.

Ed McBain: Running from Legs and Other Stories. Allison & Busby, ISBN: 0749006153 (April, 2003), 202 p., £6.99.

Ed McBain: Running from Legs and Other Stories (UK 2002)

From the Publisher:
From downtown police stations to Caribbean beach hotels, in this series of beautifully observed short stories, Ed McBain, aka Evan Hunter, takes us with case and style through the broad spectrum of the human condition, with the help of some memorable characters.

One couple's search for the lost passion of their early days of marriage is quietly and movingly portrayed in 'The Couple Next Door', before the reader is transported back to the colourful world of smoky speakeasies and prohibition era New York, in the title story 'Running From Legs'. In the most dramatic scene change, a one-ring circus plays host to an aerial trapeze artist who is willing to create a spectacular display if the stakes are high enough. Then, with a quick cut the reader is taken to meet a particularly obnoxious and egotistical movie director under questioning for the death by drowning of an actress on his film set in the story 'The Interview'

This wonderful collection brings together eleven short stories, three of which have never before been pub lished, from the pen of a writer who has been named a 'Master of Suspense'

Contents:
Introduction -- The Interview -- The Fallen Angel -- The Prisoner -- Terminal Misunderstanding -- The Sharers -- The Couple Next Door -- The Victim -- But You Know Us -- Running From Legs -- Happy New Year, Herbie -- The Last Spin

Ed McBain: Running from Legs and Other Stories. Allison & Busby, ISBN: 0749005033 (April, 2002), 202 p., £17.99.

Ed McBain: Running from Legs and Other Stories (USA 2000)

From the Publisher:
Ed McBain is a pen name of Mystery Writers of America's Grand Master Evan Hunter, who wrote The Blackboard Jungle. As Ed McBain, he has written fifty 87th Precinct novels, the blueprint series for every successful police procedural series.

In this original short story collection, you'll see that McBain's stories are not neat little plot pieces -- just as in real life, the characters' messy problems aren't cleared up at the end with pat solutions. In "The Interview," an egotistical director manages to antagonize and alienate everyone connected to the movie industry when he is grilled about a drowning that occurred during a film shoot. A circus owner hires an aerialist in "Fallen Angel," and gets more than he bargained for. The most affecting, famous story in the collection is "The Last Spin," in which two opposing gang members play a game of Russian roulette.

The eleven stories in this collection serve to remind us of how versatile and unique a writer Ed McBain a.k.a. Evan Hunter can be.

Contents:
Introduction -- The Interview -- The Fallen Angel -- The Prisoner -- Terminal Misunderstanding -- The Sharers -- The Couple Next Door -- The Victim -- But You Know Us -- Running From Legs -- Happy New Year, Herbie -- The Last Spin

Ed McBain: Running from Legs and Other Stories. Five Star, ISBN: 0786226714 (August, 2000), 202 p., §23.95.