Ed McBain: The Heckler (USA 2013)

From the Publisher:
With crooks to cuff and pimps to put behind bars, detectives Carella and Meyer of the 87th Precinct simply don't have the time or patience to deal with a prank caller -- even if he has phoned murder threats to two dozen local shop owners. What they fail to realize, however, is they aren't dealing with a heckler who's ringing round for kicks but rather a modern-day Moriarty known only as the Deaf Man -- and these phone calls are just his first move in a calculated scheme to pull off the bank robbery of the decade. Further calls darken a lovely spring with suspicion and fear, before a brutal murder whips things into a frenzy, prompting Carella and Meyer to scour the town for clues to the Deaf Man's identity. As the detectives grasp at a few tenuous threads of the larger plot, those targeted by the calls clamor for the cops to slam the case closed before more of them wind up stiffs. If they can find him in time, the 87th Precinct promises to shut down the Deaf Man for good.

Ed McBain: The Heckler. A Novel of the 87th Precinct. Thomas & Mercer, ISBN: 9781477805732 (November, 2013), 214 p., $14.95.

Ed McBain: The Heckler (UK 2004)

From the Publisher:
All over town, phones were ringing. Shopkeepers and merchants were being threatened by anonymous cranks. And the threats were getting more and more serious.

When the angry victims started yelling to the local cops for help, Steve Carella and the boys of the 87th Precinct didn't know what to make of the whole thing. Were they facing a plague of harmless pranksters - or the danger of a city-wide wave of violence?

All they had to go on were the constant attention of "the deaf man" and the knowledge that if they didn't catch their cold-blooded callers before the end of the month, the prophecies of murder and mayhem might prove all too true.

Ed McBain: The Heckler. An 87th Precinct Novel. Orion Books, ISBN: 0752863789 (September, 2004), 216 p., £6.99.

Ed McBain: The Heckler (USA 2003)

From the Publisher:
Spring was intoxicating the city air, but the harassing anonymous telephone calls planting seeds of fear around town were no April Fool's joke. Crank calls and crackpot threats reported to the 87th Precinct by a respected businessman were not exactly top priority for detectives Carella and Meyer -- until a brutal homicide hits the papers. Connections are getting made fast and furious, and there's a buzz in the air about the Deaf Man, a brilliant criminal mastermind. Now, the 87th Precinct is buying time to reveal the voice on the other end of the line -- as the level of danger rises from a whisper to a scream...

Ed McBain: The Heckler. A Novel of the 87th Precinct. Pocket Books, ISBN: 0743463072 (March, 2003), 254 p., $7.99.

Ed McBain: The Heckler (USA 1995)

From the Publisher:
"GET OUT OF YOUR STORE BY THE THIRTIETH, OR I'LL KILL YOU!"
All over town, phones were ringing. Shopkeepers and merchants were being threatened by anonymous cranks. And the threats were getting more and more serious.

When the angry victims started yelling to the local cops for help, Steve Carella, Meyer Meyer, and the boys of the 87th Precinct didn't know what to make of the whole thing. Were they facing a plague of harmless pranksters or the danger of a citywide wave of violence? The only things they had to go on were the constant mention of some character called the "deaf man," and the knowledge that if they didn't catch their cold-blooded callers before the end of the month, the prophecies of murder and mayhem might prove all too true...!

Ed McBain: The Heckler. An 87th Precinct Mystery. Signet Books AE5970, ISBN: 0451159705 (March, 1995), 176 p., $4.50.

Ed McBain: The Heckler (USA 1976)

From the Publisher:
"GET OUT OF YOUR STORE BY THE THIRTIETH, OR I'LL KILL YOU!"
All over town phones were ringing and people were being threatened by anonymous cranks. Adding to the heckling spree, shopkeepers received deliveries on items they had never ordered, from banquets for 430 people to crowds of curvy redheads.

When the angry victims started yelling to the local cops for help, Steve Carella, Meyer Meyer, and the boys of the 87th Precinct didn't know what to make of the whole thing. Were they facing a plague of harmless pranksters or the danger of a city-wide wave of violence? The only things they had to go on were the constant mention of some character called the "deaf man," and the knowledge that if they didn't catch their cold-blooded callers before the end of the month, the prophecies of murder and mayhem might prove all too true....!

Ed McBain: The Heckler. An explosive sizzling 87th Precinct Mystery. Signet Books Y6839 (January, 1976), 176 p., $1.25.

Ed McBain: The Heckler (USA 1961)

From the Publisher:
"IF YOU'RE NOT OUT OF THERE BY APRIL THIRTIETH, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"
When they first heard of the heckler's call that lazy April day, the boys at the 87th Precinct didn't know that all hell would soon break loose.

How many cops can be in how many different places at the same time? The heckler was working on the laws of probability. He was a brilliant criminal and a mathematical genius.

After a few more well-placed telephone calls, the cops were desperate to stop the tide of panic. But they were dealing with a man to whom murder was a small detail!

Ed McBain: The Heckler. A new 87th Precinct Mystery. New York: Permabooks, 1961, Permabooks #M-4218, 183 p., ¢35.