There may be no better fitting tribute to the late Ed McBain than LEARNING TO KILL: STORIES, an anthology of 25 short fictions he wrote for the pulps before adopting his most famous pseudonym. McBain himself had personally selected these stories prior to his death last year, so his personal stamp is truly felt, especially with his introductions to each story. It’s almost like a good-bye letter, even if he never knew us. But we knew him, and are better off for it.

What I like so much about these stories – culled from the pages of Manhunt, Verdict, Pursuit, Real and Argosy – is that while they adhere to pulp conventions, McBain’s voice is uniquely his own. The dialogue is quick, but real; the crimes grisly, but not far-fetched; the cops good guys, but not superheroes. His world deftly mirrors ours, probably more today than in the 1950s when these were published: Kids can be premeditated killers, women drive men to do crazy things, people are judged solely by the color of their skin, and some citizens are walking timebombs, just waiting to be set off.

Though crossover potential is great, the stories are separated thematically, in groups like “Women in Jeopardy” and “Innocent Bystanders.” The best section is “Cops and Robbers,” because each of the five stories is a sobering procedural – what McBain did best, in my opinion – with us learning clues just as the detectives do, right down to their realistic, gut-punch endings.

Other highlights include “Good and Dead,” in which private eye Matt Cordell (the drunken detective of the recent Hard Case Crime reissue THE GUTTER AND THE GRAVE) infiltrates Chinatown to solve the murder of a bum, and “Death Flight,” a novella-length piece concerning an investigation into a plane crash; the change in setting and scenario is enthralling. It was nice to read “See Him Die,” a precursor to his 87th Precinct series, and “The Merry Merry Christmas,” which has the distinction of being the first McBain I ever read.

Not every story can be good, and McBain almost admits as much in his intro to “Kiss Me, Dudley,” a semi-parody of the P.I. tale that is neither funny nor sensical. (And if the ending of “Molested” is supposed to make sense, please fill me in.) But with McBain at the wheel, a dud is a rarity, and only makes the gems shine even brighter.

LEARNING TO KILL is a welcome look at McBain in training, making some mistakes and mining some mini-masterpieces while trying to pay the bills all those decades ago. Simply put, he could tell a damn good story. For those of you who never listened, here’s a good start. For those of you who were enthralled year after year, here’s a fond farewell. –Rod Lott

Buy it at Amazon.
Discuss it in our forums.

OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS AUTHOR:
• THE GUTTER AND THE GRAVE by Ed McBain
• LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE DEAF MAN by Ed McBain
• THE PUSHER by Ed McBain
• TRANSGRESSIONS edited by Ed McBain