"Fiddlers" by Ed McBain - Book Review

I just finished reading another of the novel's from Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series "Fiddlers" and would give it decent marks for a fairly solid work. McBain's work tends to be a little gritty and a little jumpier than I typically like in my mysteries. In this case the familiar cast of detectives from the 87th are back this time tracking a serial killer who at first is going after an oddly disconnected group of victims. My view is relative to other books in the series this novel starts at a fairly slow pace and it isn't till about half way through the 259 pages in the novel that things really start to heat up. Eventually the killer in the novel builds to six murders across various parts of New York but it really drags. I must say I'm seriously tempted to give the other books in the 87th Precinct series a pass after Fiddlers. Generally, I'm not a big fan of noire novels that involve a fair bit of gore or bloody content (although in fairness this isn't an overly gruesome tale) I'd say I much prefer the mystery element of stories and lean more towards books from Lawrence Block, Janet Evanovich, or Michael Connelly. If you enjoy a decent police procedural Fiddlers is unlike to disappoint but for others its likely worth taking a pass.