Ed McBain: Eight Black Horses (USA 2015)

From the Publisher:
Finding a dead body was not unusual for an autumn night in the 87th Precinct. But this young woman's body was naked -- and potentially related to the series of odd missives received at the station house. All signs point to the Deaf Man's return, this time with a plot more diabolical than even the jaded policemen could imagine. He's been sending them mysterious pictures of police equipment: nightsticks, helmets, black horses, and more. But what did they mean?

Detective Steve Carella would be one of the first to find out, but only after he discovered that the Deaf Man was impersonating him, which leads to more violence. Now, Carella and his fellow officers must face down the Deaf Man in a lethal confrontation: a confrontation more surprising, shocking, and explosive than anything the cops of the 87th Precinct have ever experienced.

Eight Black Horses is an inventive, tightly woven 87th Precinct novel -- and it's Ed McBain at his incomparable best.

Ed McBain: Eight Black Horses. An 87th Precinct Mystery. Pocket Books, ISBN: 9781477829035 (March, 2015), 262 p., $15.95.

Ed McBain: Eight Black Horses (USA 2003)

From the Publisher:
It all got terribly confusing when the Deaf Man put in an appearance...
... and the criminal mastermind is making his presence known by the dead bodies that are turning up around Isola. Then there are the notes -- with cryptic patterns including eight black horses dancing across a page -- that look like they mean nothing. But Detectives Kling, Carella, and Meyer know that with the Deaf Man, the seemingly meaningless always means something. Something bad. And as late fall hurtles toward Christmas, the Deaf Man is counting down the days, luring the cops of the 87th Precinct with a series of taunting clues -- all leading toward a horrifying act of revenge orchestrated by a psychopathic killer.

Ed McBain: Eight Black Horses. An 87th Precinct Mystery. Pocket Books, ISBN: 0743463080 (May, 2003), 304 p., $6.99.

Ed McBain: Eight Black Horses (UK 1987)

From the Publisher:
"As good as ever... wonderfully vigorous, taut and raw... McBain's 87th Precinct novels are the original and best of the American police procedurals' -- DAILY TELEGRAPH
The communications were coming in thick and fast. Two nightsticks, three pairs of handcuffs, four police hats, five walkie-talkies, six police shields, seven Wanted posters, eight black horses. Where would it all end... and how?

As Christmas got nearer, the boys of the 87th got more and more mystified- and nervous. They did not want to believe that the Deaf Man was back in their midst. But who else would send messages that looked as if they meant nothing when actually they meant something?

When Carella discovered that the woman whose naked body had been found in the park worked for a bank, he knew that whatever the equivalent of the partridge in the pear tree turned out to be, it would not be accompanied by season's greetings. For the Deaf Man's speciality was banks..

'Wickedly enjoyable... it is more than twenty years since the Deaf Man first taunted the boys of the 87th... he is at it still, his cunning, sexual potency and flair for the fantastic undimmed' -- GUARDIAN

Ed McBain: Eight Black Horses. A New 87th Precinct Mystery. Pan Books, ISBN: 033029590X (February, 1987), 250 p., £2.50.

Ed McBain: Eight Black Horses (USA 1986)

From the Publisher:
"SHREWD PLOTTING, DEADPAN HUMOR AND UNDERSTATED, UNNERVING VIOLENCE" TIME
It started with a cryptic warning and a once-beautiful corpse - grisly Christmas greetings from the notorious Deaf Man. The enterprising psychopath was at large once again, pulling off a string of crimes throughout the 87th Precinct - brazen antisocial acts ranging from petty theft...to murder. But the madman had bigger plans for the holiday season - a snowballing celebration of terror and revenge that would culminate in one fiery finale for the unsuspecting cops of the 8-7.

Ed McBain: Eight Black Horses. An 87th Precinct Novel. Avon Books, ISBN: 0380700298 (June, 1986 - 5th printing, no date given), 244 p., $4.50.

Ed McBain: Eight Black Horses (USA 1986)

From the Publisher:
ONE CORPSE
TWO NIGHTSTICKS
THREE HANDCUFFS
FOUR POLICE HATS
FIVE WALKIE-TALKIES
SIX POLICE BADGES
SEVEN WANTED FLYERS
EIGHT BLACK HORSES

There was a dead body. Or two. They were Christmas greetings from the Deaf Man, the master criminal who was back with deadly plans in mind for the 87th Precinct. Detectives Kling, Carella and Meyer knew the messages were clues to where the Deaf Man would strike next. But they didn't know the Deaf Man had a special surprise in store for one of them... a grisly present for another... and a horrifying act of revenge for all the cops determined to catch a psychopathic killer.

"INGENIOUS... ED McBAIN KEEPS THE TENSION AT WHITE HEAT FROM THE FIRST WORD TO THE SHATTERING CONCLUSION" -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"THE BEST WRITER OF AMERICAN POLICE PROCEDURALS" -- THE WASHINGTON POST
A LITERARY GUILD AND DOUBLEDAY BOOK CLUB SELECTION

Ed McBain: Eight Black Horses. An 87th Precinct Novel. Avon Books, ISBN: 0380700298 (June, 1986), 244 p., $3.95.

Ed McBain: Eight Black Horses (USA 1985)

From the Publisher:
The body of a young woman found shot in the park was naked, very naked; but a dead body was not too unusual for an autumn night in the 87th Precinct.

What was different about this body was the disturbing thought that it was in some way related to the series of odd missives received at the stationhouse. Even more disturbing was the inescapable conclusion that the Deaf Man had returned, this time with a plot more diabolical than even the jaded stationhouse professionals could imagine.

What did the messages mean? They were simply pictures of police equipment -- two nightsticks, three pairs of handcuffs, four police hats, five walkie talkies, eight black horses...

Steve Carella would be one of the first to find out, but not until he also discovered that the Deaf Man was impersonating him.

The discovery would come too late for another young woman whose path had crossed that of the Deaf Man, and it leads Carella, Meyer, Kling, and Brown to an insidious and lethal confrontation, a confrontation more explosive, more shocking, more surprising than any the cops of the 87th Precinct have ever experienced.

Ed McBain: Eight Black Horses. An 87th Precinct Mystery. Arbor House, ISBN: 0877956812 (July, 1985), 250 p., $15.95.