Goldilocks by Ed McBain

The not-87th Precinct books - well, at least the Matthew Hope books, have fairy tale or nursery rhyme titles - well, at least the first eleven of them do - then we have Gladly the Cross-Eyed Bear and the very last one The Last Best Hope, which came out in 1998. That was late enough that the title could have come from the opening voice-over on Babylon 5, but a little research found that the phrase apparently originated in a speech by Abraham Lincoln. All that has nothing much to do with Goldilocks, the book in question at the moment, but it does open a realm of speculation. He continued writing 87th Precinct books for another seven years, but that is the last Matthew Hope book. Do you suppose he kills him off? I guess I will have to keep reading.

Goldilocks is the tag which the scorned first wife hung on the second. Goldilocks (actually Maureen) is found by her husband hacked to death along with their two daughters, aged four and six or thereabouts. All the usual suspects: husband, ex-wife, adult children of ex, etc. The surprise in the context of the genre is a confession early on, but in the tradition of the genre - the one that confesses is not actually the murderer. I'm really not giving anything away, any semi-experienced reader of detective fiction will know immediately - if for no reason than it comes too early in the book. Now - that gives me an idea for a plot ---

The theme of marital infidelity plays across the entire book, virtually everybody is playing around - including Mr. Hope, himself.

I enjoyed it - perhaps not as much as Gladly - but this is the first book in the series, the character and general framework have not really settled in. Besides, in either the end notes or the preface to Cop Hater Hunter/McBain discusses the fact that he has difficulty dealing with the idea of non-police detectives - something on the lines of "who actually would go to a white-haired old lady who is constantly knitting" to solve a murder. Obviously, he reconciled himself to the amateur detective well enough to keep it up for thirteen novels.