And All through the House
Ed McBain

I was going to post this over at Gumshoes, Gats, and Gams.  Silly me, I downloaded WordPress 5.0.  Big mistake.  The entire interface is different.  Rather lose my Christmas spirit, I decided to post this here.  I hadn’t gotten around to updating here or at Futures Past and Present, and now I’m not going to.

It’s been a while since I read any of the 87th Precinct books.  This one is an illustrated short story that was first published in 1984.  Sadly it is long out of print and there is no electronic edition.

The story opens with Detective Steve Carella alone in the squadroom on Christmas Eve.  It’s quiet and he’s having trouble staying awake.  He is wishing for something to happen.  He should know that he needs to be careful what he wishes for.

Soon the room begins to fill up with the other detectives.  Accompanying them are a couple of drug dealers, a burglar, and a kid who stole a sheep from the zoo as a Christmas present for his kid sister, sheep in tow.

Then a detective brings in a young couple, Maria and Jose, from Puerto Rico who have squatting in an abandoned building.  Maria is quite pregnant.

Of course you can see where this is going.  This isn’t a major 87th Precinct story, but it’s a good seasonal tale.  The illustrations by Victor Juhasz help set the mood, as does the dialogue.  If you can get your hands on a copy, this is a nice little holiday tale.