More often than not, they disagreed on the parts of the two women, played by Tippi Hedren and Suzanne Pleshette. Every day he would work on it and was called in by Hitch who would ask him to tell him the story so far. Hunter was nonplussed about just how he could make a full-feature film, and one that would satisfy Hitch's ambition, from the short story. before so when the director believed he had a chance to make less of a genre film with Daphne DuMaurier's short story, THE BIRDS, he hired Hunter, who he believed to be a fine writer. This is a slim book that deals with Hunter's time with Hitchcock on the scripts for THE BIRDS and MARNIE. He hoped so but probably most readers read for plot and nothing more. Remarkable work he'd done with Muriel's voice and experiences. Other) and I asked him if he thought most readers would appreciate the Other things we were both diagnosed with cancer with eight days of each Naive, painful, foolish, wise, mysterious and never less than riveting. Times because they so perfectly capture the rite of passage many of us Only Patricia but also Patricia's brother, McBain is able to write anĮloquent commentary on romantic love and sex. Means of understanding the complicated relationship she had with not What makes it remarkable is how, using the dead Muriel's diary as a RELATIVES is very good and in the tradition of the shorter 87ths. But as he frequently does heīrings them to full and sometimes sad reality.) Particularly gaudy cast of low lifes here. Seem to have some of those damned alibis. And the suspects the 87th boys and girls pursue all Patricia has difficulty picking out a culprit in the line up-indeed Somewhat privileged family insures both a police and a press frenzy. Muriel Stark, who is seventeen, is savagely slashed to death as herĬousin Patricia watches helplessly. Intriguing takes on romantic love I've ever read. This is not to say that it's the finest in storyline or

Manages to wrap one hell of a ghost story inside a police procedural.īLOOD RELATIVES. Mine would include HE WHO HESITATESīecause McBain has the sly ability to give us an 87th in which the 87thĪppears only a few times.

The Gutter and the Grave by Ed McBain