Ed McBain's 87th Precinct: Lightning

The often excellent Randy Quaid is horribly miscast as Steve Carella - which really brings the production to a deadly pace. By putting Ed McBain's name in the title, fans of the books expect to see the characters that they are familiar with. The loving and long term marriage of Steve and Teddy Carella hasn't occurred yet - in fact, this is where they meet. It is unfortunate that they have no chemistry in the movie. They tried to cram too much history into one movie. Audiences accept a cop being married, whether they know the character or not.

The hunt for a serial killer who targets young running champions.

A perfectly oiled thriller – which is not surprising when one knows that it is adapted from a short story by Ed McBain. Only notice : one recognises badly the inspector Steve under Randy Quaid's.