©2025 Fable Group Inc.

I Like 'Em Tough

By Ed McBain
I Like 'Em Tough by Ed McBain digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

Legendary author of the 87th Precinct series Ed McBain presents six hardboiled detective stories starring Curt Cannon, one of the toughest sleuths ever created.
 
Private detective Curt Cannon has lost his wife, his license, and his will to live, and now all he wants is to crawl into the bottom of a bottle and wait to die. He’s in the middle of a bender when Peter D’Allessio finds him and begs him to help get his addict son off the needle. Unwilling to be distracted from his own self-loathing, Curt tells Peter off. Dejected, the little old man is stepping out the doorway when two bullets tear through the air, leaving him dead on the floor of a fetid dive.
 
Curt wants nothing to do with this rotten case, but the mystery has him by the throat and won’t let go. To bring the dead man justice, he’ll have to climb out of the gutter and remember what it means to be a detective.
 
The story that introduced Curt Cannon, “Die Hard” is as gritty as mysteries come. Along with the five other stories in this remarkable collection, it’s a testament to the limitless talent of Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Ed McBain.
 
 

Download the free Fable app

app book lists

Stay organized

Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.
app book recommendations

Build a better TBR

Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building tool
app book reviews

Rate and review

Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tags
app comments

Curate your feed

Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities
app book lists

Stay organized

Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.
app book recommendations

Build a better TBR

Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building tool
app book reviews

Rate and review

Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tags
app comments

Curate your feed

Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities

No Reviews

About Ed McBain

Ed McBain is one of the many pen names of legendary author Evan Hunter (1926–2005). Named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America, Hunter is best known for creating the long-running 87th Precinct series, which followed an ensemble cast of police officers in the fictional city of Isola. A pioneer of the police procedural, he remains one of the best-loved mystery novelists of the twentieth century. Hunter also wrote under the pseudonyms Richard Marsten, Hunt Collins, John Abbott, Ezra Hannon, Curt Cannon, and others.
 

Start a Book Club

Start a public or private book club with this book on the Fable app today!

FAQ

Do I have to buy the ebook to participate in a book club?

Why can’t I buy the ebook on the app?

How is Fable’s reader different from Kindle?

Do you sell physical books too?

Are book clubs free to join on Fable?

How do I start a book club with this book on Fable?

Error Icon
Save to a list
0
/
30
0
/
100
Private List
Private lists are not visible to other Fable users on your public profile.
Notification Icon
Fable uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB