A real fine movie. A better than most other adaptations of an Ed McBain novel. The movie follows- more or less- the book. Brian Dennehy is good, although no fox-face. Admit it, if You think of pig-face ,it's Brian's. Debrah Farentino is beautiful and well casted. Story is entertaining and suspenseful. I do really hope that Brian Dennehy-who starred and produced the movie- will do more Matthew Hopes. As always, McBain's books and Hunter's books are better than any movie based on them. So, read the book, see the movie and read the book again. There are also audio cassettes and cd's available of the 87th Precinct and Matthew Hope saga.

A surprisingly good made-for-TV mystery, carried of course by Brian Dennehy's screen charisma, but also better-than-usual script, cinematography and a good supporting cast. The plot, from a book by Ed McBain, is not very strong, but the script makes the most of it. Potential spoiler: One flaw is that one of the eventual culprits played too small a role to make him a legitimate suspect. Also, the ending and final unveiling of the culprit was a bit over the top.